How to Remove Smell from Shoes: Effective Tips & Remedies

2025-05-16 15:18:55

Smelly shoes are a universal problem. Even with good foot hygiene, your favorite sneakers or work shoes can start to stink after repeated wear. That leaves us with the big question many people ask: how to remove smell from shoes quickly and effectively?

The good news—you don’t have to throw away your shoes. With the right cleaning methods, natural remedies, and prevention tips, you can remove odor from shoes and stop it from coming back.

This guide explains the causes of shoe odor, step-by-step methods for shoe smell removal, and prevention hacks to keep your footwear fresh.

Why Do Shoes Smell?

Before learning how to get rid of shoe odor, it helps to understand what causes it.

• Sweat – Feet have over 250,000 sweat glands, producing up to 300ml of sweat daily.
  
  
• Bacteria – Bacteria thrive on sweat, breaking it down into foul-smelling acids.
  
  
• Moisture & poor ventilation – Closed shoes trap sweat and humidity.
  
  
• Skin conditions – Infections like athlete’s foot or pitted keratolysis worsen odor.
  
  
• Overuse – Wearing the same pair every day without drying time.
  
  

👉 Key takeaway: It’s not sweat itself, but bacteria + moisture that cause bad shoe smell.

How to Remove Bad Odor from Shoes? 

The problem of smelly shoes is universal. We’ve all encountered it at one point or another – some of us more often than others. It can be an embarrassing situation to face, where it becomes difficult for you to take off your shoes when there are others present. Even without this situation, encountering smelly shoes every time you need to wear one can be bothersome. However, solving this problem is not exactly as simple as you might think.  

For clothes and linen, it is easy to spray some deodorant or just give them a quick wash. However, not all shoes are easy to wash or machine-wash friendly. Some are even constructed with materials like leather, which doesn’t allow you to wash them in traditional ways. On the other hand, deodorants might damage delicate materials such as suede or leather or even the embellishments that are placed on a lot of shoes. As a result, you’re more likely to face situations where your shoes smell rather than other things in your house.  

However, it is not just because of these reasons that shoes are prone to smelling. To understand how to get rid of bad odor in shoes, you need to dive deeper into understanding what causes shoes to be smelly. 

Effective Ways to Get Rid of Smelly Shoes

Now that we’ve developed a proper and thorough understanding of why our feet can be smelly, it is time for us to move on to understanding how to remove smell from shoes. You might be expecting to find an answer to how to remove smell from shoes instantly, but it might not be as quick as you want. However, it can be done even for the smelliest shoes if you follow the proper steps and stick to some best practices. Here are some ways in which you can get rid of the smell from your shoes. 

1. Baking soda: 

You might not want to invest in a very expensive cleaner or go for a dedicated cleaning regime. In this case, a home remedy might be exactly what you’re looking for. It saves time, energy and even money, as it uses a commonly available kitchen ingredient to get the job done. We’re talking about bicarbonate of soda, commonly known as baking soda. The compound is a natural deodorizer that absorbs smells and tackles bacteria effectively. In fact, it is used in a lot of cases as a deodorizer around the house. There are two ways you can go about using this: 

Method 1:

Mix ¼ cup of baking soda, ¼ cup of baking powder and ½ cup of cornflour. Pour the mix into a pair of cotton socks or just sprinkle the mixture in both shoes and leave overnight. For an extra scent booster, add a few drops of your favourite essential oil which will leave the shoes smelling nice in your favourite scent. 

Method 2:

Just sprinkle the baking soda directly into the shoe and leave it for 24 hours to get rid of most of the smell that it has. While this might leave a more chemical after-smell, it is much easier than method 1 to do regularly. 

2. Vinegar: 

Another household condiment that is very effective at dealing with bad odours is vinegar. This is mainly because vinegar is made of acetic acid, which can neutralise alkaline odours and also inhibit odour causing bacteria. To use it on our shoes, first make a mix of vinegar and water in equal proportions. This means if you want to make a 100ml mixture, it should have 50ml of water and 50ml of vinegar. After every use for any of your men’s shoes or shoes for women, here’s how to get rid of smell in shoes with vinegar. 

Step 1: Clean the shoe thoroughly with a dry and clean cloth, from the inside and the outside. This ensures that all removable dirt and other materials are already tackled before the spray. 

Step 2: This is the step that is the most important in the process of how to remove stinky smell from shoes with vinegar – spray the inside and outside thoroughly with the mixture prepared earlier. 

Step 3: Leave it out to air dry naturally. Depending on the season, this might take longer than expected so be prepared for that. 

3. Soap: 

For this suggestion on how to remove smell from shoes instantly, you might be wondering that “isn’t this too obvious?”. However, we’re not recommending washing your shoe with soap. Instead, place a bar of soap overnight in each shoe. This is because soap can kill bacteria and the smell they produce. Additionally, since soap is porous in nature, it will absorb the bad smell and leave your shoes smelling fresh and nice. However, please be careful not to put wet soap into your shoes, because any kind of moisture can help bacteria grow even further. If you do this correctly, you should be able to figure out how to get rid of bad odor in shoes and replace it with a clean soapy scent.  

