[Bobling]

OK so my shoes are now about seven years old and have gone past 'a bit whiffy' to NBC hazard.  Anyone got any good techniques for making them less smelly?  Have tried the shoe deoderizer machine at my local wall which works for about a session but then they just return to their normal repellant bouquet...I could buy another pair but a) I am skint and b) they are really comfy.

[SA Chris]

I have heard of using tea tree oil, as well as leaving them in the freezer to kill off bacteria.
 
Get in the habit of not leaving them in the bottom of the rucksack when not in use, but somewhere where some air and sunlight can get to them, so they dry out properly and don't fester in the dark.

No idea if any of this works, mine really pen and ink, but not had a pair last 7 years.

Or just wear socks!

[Drew]

I'd agree with Chris, and add:

Take them to the Works (if you are a Sheffieldite), and get them to chuck them in the anti-whiff thing. It actually kills the bacteria. They'll still smell musty, but not rancid!
Retire them.

[stom]

After a years worth of use my Dragons had taken on a life of their own.  I ended up soaking them in a bucket of water for a couple of days - changing the water each day, i then scrubbed the insides of them out with plain normal soap.  They now smell fresh as a daisy!

Take them to the Works (if you are a Sheffieldite), and get them to chuck them in the anti-whiff thing. It actually kills the bacteria. They'll still smell musty, but not rancid!
Retire them.

This didnt work for me, my boots were just as bad after and I felt really sorry for the poor girl on reception having to handle the boots!

[Durbs]

leaving them in the freezer to kill off bacteria.

On a technicallity, freezing doesn't kill bacteria, it just stops them breeding...

Bi-carbonate of soda is commonly used for odour control, as is vinegar - works on cat-piss stained carpets... White-wine vinegar, then bi-carb. Fizzy wonderment.

Though adding condiments to shoes strikes me as odd

[Eddies]

Peg em out on your washing line in the sun for a day or two, that will sort em out.
Then gather all the dried up toe-jam from inside and roll yourself a joint out of it... proper good sheet man!

[Bobling]

After a years worth of use my Dragons had taken on a life of their own.  I ended up soaking them in a bucket of water for a couple of days - changing the water each day, i then scrubbed the insides of them out with plain normal soap.  They now smell fresh as a daisy!

Take them to the Works (if you are a Sheffieldite), and get them to chuck them in the anti-whiff thing. It actually kills the bacteria. They'll still smell musty, but not rancid!
Retire them.

This didnt work for me, my boots were just as bad after and I felt really sorry for the poor girl on reception having to handle the boots

I think this may be the way forward, agreed about the deoderiser thing (I am guessing it is the same as the one at TCA here in Brizzle) slightly effective for a wee while but not in the long term.

[andy_e]

Peg em out on your washing line in the sun for a day or two, that will sort em out.
Then gather all the dried up toe-jam from inside and roll yourself a joint out of it... proper good sheet man!

Surely this only works if you smoke so much that you sweat pure THC? Interesting idea though, I'm nearly out...

[Bobling]

So I tried the following - soaking them in cold water with a couple of caps of Milton sterilising fluid thrown in.  After 24 hours they looked like this:

http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww147/bobling-2009/2009_07_25039.jpg

I think they might have been a bit dirty.  The good news is that after a bouldering session yesterday I could actually a) Take them off within sight of another human without him keeling over and b) Drive home with them in my bag on the back seat without having to have all the windows open.

So there you have it: Bogging Boots + cold water + Milton = Less Bogging Boots.

[Jim]

leaving them in the freezer to kill off bacteria.

On a technicallity, freezing doesn't kill bacteria, it just stops them breeding...

was going to post this, freezing just slows them down to nearly a standstill, only way to kill them through temperature is to heat to 96 degrees or above

[SA Chris]

http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww147/bobling-2009/2009_07_25039.jpg

bad thing is, you could have probably tipped that water out, filled it with clean and left it another 24 hours and got the same result. You could then distil it by boiling off water to get a vial of concentrated ming.

[Bobling]

http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww147/bobling-2009/2009_07_25039.jpg

bad thing is, you could have probably tipped that water out, filled it with clean and left it another 24 hours and got the same result. You could then distil it by boiling off water to get a vial of concentrated ming.

The thing is my wife needed the washing up bowl back 

[BB]

Nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

[rodma]

On the freezer topic, when in hueco i left my shoes outside every night (except the two when snow as forecast) and it did make a massive difference, especially when wearing them for a good 4-5hours a day.

Where's the nose-holding emoticon ?