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

[thekooze]

I have stinky feet, no use in denying it.  I'm getting some KSOs slightly larger so i can wear socks with them and since my foot is inbetween a 43/44 or possibly a 44/45 in the KSO i think i'll benefit from a sock, though i think i might get a pair of classics later on and not use socks with them...  Thanks for the info on oxi-clean, i will be sure to try it.

[thekooze]

i wore my new KSOs yesterday for an hour or so just kind of meandering through my 'hood and there was a little funk in them.  Mind you these are brand new.  This morning though, they smelled like new shoes again.  I think maybe the Aegis coating/bonding takes time to work... but then again, i'm no chemist

[blemt]

I live in a very hot climate, so funky VFF is an issue. I've found that a combination of Efferdent and a weekly washing with the rest of my clothing works perfect. I also make a point of washing my VFF with my gym gear and using a special detergent called WIN which is designed for stinky gym clothes.

So far, my VFF are still perfectly fine to wear around.

[Sablewings]

I've had my KSO's a month, and they are beginning to hum. (What really started them off was walking through dirty street water in London a few weeks back, and also wearing them in a communal shower in a backpackers hostel, then wearing them wet walking round the city....Yum yum...)

I've read through this entire thread, and while I'm sure Oxi-Clean is really good stuff, and WIN sports wear wash, too, neither of these are readily available in the UK sadly. So what can we use, this side of the big pond?

I saw that the Oxi-Clean product was a stain remover which also came in a powder, and checked out what was available at my local Tesco. I came away with "Vanish Oxi-action powder with antibacterial action."
This is the kind of stuff - in the hideously pink tubs - costs about £4.50 a tub.

http://www.britsuperstore.com/acatalog/Vanish_Oxi_Action_1Kg.jpg

Seeing as others seem to suggest it may be the bacteria in the shoe contributing to the stink, I picked the powder with "antibacterial action - kills 99.9% of germs."  I'm not normally a freak for hygiene, but I'm going for smell elimination here, so thought I'd give it a try.

I have just put 4 litres of hot water in a washing up bowl, added 1 scoop of Vanish powder, inserted shoes, and wearing gloves I scrubbed the buggers with a toothbrush, all inside and round the toe pockets, and in between the toes, as advised by others, and also round the inside of the footbed. I only left them to soak for about 15 - 20 mins, as am being cautious. The water went a minging brown....    I then rinsed them out thoroughly in the shower.

They are now hanging in front of a fan drying. Will give you an update on the smell factor tomorrow... or whenever they are properly dry!!!

Additionally I am also going to take the advice of getting some tea tree essential oil, and wiping my feet over with it whenever I wear my KSO's, with any luck that should discourage bacteria buildup, if not the muck!

ETA: I've just had a thought - would antibacterial hand gel (bought for the Swine Flu scare last year...) work on eliminating stinky foot KSO's? I've half a little bottle left, might be worth a try before I buy tea tree stuff...

[Yeti]

What has worked best for me has been to wash my feet thoroughly before wearing them. It is not always possible, but if you keep your feet clean, you will reduce the chance of getting funky VFFs.

[Sablewings]

What has worked best for me has been to wash my feet thoroughly before wearing them. It is not always possible, but if you keep your feet clean, you will reduce the chance of getting funky VFFs.

Yes, I bear that in mind, too. I think feet often get neglected and not washed properly, esp. when people shower.  I have a foot scrub brush with bristles soft enough to go between the toes, and use it whenever I have a bath, give my toes a proper soak and scrub.

[Rana]

ETA: I've just had a thought - would antibacterial hand gel (bought for the Swine Flu scare last year...) work on eliminating stinky foot KSO's? I've half a little bottle left, might be worth a try before I buy tea tree stuff...

I'd be careful with that - I've tried doing that with clothing that got "the funk" (looooong expedition, minimal soap, mold setting in, ugh) and it ended up permanently staining the fabric and fixing a fair amount of the funk in place.  Applying the gel to your feet, on the other hand, would help make your feet less stinky and less bacterial.

