How To Stop Your Shoes From Smelling For $1.29

This is certainly a first for me. As you may know, the topics I usually cover here range from mens skin care products to grooming tips and tricks. I'm not really sure how the following "tip" fits into the aforementioned categories, but I came across this little nugget and felt it certainly had to be shared.

FACT 1: First let me make one thing perfectly clear .. my feet don't smell. Ok, maybe I'm in denial and should more accurately state that they don't smell any worse than anyone else's. Keep in mind that we all know some people whose feet really stink...even when they are wearing shoes, but if there were a "bell curve" of "feet stinkiness", I'd be on the right side of the chart.

FACT 2: As I get a bit older, I find that I like to wear some sneakers and shoes without socks, which brings me to how I came to find out the little "secret" that I am about to reveal. A few weeks ago, I bought a really comfortable pair of sneakers. I wore them  one Saturday and when I took them off they actually stunk pretty badly ... while my feet didn't. Like the "new car" smell I love so dearly, the "new shoe" smell is pretty high on my list, so the fact that these new sneakers smelled just wasn't acceptable.

FACT 3: That smell is caused by bacteria left in your shoe when your feet sweat (and yes ... EVERYONE'S  feet do sweat to some degree). Wearing a sock helps combat this, but when you go "sans" sock, you are asking for ill-smelling shoes.

THE SOLUTION: After doing hours of "research" and trying many different "anti-shoe smelling" techniques ... here are the steps involved in my cost-friendly, highly effective, recommendation: 

1. Buy a small box of baking soda.
2. Mix some of the said baking soda in a small bowl with water to create a thick, yet spreadable past. 
3. Remove the insoles of the offending shoes. Proceed to 'smear" the baking soda paste all over the surface of the insole where your foot comes in contact with it. The insole is usually the main cause of the smell as that's where much of the odor-causing bacteria can be found.
4. Leave the insoles out of the shoes to let the baking soda paste thoroughly dry. I recommend overnight.
5. Once dry, simply brush off the paste over a sink or garage can until it is completely gone.
6. Take a whiff....and "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh" ...the problem should be greatly reduced or eliminated.

Finally, a few things to keep in mind: If your insoles aren't removable, you can still do this but be extra careful spreading the paste only on the insole. It will also proabably take a little more time to dry. The other thing to note is that you don't want the paste to be watery...as that can cause a little staining of the color of the insole. Make sure to try it on a small area of the insole first if you are concerned about this.

That's it ... a simple, safe, and cost effective way of keeping your shoes, and everyone around them, happy.