Got some stinky shoes? Over time, shoes start to smell from absorbing the sweat from your feet. This can cause unpleasant odors to develop inside your shoes.
We all know that uncomfortable and embarrassing moment when you have to remove your shoes in someone’s home and your shoes/feet smell! Fortunately, you can get rid of these odors using these home remedies for smelly shoes! In this post, I’ve gathered the best hacks for smelly shoes.
All the hacks in this list are simple and effective solutions for stinky shoes. Rather than purchasing commercial deodorizers that may contain harsh chemicals, consider using the household items below to create natural deodorizers to get rid of shoe odor. Let’s get started!
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Home Remedies For Smelly Shoes
Why Do My Shoes Stink?
Whether it is the first time you’ve gotten a stinky shoe or your tenth, know that smelly shoes happen naturally. Most people have had at least one smelly shoe. Shoes develop an odor when sweat gets trapped inside. Since your feet contains thousands of sweat glands, sweaty feet are normal, but they are also the reason why your shoes stink.
The trapped sweat inside your shoes allows bacteria and fungus to grow. Bacteria and fungus thrive in warm and moist environments. The bad smell comes from bacteria and fungus that live off your feet/shoe sweat.
Your shoes might be more prone to odor if you are wearing shoes that are too tight for your feet or you are constantly on your feet. These commonly cause your feet to sweat more.
In order to get rid of smelly shoes, you have to eliminate the sweat from your shoe. The lack of moisture will help kill the bacteria and fungus that live in your shoe. Essentially, you’ll want to dry out your shoe. Many home remedies for smelly shoes are effective because they are natural deodorizers and will absorb moisture.
1. Tea Bags
What Kind Of Tea Bags Make Shoes Smell Better?
Most tea bags are effective at getting rid of shoe odor. This is because they will absorb the moisture inside your shoes. Therefore, they will get rid of the bacteria and fungus that cause smelly shoes. Tea bags make excellent home remedies for smelly shoes.
Note that when you place tea bags into your shoes, your shoes will smell like tea leaves! For this reason, I recommend selecting a tea bag of your preferred scent.
If you don’t have a preference or have extremely stinky shoes, I recommend using a black tea for this tea bag hack. Black tea is highly effective at removing unpleasant smells from your shoe. This is because it contains a high concentration of tannins (about 11 to 15 percent!) compared to most tea leaves. Tannins can help kill odor-producing bacteria within your shoes.
Number of Tea Bags: 100
This black tea box comes with a hundred tea bags! This is honestly one of my favorite black tea bags (I’m drinking this tea right now!). These black tea bags are affordable and the tea leaves are strong. All the tea bags are individually packaged in a foil bags which helps the tea leaves stay fresh.
Although I love this these tea bags for drinking, these tea bags will also work well getting rid of shoe odor. If you have smelly shoes and are looking for a cheap home remedy, I recommend purchasing this black tea bag set for deodorizing your shoes.
How To Get Rid Of Shoe Odor With Tea Bags
To get rid of shoe odor with tea bags, select a tea bag of your choice(try black tea for best results). Get two tea bags (one for each of your shoes). You can use more tea bags depending on smelly your shoes are. Let’s begin!
- Place the tea bags deep inside each of your shoes. You’ll want it to absorb the sweat from inside your shoes, so get it in deep!
- Leave the tea bags inside your shoes overnight or as long as needed.
- Remove the tea bags and you are done!
Tea bags are an excellent natural home remedies for smelly shoes because they are easy to use and require no clean up. Just plop them into your shoes and you are done!
If you constantly get stinky feet/shoes, you can leave tea bags in your shoes when you aren’t wearing them. This is one of the best hacks for smelly shoes. If you are someone who has sweaty feet and needs help removing sweat from their shoes, try using a tea bag.
2. Baking Soda
How Does Baking Soda Absorb Odors?
Baking soda is a natural deodorizer. Baking soda absorbs acidic odors, as well as, other unpleasant smells. It also effectively removes moisture from the air. This is why baking soda is one of the most effective home remedies for smelly shoes.
When placed inside of your shoes, the baking soda absorbs odors and sweat from your shoes. It helps dry out the moisture from your shoes to kill off the odor-producing bacteria and fungus that thrives off the dampness.
Baking soda is a popular ingredient in many DIY cleaners to reduce moisture and tackle odors. If you are looking for a budget home remedy, I highly recommend using baking soda to get rid of shoe odors.
Quantity: 3 Boxes
Size: 8 Ounces Per Box (24 Ounces Total)
This baking soda smelly shoes hack is incredibly affordable! If you don’t already have baking soda at home, you can buy a box of it at a local grocery store or on Amazon.
This baking soda by Arm & Hammer comes in a pack of 3 on Amazon. Since baking soda is a natural deodorizer, you can use the additional baking soda to get rid of other odors from your home.
Besides for smelly shoes and cooking, baking soda is a popular DIY ingredient for multiple home remedies (e.g. teeth whiting, stain remover, dish washer cleaner, etc.!). Since baking soda is so affordable (and versatile!), I recommend having a box at home.
