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

[Litening]

Sometimes the funk is really strong and you have to do a rinse-repeat strategy.

First time I cleaned my VFF's it was 2 months of wear. Super stinky. So I did the efferdent soak once, and washed it in the washer with regular soap. Clean, but still a little stinky. So I did the efferdent thing again, but doubled the dose. LEft it overnight. Then did it again the next night. Dropped it in the washer the next day, and it was relatively funkless.

Now, every 2 weeks I soak it in efferdent for about 3 hours, then throw it in the washer. IT doesn't smell bad anymore. The first time you clean it, you have to soak and rinse and repeat a few times before getting the funk out.

[PatrickGSR94]

I'm wondering why my feet stink SOOOO much more after wearing VFF's, even with socks, than they do with my other regular shoes?

[JustinB]

I'm wondering why my feet stink SOOOO much more after wearing VFF's, even with socks, than they do with my other regular shoes?

Other shoes are a single compartment, there is areas of the shoe that are not filled by your foot, the flat bottom is designed to fit a wider variety of foot so you will have a small crease of air right where the footbed meets the wall.  You also have gaps of air all around your toes.  Because of this, you have more fresh air and better airflow throughout the shoe. 

[MiscJames]

I know everyone has their ways of cleaning the funk out of the VFFs.

The funk is caused by bacteria build up over time. So the best way I have found to clean them is to use "Soft Soap anti-bacterial hand wash" (yup the kind you wash your hands with) and wash them in the sink with a tooth brush and warm water, then hang them up to dry. The antibacterial kills the odor causing bacteria and the soap cleans them. The added bonus is that you can pick a scented soap if you have certain scent you prefer. I hope this helps someone.

[vice69]

I know everyone has their ways of cleaning the funk out of the VFFs.

The funk is caused by bacteria build up over time. So the best way I have found to clean them is to use "Soft Soap anti-bacterial hand wash" (yup the kind you wash your hands with) and wash them in the sink with a tooth brush and warm water, then hang them up to dry. The antibacterial kills the odor causing bacteria and the soap cleans them. The added bonus is that you can pick a scented soap if you have certain scent you prefer. I hope this helps someone.

o.m.g.    talk about getting slapped across the face with occam's razor.

how have the results been for you depending on levels of funk?

[BearFooted]

I have been testing Rank Away for awhile now.  It is made to combat odor in minimalist footwear.  It has some odor/bacteria neutralizing enzymes along with an anti-fungal agent.  It works really well and I really like it.  Expect a short write up soon.  It will be available in January I think. 

http://www.mcnett.com/Rank-Away-Odor-Eliminator-for-Minimalist-Footwear-P412.aspx

[MiscJames]

Well for me and my wife’s VFFs we are funk free. Ever since I started washing them this way I have not had a funk problem at all. They actually smell fresh. And I wear my KSO’s all the time even to work. I have pretty much ditched all my other shoes. I even got a pair of black Treks to wear to church. 

[valyn85]

I know for a fact that VFF's are the same as boating shoes in the respect that you should have clean feet as often as possible before putting them on.  Also, if the anti-microbial in the ff's is the same as most boating shoes then it works best if you spray them out and then let them dry in the sun, but I don't know if the material is the same.  None of my shoes including work boots and combat boots retain anything more than a normal foot smell after they air out.  Sorry, but some people just have smelly feet.  My buddy has this issue, he's been to the doctor and has had pedicures done to no avail.  We asked him to either bag his boots at night or leave them outside, this may just be a case of bad luck in the smelly feet department for some people and nothing to do with VFF's.

[jayesel]

I also wash mine with anti-bacterial soap. Usually bar soap but the liquid doesn't leave any residue. I came to the same conclusion as MiscJames and started washing them with it for the same reason.

I did notice that my black pair didn't need washing as much as my grey pair. That could be because I ran in the black pair more and usually in rain which seemed to neutralize any smell as long as I took them off as soon as I finished running.

[RunningTim]

I washed mine with anti-bacterial hand wash (Dettol's hand wash for any Aussies out there) and they smell good as new.

[shadowfax_c11]

I just toss mine into the laundry a couple of times a week. Generally they don't smell much except for after that time I went walking in a local creek. That was when I finally understood what all of the talk about stinky shoes was about. 

[klanger]

You could try nanosilver, also called colloidal silver https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colloidal_silver or nanogold/copper etc (nano/colloidal silver is most know and cheap). Nano particles size should be below 20nm.


 

[chronin]

I have been testing Rank Away for awhile now.  It is made to combat odor in minimalist footwear.  It has some odor/bacteria neutralizing enzymes along with an anti-fungal agent.  It works really well and I really like it.  Expect a short write up soon.  It will be available in January I think. 

http://www.mcnett.com/Rank-Away-Odor-Eliminator-for-Minimalist-Footwear-P412.aspx

My wife used this to finally get rid of the funk she had in her Bikilas. After soaking them that one time, they are great. It's been several months and she only has to wash them with the laundry once in awhile and they stay fresh, like when she first got them. After trying everything we could think of, this is the only product that worked. How has it worked for you?

[AMD64Blondie]

Thanks for the tip about Rank Away.I'm sure I'll get many stink-free days out of one bottle.

[BlackFoxSees]

I recently destunk my KSO's with great success, but I guess they weren't rank by VFF standards. I had to put my face a foot or two away from them before I noticed the nasty smell. I put them in the wash a few times a month, which I decided was an important first line of defense.

For The Great Cleaning I put them in a shallow tub with water and four efferdent tablets overnight. The next day I used an old toothbrush and antibacterial hand soap to scrub the footbed before putting them in the washing machine again. Once they were dry they no longer had any distinguishable smell!

I think the soap scrub might have been the most important step. When I was scrubbing I actually noticed the color of the footbed changing.

I tried to instruct my girlfriend in this method to combat the overpowering stink of her Seeyas, but not with much success. On the first try she soaked them and then just let them dry without a wash cycle. Under my supervision we soaked them overnight and sent them through the wash, which I thought would do the trick, but they still stank. I'm definitely going to try to convince her to grve it a third try and include the soap scrub.