If your shoes seem to have an odd smell, then you might want to learn about how to disinfect shoes so that they don’t have a lot of bacteria in them and so that they smell fresh.
Keeping your shoes disinfected can often mean preventing the spread of some types of fungus as well including athlete’s foot. When you clean your shoes, you should do so in a way that prevents damage from occurring. If you wash your shoes in a washing machine with laundry detergent, then they will usually get clean. However, you want to add Lysol or another type of disinfectant to the machine to remove as much bacteria as possible.
Aside from the outer areas of your shoes, you also need to clean the insoles. This is where a good bit of bacteria gather, especially if you wear your shoes without any socks or if you wear the same pair of socks for more than one day. After removing your shoes from the washing machine, you should put them in the sunlight to dry as this can help to disinfect them naturally. If you choose to dry them in the dryer, then you need to make sure the heat is turned up high. Remove the laces from your shoes to keep them from getting tangled.
Even though washing your shoes should get them clean, you might notice that there is still an odd smell if they were excessively dirty before washing them. Baking soda can be put inside your shoes to help eliminate odors. You need to keep the baking soda in your shoes until you can no longer smell the odor as it could come back if you clean them too soon. Lemon juice can also be put inside your shoes to remove odors. A product that can remove bacteria is vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is an option to consider that can remove odors while also disinfecting your shoes.
Common materials that need to be cleaned and disinfected by hand because they are a bit more delicate than cloth include leather and suede. Avoid getting these materials too wet as they can deteriorate over time. The color of the material can also become darker. A mixture of soap and warm water can be used to wipe off the surface of shoes that are made of these materials. Avoid putting them in a washing machine as they could come apart.
Rubbing alcohol can be used to disinfect shoes if you don’t have other products on hand. You can use bleach on white shoes, but make sure they have no colors on them as the bleach will usually remove or lighten the color. There are a few deodorizing sprays that can be used as well if you want to clean and disinfect your shoes while making them smell better. You’ll want to clean your shoes based on how often you wear them and what you wear them for as some situations could result in sweating more on your feet, which could then lead to more bacteria and odors developing.
