Yeah VFFs are funky...but sometimes not in the good way

[Adam C]

I'll have to try the clorox greenworks.  I do have a bottle at home and never thought to use it for gunk/cheese build up.  Hopefully this will work as my girlfriend is tired of my smelly feat!

[balsam0]

This is what I do.  Wash once a week and if they smell bad enough Febreze them when not in use.  I typically do this before I go to sleep at night.  It isn't 100% effective but it seems to keep the smell to a minimum.

[iamcam]

I'm trying greenworks tonight to get mine fresh

let me just add, my classics were awful smelling and my feet came out smelling like them and I sprayed febreeze fabric refresher in them one night and let them dry and it made a world of difference. Didn't completely get rid of the smell, but the bottoms are still dirty and they smell a world better. So for short term solutions, maybe look into that if you're interested.

[iamcam]

it seems that the clorox greenworks has done something to my VFF's, I'm going to wait and see if it clears up after they dry. Stay tuned for details

[tmtx]

Sink the stink is what everyone seems to use on scuba equipment when it gets rank.  Safe for neoprene so I'd assume safe for all the synthetics on VFFs.  As I don't have any though I'm using BioKleen's Bac Out.  Normally for pet stains but it seems to work well on my VFFs.  Same concept as Sink the Stink, basically an enzymatic cleaner that kills all the odor causing bacteria.  I'll second the oxyclean routine as well for staining on the footbeds, lifts them right out and leaves them feeling fine.  Just make a bit of a paste, rub in and wash out.

[Hawkeye]

Mizayme is along the same concept, but I don't think it works to get the funk out. I might try the pet stain/odor remover stuff. I have this stain cleaner called Incredible or something like that (plain cylindrical white squeeze bottle with red/blue diagonal stripes) and it works well on stains and pet odor, so why not foot odor?

It's time to wash the VFFS and it's not fun washing 5 pairs at once by hand. 

[aws140]

I think the best way I've found is with the homemade oxiclean.

Because I am making it myself, on the spot, I can adjust the amount of each of the two components for whatever I need it for. In this case, I use a good amount of baking soda and just enough hydrogen peroxide to make a sort of wet sand-feeling paste. This is a great scrubbing agent and gets the dirt and grime out of the soles very easily. I typically scrub, then let them soak in the oxi-solution for a bit, then rinse with extremely hot water.

If they're really bad, like my classics get sometimes, I have to scrub more than once, however this is usually good for KSO's.

At some point I want to try adding a bit of white vinegar to the mix--the mild acid and reaction with the baking soda might be enough so that I don't have to scrub at all.

Stay tuned. 


Richard

I used this method with great results. I made a bath with baking soda and peroxide to soak my KSO and Sprints in for a few hours. After they dried they smelled brand new.

[tmtx]

Small cross posting, any Trek owners had to wash theirs yet?  I chose the KSOs over the Treks just because I know I can wash my KSOs when they get funky.  Do the Treks need washing as frequently?  Or if you've washed them, the results?

[iamcam]

Small cross posting, any Trek owners had to wash theirs yet?  I chose the KSOs over the Treks just because I know I can wash my KSOs when they get funky.  Do the Treks need washing as frequently?  Or if you've washed them, the results?

I haven't washed my Treks, haven't had to. They keep away the funk much better

[Charles T]

I've done 3 summers in KSo's and have only used Dr Bronners Tea tree oil soap to soak and hand wash them like once per week with very,very minimal smell,unlike when I treated them with some odor eater spray crap that funked them up for a while and seemed to leave a coating on my foot until I could wash all of it out.

[IRunTrails]

I have a similar problem with the technical fabrics found in a lot of running clothes. I've been using Penguin Apparel Care's Sport Wash detergent. It's supposed to restore the wicking properties of the fabrics (don't know if it does or doesn't really) and it also gets rid of the funky odors. I just wash my VFFs with the rest of my running gear and that takes care of much, if not all of the smell. I let them air dry after a normal trip through the washer. Useage-wise, I wear my Classics as an everyday shoe when there isn't snow on the ground, and I run on grass a couple of times a week in my Sprints. I run trails a lot, so I've got a pair of Treks on order.

[ElGiganteJake]

ZorbX is awesome.  I spray them down and let them air dry once a week.  Greatest invention ever

[WasabiMommi]

Has anyone tried soaking them in vinegar? I make and use cloth diapers and menstrual pads which can get kinda funky. So, we soak them in plain ol' white vinegar. Stains and smells are lifted! I wonder, why wouldn't it work with these??

[ThaiGreenTea]

Have we come to any conclusions regarding what the best way to defeat the Funk is?

Or are we still experimenting?

[xz123]

Has anyone tried soaking them in vinegar? I make and use cloth diapers and menstrual pads which can get kinda funky. So, we soak them in plain ol' white vinegar. Stains and smells are lifted! I wonder, why wouldn't it work with these??

I do. My washing routine is basically as follows:

- Soak them in vinegar for ~ 15 mins.
- rinse
- Soak them in water with several effervescent denture tablets for ~ 15 mins
- rinse
- wash them with normal washing stuff
- rinse
- stuff with paper
- let them dry

It's still not perfect (a few days in warm weather sans socks and they get quite smelly again), but sufficient for now.
Next I'll be experimenting with the selfmade Oxi-stuff.