Getting Rid of the Smell?
Wednesday, February 24, 2010 at 10:35AM Chris emailed me regarding a problem that many VFFers have raised:
I've had five Fingers for a few months and have loved running in them. But I find that mine have a really bad smell now. I've washed them a couple times but it never really goes away.
I was wondering, since you're wearing them all the time, have you had any success with getting rid of the smell?
Smell has definitely been an issue for me. Regular washing machine visits have kept the stench to a minimum, but I'm with Chris on this one, it doesn't go away altogether. And without a washing machine over the last week of vacation, the problem became blatantly apparent. I had to get a little creative with a solution.
While in Hawaii I shared accommodations with my wife and our neighbors, two of whom had super-sensitive, 'pregnant woman' noses. Yep, not a good set up for foot odor, and morning runs accompanied with all-day walking provided plenty of opportunity for sweating up my KSOs and Flows. Hand washing my FiveFingers with soap was my first attempt at reducing the fetor. Trying to get my feet up into the small basin after washing my shoes, however, almost landed me on my backside a couple of times. I tried a foot powder twice, but the powder became gray mush after my feet began sweating early in the day. I finally gave in to a far more simple way to wash both my VFF and my feet. I just wore them into the shower. Of course I would take them off to get them as well scrubbed out as I could.
Because I had only two pairs of FiveFingers, it was a bit of a juggling act to keep both pair smelling flowery fresh. I ended up wearing damp shoes most of the trip, and the dampness aided in bacteria growth increasing the smell potency. Whodda thunk? I was planning on purchasing a pair of Classics at Oahu's Almost Barefeet, but that plan didn't work out as I hoped (a story for another post). I just kept washing and looking for ways to speed up the drying process. In the end I was lucky that we spent most of our time outside where the smell could get lost in the market or ocean breeze. When back at the hotel, I would hide my shoes near an open window and pray I wouldn't be evicted.
I've read of other options for getting rid of VFF smells. Sprays such as Oxi-Clean, Fabreze, GreenWorks, and ZorbX have worked for some. Others have used Tea Tree Oil soap for hand washing their FiveFingers. Their are lots of synthetic fabric friendly soaps available to try. One option that I will attempt this week is a homemade scrub/paste of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. I'll let you know how it goes.
Please comment below on any successful reek remedies you have. Even you can help the world be a better place one whiff at a time.
Also check out this forum on the topic of FiveFinger Foot Funk.
Reader Comments (5)
I have been running in KSOs for almost a year and this is how I handle the smell. After each run I spray a disinfectant spray into my KSOs. Once a month or so I throw them in the washer with a little detergent and a small amount of bleach and run them through the gentle cycle. The bleach is key and does not seem to have had any negative effects on my black KSOs.
At first I used Lysol but the scent is too strong and builds up each time you use it creating a different odor problem :-) I switched to a product called Oust that I found at CVS Pharmacy and it has worked much better. Better still might be they kind of spray they use at bowling alleys, which I believe to be unscented.
At any rate, the spray really helps with the smell and dries quickly.
I hope that helps!
Vibram FiveFingers posted this on Facebook:
"Vibram FiveFingers: Smelly FiveFingers? It happens to the best of us. The VFF Team recommends trying Efferdent tablets (made for dentures http://www.efferdent.com/). Take the Efferdent tablets, drop them in a bucket of water with your FiveFingers, and the stink usually bubbles away. Your friends will thank you. I haven't tried this, as I just threw them in the wash with a double helping of soap, and am in the proccess of exchanging them.
White distilled vinegar. You can get it cheap in large quantities at your local grocery store. Mix it at about a 1 to 4 ratio with water and let it sit in the sink or a bucket over night. Throw them in the washing machine to get rid of the vinegar smell and then let them dry out.
A more spendy option is to use a sports detergent specifically aimed towards "technical" gear, like shirts or shorts made of fabric with wicking properties.
When I first emailed you about the smelly FiveFingers I had tried washing them in a top loading washing machine. I used a little laundry detergent and it never really got the smell out. Today I used a front loading, high efficiency washer and in about 35 minutes, they came out almost completely dry and barely had a smell to them at all! Thought others might like to know what I found and use it along with what you found with the Efferdent.
I go Barefoot in my shoes and wow the smell is still there yikes. then again I constantly wash my shoes and inside and use lysol and other fragrances to kill any smell that may linger.