Stinkin' Boots

Edited Date/Time 2/8/2015 6:02pm
I just retired my 2012 Tech7s. My wife bought me a pair of the new gen Tech7 for christmas.

After just a few months of riding my old boots smelled like death and I couldn't really get it to go away. I tried frebreze, odor eaters, sneaker balls without much luck. I always hung them upside down in the garage to air out after riding and never pressure washed them. My tennis shoes and work boots have never smelled as bad as my riding boots, so I don't think I have a foot odor problem.

What do you guys do to battle the funk? I want to keep my new boots fresh for as long as possible.
|
Matt Fisher
Posts
3948
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Visalia, CA US
Fantasy
1177th
2/5/2015 5:59pm
Shit in your socks. The boots will smell great in comparison. Laughing



Or-
Pull the foot insert out and wash the inside of the boot with soap and water. Wash the insert too.
Brad460
Posts
3679
Joined
5/15/2012
Location
Richfield, WI US
Fantasy
736th
2/5/2015 6:23pm
A Boot Dryer after every ride and wash works good. [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2015/02/05/79461/s1200_image.jpg[/img]
A Boot Dryer after every ride and wash works good.


Exactly what I was thinking. After a thorough cleaning and always drop mine on the boat dryer.
2/5/2015 6:27pm
A Boot Dryer after every ride and wash works good. [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2015/02/05/79461/s1200_image.jpg[/img]
A Boot Dryer after every ride and wash works good.


Ive seen that before. Didn't think it would really work. Does it have fans to move air through the boots?

The Shop

2/5/2015 6:28pm Edited Date/Time 2/5/2015 6:30pm
Try the nice smelling dryer sheets, stick them in your boots before you ride to counteract the funk. Dryer sheets are heat activated and work well.
jeffro503
Posts
27442
Joined
7/22/2007
Location
St Helens, OR US
2/5/2015 6:36pm
Shit in your socks. The boots will smell great in comparison. :laugh: Or- Pull the foot insert out and wash the inside of the boot with...
Shit in your socks. The boots will smell great in comparison. Laughing



Or-
Pull the foot insert out and wash the inside of the boot with soap and water. Wash the insert too.
Shit in your socks! LMAO!......That'll make everything else smell great in comparison.
2/5/2015 6:38pm
Shit in your socks. The boots will smell great in comparison. :laugh: Or- Pull the foot insert out and wash the inside of the boot with...
Shit in your socks. The boots will smell great in comparison. Laughing



Or-
Pull the foot insert out and wash the inside of the boot with soap and water. Wash the insert too.
jeffro503 wrote:
Shit in your socks! LMAO!......That'll make everything else smell great in comparison.
Yea, kind of like breaking your arm to mask the pain of a toothache.
tmauto769
Posts
718
Joined
12/25/2011
Location
TN US
Fantasy
1001st
2/6/2015 6:16pm
one of the guys I ride with bought the first version of the fox instincts, and those things were so bad he about gave them away. He bought the newest ones and don't have the stink foot anymore.
Preston412
Posts
886
Joined
10/5/2012
Location
Saint Augustine, FL US
2/6/2015 6:40pm
Every so often, like when my socks are sooked with sweat, I wash the inside of my boots when I wash the the bike. Never any stink or funk with any boot I have owned.
SPYGUY
Posts
2020
Joined
8/15/2006
Location
US
Fantasy
748th
2/6/2015 7:31pm
A Boot Dryer after every ride and wash works good. [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2015/02/05/79461/s1200_image.jpg[/img]
A Boot Dryer after every ride and wash works good.


Ive seen that before. Didn't think it would really work. Does it have fans to move air through the boots?
I got that exact dryer to help dry my boots after washing them. I never thought about trying to keep them from stinking but now that you mention it, I think my boots actually do smell better than before I started using it.

It doesn't use fans, it just creates a small amount of heat at the base of the unit which then rises to the top. It's never hot to the touch but after you leave the boots on it for awhile you can definitely feel the warmth in them.

http://www.peetdryer.com/products.html
2/6/2015 7:49pm
SPYGUY wrote:
I got that exact dryer to help dry my boots after washing them. I never thought about trying to keep them from stinking but now that...
I got that exact dryer to help dry my boots after washing them. I never thought about trying to keep them from stinking but now that you mention it, I think my boots actually do smell better than before I started using it.

It doesn't use fans, it just creates a small amount of heat at the base of the unit which then rises to the top. It's never hot to the touch but after you leave the boots on it for awhile you can definitely feel the warmth in them.

http://www.peetdryer.com/products.html
Nice. I will be buying one soon.
Canerat
Posts
780
Joined
4/7/2011
Location
ZA
2/6/2015 9:39pm
Its your damn feet that stink. I mean when you bought them boots they were clean and smelt clean right?

Wash the damn things and the boots after each ride and let them dry properly. Use baby powder in the boots to smooth things over for when your stinking feet are back in them. Repeat process after each days riding.

