Smelly Shoe Fix!
Honestly, we have real good hygiene habits in my house, I can assure you of that!
But, lets face it, living in paradise with 125% humidity can be a little trying sometimes ... my running shoes (which have NOT seen much running action for quite a while) get a little ripe smelling ... and oh man, you should smell the shoes that Hubby wears outside in the yard, patio, garage and boat that constantly get wet ... enough to suck the oxygen right out of your body ... whew!
Then you have the Boy ... who works out pretty darn hard and doesn't always wear socks, nor does the Princess ...
I mean, seriously, I've had to throw shoes away because you could smell them just sitting there. No one wants to be the person that people are wrinkling their nose at when they are walking by you!
So when I saw the featured post for the Smelly Shoe Solution (and dang, I'm still trying to find the original post because I had no need to bookmark it, such a simple fix!)
Yes. That's IT!
Ready to give this a try? I was!!
Go to the dollar store and go down the "beauty" aisle. Grab yourself a small squirt bottle ... currently they have these pretty blues, pinks, greens that are clear ... I grabbed a blue because blue makes me feel calm ... I buy ALL my squirt bottles at the dollar store ... they have a ton of different sizes and styles and I LOVE SQUIRT BOTTLES!
Then go to end of that aisle, and look for the hydrogen peroxide and the rubbing alcohol. Grab a bottle of rubbing alcohol.
Go check out, fork over your $2.12 (if you live in Florida with a 6% tax rate), and go home.
Once home, remove the label from the bottom of the spray bottle. Grab a Sharpe and write ALCOHOL on the bottle, nice and big. We don't want this to be mistaken for something else, say, like water!
Take sprayer top off, dump in the alcohol.
Put sprayer back on and give a few squirts to make sure its working as a SPRAY not a stream.
Step back from the fumes and remember how freakin potent alcohol is!
Grab shoes to be treated and step out on front steps or back door, whichever, just outside.
Hold shoes up, insole towards you and spritz each shoe 2 times (one up in toe area, other in heel area). Set shoes down (OUTSIDE) and come back in for 10 minutes.
After the 10 minute timer has sounded, go retrieve shoes. Apprehensively, give them a sniff test. Think to yourself, I need a better sniff than that and really give them a good smell.
SURPRISE! It works!!!! Princess has these really pretty blue canvas shoes that she loves but peeeeeweeeyyy, the smell! She was gone over the weekend so I spritzed them a few times ... when she got home, she wanted to know why her shoes were sitting outside? She picked them up, holding them away from her and stopped, sniffed them cautiously and said "HEY! They smell just like when they were new!" No joke, folks. This works!!
NOTE: Seriously, I thought I was going to pass out when I test sprayed the stuff in the kitchen sink ... whew, it was strong! That's why I suggest doing it outside!
But, lets face it, living in paradise with 125% humidity can be a little trying sometimes ... my running shoes (which have NOT seen much running action for quite a while) get a little ripe smelling ... and oh man, you should smell the shoes that Hubby wears outside in the yard, patio, garage and boat that constantly get wet ... enough to suck the oxygen right out of your body ... whew!
Then you have the Boy ... who works out pretty darn hard and doesn't always wear socks, nor does the Princess ...
I mean, seriously, I've had to throw shoes away because you could smell them just sitting there. No one wants to be the person that people are wrinkling their nose at when they are walking by you!
So when I saw the featured post for the Smelly Shoe Solution (and dang, I'm still trying to find the original post because I had no need to bookmark it, such a simple fix!)
Yes. That's IT!
Ready to give this a try? I was!!
Go to the dollar store and go down the "beauty" aisle. Grab yourself a small squirt bottle ... currently they have these pretty blues, pinks, greens that are clear ... I grabbed a blue because blue makes me feel calm ... I buy ALL my squirt bottles at the dollar store ... they have a ton of different sizes and styles and I LOVE SQUIRT BOTTLES!
Then go to end of that aisle, and look for the hydrogen peroxide and the rubbing alcohol. Grab a bottle of rubbing alcohol.
Go check out, fork over your $2.12 (if you live in Florida with a 6% tax rate), and go home.
Once home, remove the label from the bottom of the spray bottle. Grab a Sharpe and write ALCOHOL on the bottle, nice and big. We don't want this to be mistaken for something else, say, like water!
Take sprayer top off, dump in the alcohol.
Put sprayer back on and give a few squirts to make sure its working as a SPRAY not a stream.
Step back from the fumes and remember how freakin potent alcohol is!
Grab shoes to be treated and step out on front steps or back door, whichever, just outside.
Hold shoes up, insole towards you and spritz each shoe 2 times (one up in toe area, other in heel area). Set shoes down (OUTSIDE) and come back in for 10 minutes.
After the 10 minute timer has sounded, go retrieve shoes. Apprehensively, give them a sniff test. Think to yourself, I need a better sniff than that and really give them a good smell.
SURPRISE! It works!!!! Princess has these really pretty blue canvas shoes that she loves but peeeeeweeeyyy, the smell! She was gone over the weekend so I spritzed them a few times ... when she got home, she wanted to know why her shoes were sitting outside? She picked them up, holding them away from her and stopped, sniffed them cautiously and said "HEY! They smell just like when they were new!" No joke, folks. This works!!
NOTE: Seriously, I thought I was going to pass out when I test sprayed the stuff in the kitchen sink ... whew, it was strong! That's why I suggest doing it outside!
hmm if only i knew this when I was a kid. Oh wait i bet it would work on flip flops too!
ReplyDeleteI know!! I've had some nice sandals with leather insoles that would eventually just go bad and ended up tossing them ... wish I had known this!
DeleteYou are so much fun as a writer-LOL. Am a NYC resident and have been reading you daily (checking, anyway!) for a long time. Your posts really help with frugal changes here ;o).
ReplyDeletethanks Eliana!
DeleteWhat an easy solution! I've bought those little ball things that you stick in the shoes but they get lost so easily. With baseball season starting for my youngest son, I am going to have to remember this. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHonestly Jean, I am just amazed that this REALLY works ... the canvas shoes were the TRUE test as you could smell those things across the room ;-)
DeleteI love the idea, but I'm confused. You mentioned Hydrogen Peroxide and Alcohol - do you use both together, or only one? Thanks : )
ReplyDeleteOnly Alcohol. Its just next to the Hydrogen Peroxide in the store. #2yearslater
DeleteOnly Alcohol. Its just next to the Hydrogen Peroxide in the store. #2yearslater
DeleteIm not to amazed rubbing alchol & vinegar r the best cleaning agents ever. But I would never have thought of doing that so hats off to you
DeleteGreat idea! We too have some smelly shoes in our house (though we hate to admit it), will have to try this!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea and a quick fix. Shoes have been thrown away for smell here too! Thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I'll definitely be trying this with teenager's shoes in the very near future. ;) Found you at #BlogFair! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete~Candy
Thanks for the tip - I'm sure I'll need it when the kids get a bit older! Thanks for sharing with the #BlogFair, hope you can visit again this week.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this! Pinned and tweeted. Thank you so much for bringing such a masterpiece to our party. I hope to see you tomorrow at 7 pm. We can't wait to party with you! Lou Lou Girls
ReplyDeleteAny particular % of alcohol? I'd say 100% but not sure.
ReplyDeleteWhatever the normal alcohol is you can buy over the counter. The picture I share is 50%
DeleteOh my gosh! I'm doing this today! My son's feet are the WORST!
ReplyDelete