4. Sunshine: 

Sometimes, the answer to “how to get rid of smell in shoes” is as simple as sunshine. Once you are done with a run or are back home, keeping your shoes in the sun for a coulpe of hours can help them get rid of any excess moisture. This can curb bacteria growth and help get rid of any unwanted smell in your shoes.  

5. Essential Oils: 

Quite a popular product in the beauty and self-care category, essential oils are also a very effective option if you’re considering how to remove stinky smell from shoes. Not only do they help remove bad smells, but studies have shown that some essential oils also have anti-bacterial properties. This means they attack the source of the smell at the same time. Clove oil is one such option. You can also consider tea tree and cedarwood essential oils. Together, they can provide a three-way impact – removing odour, killing bacteria and leaving a nice scent behind in your shoes. There are two ways you can go about using essential oils for this purpose: 

1. Direct application:

Put a few drops directly into your shoe. However, keep in mind that the fabric of your shoe might get stained with this method, so it’s best to be sure that you want to use this. Try using it on a concealed area so that even if there’s a stain remaining it isn’t visible. 

2. Indirect application:

Mix the essential oil with any of the other liquid cleaners that we’ve mentioned so far, such as baking soda or vinegar. This helps you understand how to get rid of smell in shoes while also adding a nice scent to them. 

How to Keep Shoe Odor Under Control from the Start 

Once you encounter smelly shoes, the first question that pops into your mind is how to remove smell from shoes. However, a better long term approach would be to stop them from smelling in the first place. To understand how to keep shoe odor under control from the start, go through the following recommended best practices. This is a better approach than trying to understand how to get rid of bad odor in shoes after it has already arrived as a problem. Here’s what you need to do: 

1. Practice good foot hygiene:

The first step to ensure that your shoes don’t end up smelling is to keep your feet clean. This means that you need to wash well between your toes and dry your feet thoroughly every time you return home and take off your shoes. This should also be a part of your regular hygiene regardless of whether you’re stepping out or not. This can greatly reduce bacteria buildup, saving you from worrying about how to remove odor from shoes later. 

2. Address special conditions immediately:

If you develop any rashes, cuts, scratches on your feet, you need to treat them with the right anti-bacterial, anti-fungal or anti-biotic products as needed at the earliest. If you let the infection develop, this can also lead to such microorganisms growing more in quantity in your footwear, leading to smell. 

3. Wear socks only once, then wash them:

This is essential for any type of shoe and climate. This is mainly because socks absorb the sweat that your feet generate, and if you reuse them, you’re giving the bacteria more fuel to grow and increase the smell in your shoes. Take them off every time you take off your shoes and put them in the laundry. 

4. Allow shoes to dry completely between each wearing:

If you have worn your shoes in a condition that can allow moisture to settle inside, or if you’ve washed them, then you need to let the shoes dry off completely before you start using them again. Moisture conditions promote bacterial growth, which, as we’ve explained earlier, leads to worse smelling shoes. 

5. Rotate shoes:

Even if you have only two pairs of shoes now, you should rotate shoes, so you are not wearing the same pair every day. This gives each pair the time to dry off and naturally get rid of the smell-causing bacteria.  

6. Insole care:

You should wash insoles frequently or replace them often. This is mainly because the sweat from your feet flows down and settles in the insoles. This makes them a ripe breeding ground for the micro-organisms that cause the smell in your shoe.

7. Choose breathable shoe materials:

When you pick shoes crafted from a breathable material, they make it easier for the sweat on your feet to be wicked off, leading to lesser chances of bacterial growth. Leather and natural fibers are more breathable than synthetics. 

8. Wear socks:

A golden rule for preventing smell in your shoes is to wear socks. Any type of socks helps keep less sweat from penetrating the material of the shoes. Choose socks with sweat-wicking fibers instead of cotton to keep feet drier. Choose socks woven with metal fibers, such as silver or copper, to help inhibit bacterial and fungal growth and odor.  

Conclusion 

Smelly shoes are annoying—but they’re fixable. By using remedies like baking soda, vinegar, essential oils, and sunlight, you can easily remove odor from shoes. Even better, adopting good foot hygiene and drying habits prevents the smell from returning.

Next time you wonder “what to do about stinky shoes?”—try these methods and keep your favorite pairs fresh and long-lasting.

FAQs About Shoe Smell Removal

1. What is the best way to get smell out of shoes?

The most effective method is using baking soda overnight. It absorbs moisture and odor quickly.

2. How can I remove shoe odor instantly?

Use a bar of soap, dryer sheets, or a deodorizing spray for quick freshness.

3. Can I wash shoes in the washing machine to remove odor?

Yes, for machine-washable sneakers. But avoid washing leather or suede shoes this way.

4. Does freezing shoes remove bad odor?

Yes. Freezing kills odor-causing bacteria, but always air-dry shoes afterward.

5. How do I stop my shoes from smelling permanently?

Maintain foot hygiene, wear socks, rotate shoes, and let them dry fully between uses.

6. What should I do if my shoes still smell after cleaning?

Replace the insoles or try a stronger antibacterial solution like vinegar + essential oils.

7. Which type of shoes smell less?

Breathable shoes like leather, mesh sneakers, or natural fibers usually trap less odor.

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