Or get fast so that someone will give you a pedicure sponsor and maybe throw in some free boots....
Canerat
Posts
780
Joined
4/7/2011
Location
ZA
2/6/2015 9:42pm
Only jokes mate. Wash and let them airout properly before using them. Best is to have two sets of boots and rotate
edgo897
Posts
579
Joined
1/3/2010
Location
Land O Lakes, FL US
2/7/2015 2:54am
Was the smell hindering you while you were in the track?
Spydee
Posts
1995
Joined
12/18/2013
Location
Wales GB
2/7/2015 3:35am
I dread to think what your socks smell like Grinning
mxtech1
Posts
1958
Joined
7/21/2011
Location
Galesburg, IL US
2/7/2015 8:46am
sounds like bacteria microbes. Take the soles out and run them through a washer/dryer with an anti-microbial or steam clean setting. If you don't have this, you can request it from most dry cleaning services. Spray the inner boot out with Lysol.

I'm concerned the microbes may be throughout the material. If the Lysol only penetrates the top surface, you may never get the smell completely out.
Wandell
Posts
7563
Joined
12/17/2008
Location
Cairo, GA US
2/7/2015 1:53pm
A Boot Dryer after every ride and wash works good. [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2015/02/05/79461/s1200_image.jpg[/img]
A Boot Dryer after every ride and wash works good.


That's a nice setup, but you can do basically the same thing for free. Just lay your boots down in front of the kick plate on the front of your refrigerator. The fan blows warm air out of this area. I've done this a million times with wet shoes. Your wife won't appreciate it though.
neverwas
Posts
2579
Joined
8/17/2006
Location
Tucson, AZ US
Fantasy
740th
2/7/2015 2:32pm
I rode for a week in Costa Rica, the humidity was quite high in the jungle and my boots and helmet by weeks end stunk bad.
They never dried out from the previous day. When back at home and after washing with a solution of water and bleach they still smelled bad. I put the helmet liner in the freezer for a couple of days and that cured that,but the boots just never really got much better,I retired them as they were pretty worn anyway. So maybe the freezer trick for your boots
Moto_Geek
Posts
1823
Joined
6/26/2007
Location
Golden, CO US
Fantasy
1666th
2/7/2015 3:01pm
I just discovered dryer sheets. Google dry sheets and you will discover all sorts of uses. One of them is a disorderizer. Just put one in each boot after riding.
cwtoyota
Posts
1932
Joined
3/11/2013
Location
Tacoma, WA US
2/7/2015 3:08pm
Drying the stuff is the best solution. Hang up your gear in the sun while you load up the bikes.
I've hung my gear in front of a fan and/or dehumidifier with good results.

Everyone has their own particular "blend" of microbes (bacteria, fungi, etc) living in, on and around our bodies.
That's why some people have excessively stinky feet, stinky farts, B/O, etc.

Some materials seem to trap odor causing stuff worse than others too.
For example, my Gaerne boots never smell bad, but my Fox knee pads ALWAYS smell terrible..

The Fox knee pads have a foam-rubber similar to neoprene lining them. The Gaerne boots have some kind of fabric with a firmer, different type of foam-rubber behind it.

I never have to wash my boots to eliminate odors but my knee pads smell terrible after one ride.


MaicoJC1
Posts
274
Joined
5/22/2011
Location
MD US
2/8/2015 5:28pm Edited Date/Time 2/8/2015 5:29pm
An old military trick from back in the day when I wore non-breathable full leather combat boots. First, always have two pair of boots, and rotate them. Second, make up a mixture of 70/30(full strength if needed) clorox/water in a an old spray bottle. After your done riding, and you've cleaned the muddy goo off your boots, pull out the inserts and spray them with the mixture
or just let them soak in a warm bucket of a clorox and water for a couple of hours. Then liberally spray the inside of your boots with the same mixture. Let everything dry completely. Clorox will kill many types of microbes, viruses (including HIV!), and fungi. And more importantly, it is way, way less toxic to your body than Lysol spray.

And again, I believe in rotating your boots every few rides. Also consider spraying your feet with a good antifungal foot spray. If your feet sweat alot, put some mitchum or arm and hammer antiperspirant on the soles of your feet before you put your socks on.

I'm a former Army Captain (Physician Assistant), and I gotta tell you I've seen some shit in my day, but one of the nastiest things to me was seeing and smelling jacked up feet (male and female) due to poor hygiene.

Funky ass smelling helmets? -- Well, I have 3 helmets that I rotate as well. Clean 'em and let 'em dry out.
GoonSquad250x
Posts
3034
Joined
5/11/2012
Location
Kennesaw , GA US
Fantasy
4018th
2/8/2015 5:50pm
MaicoJC1 wrote:
No problem.
Does the bleach not discolor the insides? Or with that ratio it isn't strong enough to? I've been wondering how to freshen my boots to latley. Their fairly new & they started smelling really bad after a few long days this past summer & fall.
MaicoJC1
Posts
274
Joined
5/22/2011
Location
MD US
2/8/2015 6:02pm Edited Date/Time 2/8/2015 6:03pm
Never really looked, and wasn't concerned about what the inside of my boots looked like, and quite frankly didn't care what the inside of my boots looked like. Cared more about how my boots looked in formation, how they smelled when I took them and how my feet looked. Nonetheless, I do agree some fabrics hold smells worse than others, BUT, and I'm not implying anything about anyone, in the end it all comes down to hygiene. Poor hygiene leads to bacterial, viral, or fungal infections. Pretty simple in my world (medicine), and fortunately and unfortunately, I tend to extrapolate that to many other parts of daily life.

Post a reply to: Stinkin' Boots

The Latest