- [Voiceover] Do your shoes smell like
something died in them?
Well, we've put together 10 tricks
to make your shoes fresher than a warm summer's day.
We've broken this down into three
categories of stink.
Low Stink, Medium Stink and
Holy Hell! That Stink Is a Crime Against Humanity!
Let's start with Low Stink.
For light odors there's a few things you can do.
First method, take a woman's stocking
and clip it down to size.
Now open it up and fill it with some scented kitty litter.
Once the stocking is loaded,
cram it into the shoe and let it sit overnight.
The litter should absorb any wetness and lingering odors.
Next you can try the tea bag method.
Grab some tea and remove the bags from the packaging.
Now load your shoe up with about five bags.
Again, let it sit overnight and
your shoes will be smelling like tea, Earl Grey, hot.
No kitty litter or tea?
Maybe you have some fragrant wood chips out by your grill.
Grab a bag of those wood chips,
I used hickory, and load up a clean sock
with them until it's full.
Stuff the shoe with the sock,
and try your best to close off the top.
Again, let this sit over night
and you'll be smelling like a lumberjack all day long.
All right, let's move into Medium Stink
for those smells that just need a little bit more attention.
Grab some baby powder and sprinkle it on the inside
of the shoes and shake it around to even it all out.
Now cram them directly into a Ziploc bag.
This might be tough if you have big feet.
We found that size 12 is about the max.
Okay now put them in the freezer for about 12 to 24 hours.
The extreme cold can help kill off odor-causing
bacteria while the baby powder will absorb moisture.
If you have a lemon or orange lying around,
they can be used to get rid of some pretty gnarly smells.
Just slice the fruit and cut off a few slices of the peel.
Place them directly into the shoe,
and let the citrus oils do their thing overnight.
This is a great cover-up fix that'll
make you smell like you ran through a lemon orchard.
Now if you have shoes that you can't wash
and the odor is getting pretty bad,
fill a container with a bit of rubbing alcohol,
and soak it all up with some cotton balls.
Now carefully pack the shoe with the soaked cotton
and cover as much surface area as you can.
As usual, let this sit overnight
and then remove the cotton balls in the morning.
It might smell like you drank a bottle of vodka,
but at least the odor is gone.
All right, now let's move on to
Holy Hell! That Stink Is a Crime Against Humanity!
For odors that should be considered a biohazard.
Place your shoes into a pillowcase
and tie it down tight so they can't move around.
Put your bag of shoes into the washer
and also throw in some towels for some support.
Run a cycle on hot and then do the same in the dryer.
When you're done you should
have some fresh smelling sneakers.
Extreme smells call for extreme measures.
Fill a bucket up with water,
leaving some room at the top.
Now go raid grandma's medicine cabinet
and get some denture sanitizer.
Unwrap the tablets until you have
a nice big pile on hand.
Submerge your shoes into the bucket
and toss the tablets in.
Let the tablets dissolve and fizz
while they kill bacteria and the odor in your shoes.
After about 10 minutes remove them
and let them dry on a towel.
After a couple hours you should have
the minty-est shoes around.
Now let's talk preventive care.
Clean your feet!
If the problem keeps persisting,
you might be forgetting to
soap up your feet in the shower.
This is key and many people forget this simple thing.
Awesome!
Change your socks daily or perhaps go see a podiatrist.
Now what if absolutely none of
these things are working for you?
Well, this isn't a tip as much as
it is a suggestion.
Go buy new shoes.
Technically, this is a way to
get rid of stinkiness and start fresh.
Sometimes old shoes just need to go.
Well, I hope you found these tips useful.
Feel free to tell us about
your own methods in the comments.
We'll see you next time.