How Do You Use Baking Soda For Smelly Shoes?
Baking soda is one of the best cheap and easy home remedies for smelly shoes. To get rid of shoe odor, simply use baking soda you have at home. Let’s get started!
- Place about a spoonful of baking soda into each soda. Add as much baking soda as needed depending on how stinky your shoes are, shoe size, or if you want to speed up the deodorizing process.
- Shake your shoes to distribute the baking soda. You’ll want to cover as much surface area as possible to effectively reduce shoe odors.
- Leave the baking soda in your shoes overnight.
- Dump out the baking soda from your shoes. To ensure that you got rid of all the baking soda, use a vacuum to suck up the remaining particles.
Baking soda is an effective natural deodorizer to kill off odor-producing bacteria. Compared to the tea bag smelly shoes hack, this home remedy requires a little bit of clean up. However, baking soda will not make your smelly shoes smell like tea leaves.
How Long Does It Take For Baking Soda To Absorb Odors?
For best results, I recommend leaving the baking soda in smelly shoes overnight. Depending how much odor your shoes have, you might need to leave the baking soda longer to fully get rid of the stench.
To completely get rid of odors from stinky shoes, the baking soda must have enough time to absorb the sweat/moisture inside your shoes. Moisture allows bacteria and fungus to thrive.
Even if you remove the unpleasant smells with baking soda, the bacteria and fungus will continue to produce odor if you don’t get rid of the sweat inside your shoes. Luckily, baking soda is highly effective at removing moisture, as well as, odors. You just need to give the baking soda time to do so (at least a few hours).
To ensure that you get the most of this home remedy, make sure that you evenly disperse the baking soda inside your shoe.
3. White Vinegar
Does Vinegar Kill Bacteria/Odor In Shoes?
White vinegar is one of the best home remedies for smelly shoes. White vinegar has antimicrobial properties which means it can be used as a natural disinfectant. This is why white vinegar is a popular ingredient for DIY cleaners.
For shoe odor, white vinegar is effective at killing off odor-producing bacteria and fungus from inside your shoe. White vinegar is also a natural deodorizer and will absorb odors. Vinegar contains acetic acid which will eliminate odor-causing molecules. Therefore, this white vinegar hack is an excellent home remedy to get rid of stinky shoes.
Size: 1 Gallon
If you don’t already have white vinegar at home, you can purchase it at your local grocery store or on Amazon. You can purchase a large amount of white vinegar for a great price.
White vinegar is an excellent ingredient for meals, as well as, DIY cleaners. If you don’t plan on using vinegar as an ingredient for other home projects/meals consider trying out the other home remedies for smelly shoes on this list.
How To Clean Smelly Shoes With Vinegar
White vinegar is one of the most effective and quick home remedies to get rid of shoe odors. To clean smelly shoes with vinegar, you’ll need a spray bottle and white vinegar.
You can remove smells instantly using this hack for smelly shoes. Let’s get started!
- To make this deodorizer, combine a 1:1 ratio of water and white vinegar into a spray bottle.
- Shake the spray bottle to ensure the solution is mixed.
- Spray the vinegar-water solution inside your smelly shoes. If you don’t have a spray bottle, you can also use a cloth to wipe the solution inside your shoes. You are done!
- Wait for your shoes to dry before wearing.
This white vinegar hack is highly effective at getting rid of odors from smelly shoes. If you have white vinegar at home, I recommend trying out this simple smelly shoes remedy.
Compared to other home remedies above, this smelly shoes hack removes odors and bacteria almost instantly. You just need to make sure your shoes are dry before wearing.
How To Prevent Smelly Shoes
Although home remedies for smelly shoes are excellent ways to naturally deodorize shoes, you’ll want to keep your shoes odor-free long term. Prevent your shoes from growing more odor-producing bacteria and fungus.
Here are two ways you can do that:
1. Keep Your Shoes Dry
Odor-producing bacteria thrives in moist environment. You can keep your your shoes dry by storing them in a dry place to prevent bacteria or fungus growth. You can also use the tea bag hack and leave the tea bag inside when your shoes are not in use.
2. Prevent Sweaty Feet
The main cause of moisture in your shoes are sweaty feet. You can keep your feet dry by wearing sweat-wicking socks or even using an antiperspirant on your feet.
Conclusion: Home Remedies For Smelly Shoes
Smelly shoes can be unpleasant and embarrassing. Luckily, there are many home remedies to help get rid of shoe odor.
Shoe odor is caused by sweaty feet and shoe moisture which allows odor-producing bacteria to thrive. You can use natural remedies to help dry out your shoes and kill off bacteria and fungus.
All the smelly shoes hacks listed above (tea bag, baking soda, vinegar) are affordable, simple, and effective methods to deodorize your shoes. Depending on how stinky and moist your shoes are, you might need to try out multiple home remedies. Use each hack for smelly shoes one at a time. If you need to try multiple remedies or do the same one twice, make sure the inside of your shoes are cleaned out before doing more.
I hope this article gave you some helpful tips and home remedies for smelly shoes.