A "cure" for smelly soccer cleats?

[MaryAnnDVC]

*GAG*

DS played in a rainstorm about 3 weeks ago, and we've been suffering with the horrendous odor since (in the car...we don't let them in the house anymore...just the garage).

I'm going to try filling socks with baking soda and inserting them into the shoes, but I thought I'd ask the knowledgeable DIS if anyone has other suggestions, so I have a plan "B" just in case. Just went to a weekend tournament, and I'm emptying out the car now for a major Febrezing.

Febreze barely helps the shoes tho.

These are fairly new Adidas Tunits, so we won't be replacing them anytime soon, unfortunately.

 

[Serena]

trash

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Adidas Tunits

Expensive!

 

[Serena]

I bet. Sorry, that was as close to a cure as I could get.

If it's sunny there I'd leave them in the sun for a while to air out. Maybe that'll help.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I don't know but here is a site dedicated to soccer shoes. Perhaps you will find something there.
http://www.footy-boots.com/category/football-boot-care/

 

[ducklite]

My guess is they got moldy. The best way to kill mold is with dry heat.

Anne

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Thanks for the link, Mystery Machine.

My guess is they got moldy. The best way to kill mold is with dry heat.

Anne

6. Allow the football boots to dry in a natural heat.
Warning: Drying the boots with heat can cause the football boots to become stiff and the adhesives can deteriorate. Stiff boots are far more likely to rip and are weak. Deteriorated adhesives can make joints weak, such as the join between the upper and the sole plate. Additionally, heat drying your football boots can cause your soleplate to warp.

He should be pretty much done with soccer next weekend, for a relatively long period of time (till we get the next phone call about a tournament ), so I'm going to have him take them apart and see what we can do...maybe clean the "parts" separately, or otherwise deal with them.

 

[ZPT1022]

you could try stuffing them full of dryer sheets and leaving them outside (covered porch maybe??). DH works as a receiving manager and is frequently out in the rain, snow, etc...... and his shoes smell like it too. Dryer sheets help.

 

[tnhillbilly]

take 2 socks and fill them with cat litter to fit into the shoes, put the socks in the shoes, put them in the sun. and leave them a few days then check them.

 

[mommasita]

Garbage..Only way...

 

[debster812]

I feel your pain. I think we were playing that same rainy weekend.....

DS is still only in U10, and we got him 2 cheaper pairs of cleats, so he's been rotating. The ones he wore in the rain have been Frebrezed within an inch of their lives, and I've used nearly 2 full boxes each of Baking Soda trying to help.

I'm going to also leave them out on the deck when we have a few sunny, dry days in a row, to see if the fresh air and sunshine help.

 

[LucyStorm]

Y'all might also try stuffing them with newspaper and sitting in that nice sunny spot. For whatever reason, it always seemed to work when my daughter was playing.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Garbage..Only way...

$150...no way! Not without at least trying all of the above!

Thanks for all the suggestions...I'll be trying them ALL. Starting a week from tomorrow, he MIGHT have a FULL WEEK of no soccer so we can really work on it.

We've never had this happen to this extent with cheap cleats. I'm wondering if it's the structure of these...they come in 3 sections...the upper, the insoles and the studs...all can be purchased separately. The uppers have holes in them; you put the insoles in, and then screw the studs into the insoles throught the uppers' holes. If we have to replace anything, I hope it's just the upper OR the insoles (the insoles alone are $60!). I'm just wondering if the area between the insoles and the bottom of the uppers is the biggest culprit.

I've smelled quite a few smelly soccer shoes and shinguards over the years, but this odor is truly unique and horrendous.

 

[RangerPooh]

I wish that I had some of these ideas back when I wa sin high school. My brother and I had our soccer seasons from Nov-Feb so our cleats were always NASTY! Plenty of mud and funk to go around. We would usually just wash/dry ours hoping to kill most of the funk. Whatever wasn't killed then we would spray air freshener or let vent in a dry place. But our cleats were only in the $60 range and would be usually disposed at the end of the season (mine were using in field hockey season too).

 

[padams]

I tried the dryer, dryer sheets, sunshine, Lysol, and probably more to save DS's $150 Nike Ronaldinho soccer cleats last year from that horrendous moldy smell. I gave up and threw them away. I figured that DS would outgrow them soon anyway.

He's on his 3rd pair of Ronaldinhos in a year. I justify the price by the fact that he loves them, and I'd probably spend much more overall on shoes if we had had daughters instead of sons.

Hoping for others to give successful ideas, as I am sure we'll go through this issue again. I'll definitely try the newspapers next time- that's a new one for me.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Padams, can you take those apart...take off the studs, and take out the insole? I'm really hoping that taking them apart and dealing with the upper and insoles separately will help...somehow.

This is the first time I've hoped he outgrows his shoes soon.

Oh...and I have the daughters too...18 & 16. Proms...dresses, shoes, manicures, hairdo's, jewelry, etc. DS...8th grade dance last night...showered.