Malodorous Sneaker Solution?

[John Berens]

trale at aol.com (Trale) wrote:
>
> Does anyone have any suggestions for rendering foul smelling sneakers
> agreeable?  I have tried spraying them with high concentrations of
> cationic surfactants, chorinated hyrdocarbon solvents, a raft of
> commercial recipes, and adsorbent materials like activated charcoal,
> baking soda, and fumed silica.
> 
> The sneakers (Nike) will not survive a wash cycle and hand washing has not
> corrected the problem.
> 
> I remember reading that Dow Corning has some type of coating incorporating
> an antibacterial/fungal chemical backbone, but have never seen it on the
> commercial market.
> 
> At 60-70 bucks a pair, any (non flammable) suggestions gratefully
> accepted.  Thanks.


A method for killing yeasts in shoes, from Zimbabwe.  
(Yeasts are probably responsible for the smell.)

Soak a piece of cotton wool in an aqueous solution of formaldehyde (formalin).
Put the shoes and the wet cotton wool in a sealed plastic bag 
overnight.  Keep your feet clean and dry.  Use antifungal lotions on
your feet regularly...