[dongadoy]

Thank you all who suggested Efferdent!

For the past year, my KSO cleaning regimen included soaking in vinegar every week or so. That worked; but some odor returned after a few days of use - not bad odor, just noticeable. But I tried Efferdent a couple of weeks ago and my KSOs are still smelling great! Now I'm kicking myself for not trying it when I first read about using Efferdent long ago.

[bouncey]

Excellent information in this thread!  Thanks everyone!

I've found that wearing Injinji socks in my KSOs helps a lot.  Not only does it bring skin cell residue back out of the shoe, but it also helps to soak up and remove a lot of the sweat.  No socks means inevitable odor, wearing socks means a lot less of it.

Another thing that helped was to take mine on vacation to Hawaii.  I wore them in the ocean to protect my feet from sharp bits of coral.  Between the repeated salty power washing and the volcanic sand that got inside, the funk was blasted away.

I'll try some of the other odor reduction methods that I've read about here.  My main problem is getting actual dirt out though.  If it's fine enough it slips through the mesh and embeds in the yellow foot bed.  Rinsing them out in the shower seems to help but takes a few tries if they got too muddy.

[Fwear]

Wearing them in the pool cured mine(for now).
I also use a toothbrush & a detergent/water mix to prewash the insides before tossing them in the wash, paying special attention to the toe pockets.
Be sure to fasten all velcro securely.

[Anderson]

Yes, for removing the dirt I also have used a toothbrush from time to time.  I followed the steps posted by others earlier in this thread, spraying OxyClean into the shoe, letting it sit a few, then scrubbing around with a soft toothbrush.  This has turned the dingy grays back to like-new yellow.  Then it's into the wash.  Once dry and between uses, a little spritz of Lysol. I'm not doing all of this too often...just when I perceive the growing need. 

It seems like there are many valid approaches, so I think the key is to make a little effort one way or another.  A little prevention beats a lot of compensation, etc.   The whole "keep your feet clean" step is helpful for obvious reasons.  After several months, I've caught the occassional warning sign, but have always managed to hit the "reset" back to clean smells.  *knock on wood*

[Go_Blue]

Something that I do for a little bit of preventative maintenance:

After wearing them, I spray an isopropyl alcohol/water mixture into the shoe and let them dry. I wash them when they start to get funky, but in between washings I always hit them with the rubbing alcohol mixture.  I've done this with my ice hockey equipment for years, and it keeps it perfectly neutral (and trust me, hockey gear can get deadly if not kept on top of).

[Dimon003]

I put my stinky VFFs in the freezer in a sealed plastic bag with baking soda and it orks! Thanks for the tip!

[ShowStealer]

I have a pair of KSO's, Speed's, and Bakila's. I wash them every week, sometimes two weeks, if I haven't really worn a particular pair much. In addition to whatever HE detergent I'm using at the moment, I toss in some oxyclean and my VFF's are always fresh and clean. If I notice a little funk in between washes I use a product called Grandma's Secret Wrinkle Remover, which is for wrinkles and odors.  It's made of water, inorganic salt, citric acid and a little fragrance. It leaves my VFF's fresh but not smelling like that laundry smell that you know is just covering the nasty smell underneath for the moment, and the I haven't had any issues with the solution irritating my skin, which is alway a concern for my very sensitive skin.

[Jacksonian]

I don't have conclusive results yet since it's early, but I'm trying a new experiment.  Usually I can wear my KSO's to the gym (plyo/cardio/weights) for about a week or two before they start to smell bad.  A normal wash and dry takes care of it.  But I recently bought the Crystal deodorant in a roll on form, it's natural mineral salts that prevent the bacterial growth.  So far it seems to be making a big difference.  I think most people have used the actual Crystal rock/stone deodorant, but this is the wet roll-on version, so I can just wet the bottom of my feet with it real good, rub 'em together and then stick them right in my KSOs.  Should be a good natural deodorant.