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Whether you’re an enthusiastic hiker or love the look and feel of ankle-high fashion-first footwear, boots are a crucial part of the modern wardrobe. Practical and stylish in equal measure, boots come in all shapes and designs. But they all have one thing in common. If you’re not careful, they quickly develop unpleasant odors. While all footwear is prone to these bad smells, boots can be particularly problematic. Fortunately, there are many ways to eliminate and prevent that funky foot smell from tarnishing your favorite pair of boots.
This article explores the most common causes of boot odor, discusses the science behind smelly footwear, and provides a wide range of effective ways to get rid of odor in boots. From little-known household remedies to Polygiene’s cutting-edge antibacterial odor control, these top tips and tried and tested techniques will make smelly boots a thing of the past.
If your boots already have an odor, don’t worry—there are several effective ways to eliminate the smell:
Sprinkling baking soda in stinky hiking boots is one of the simplest and most effective ways of removing unpleasant odors from footwear. Leave it overnight to allow the soda to work its magic, absorb moisture, and neutralize any odors. Clean out the baking soda in the morning, and you should be ready to go.
White vinegar is another effective way to get rid of bad smells in boots. Simply mix equal parts of white vinegar and water in a spray bottle and apply to the inside of your smelly hiking boots. This will get to work on existing smells while nullifying bacteria and keeping the unpleasant odors at bay for a short while.
Activated charcoal bags are an effective anti-odor measure used in conjunction with a wide variety of textiles. Crucially, they can also be applied to smelly boots. They usually come in small bags that can be left in the boot to absorb odors and moisture overnight.
Bacteria can also subsist in moderate temperatures. Both high and low temperatures kill the odor-causing bacteria and prevent them from creating bad smells. Consequently, you can put your boots in a plastic bag and store them in the freezer overnight. This should get rid of the worst of the smell.
If your insoles have become so stale that it’s almost impossible to remove the smell from your boots, replacing them with new insoles can be an effective way to refresh your boots and deal with the odors.
You can also purchase anti-odor spray to deal with bad smells. We recommend checking out the excellent Storm x Polygiene OdorCrunch Spray, which features our highly effective Polygiene OdorCrunch™ solution.
Of course, washing your stinky boots is also a great way to eliminate unpleasant odors and restore them to a relatively fresh state. Some boots are machine washable, so you can just throw them in the machine. Others may require handwashing, which is a little more labor-intensive.
Our final recommendation on removing bad smells from boots is to put a few drops of tea tree or lavender oil inside each boot. This will introduce a lovely scent and help combat bacteria. Many essential oils feature antibacterial qualities that make them an effective anti-odor technology.
While removing unpleasant odors in boots is often necessary, preventing them is by far the better option. Here are our most effective preventative strategies.
Maintenance begins as soon as you arrive home after using your books. If necessary, give them a good clean to remove the worst muck and grime. But the most important thing to do is air them out. This will help them dry and ensure the bacteria don’t have the moisture they need to spread.
Our innovative Polygiene OdorCrunch solution tackles environmental smells, such as body odor, by breaking down stinky molecules. This is particularly important in the context of stinky boots because Polygiene OdorCrunch tackles many of the VOCs responsible for the worst smells.
Though it’s not always possible, we recommend rotating your footwear to avoid wearing the same pair day in and day out. This gives the boots time to dry out and for any smells that might be forming to dissipate.
Foot powder is a great way to keep feet dry, limit bacterial growth and prevent smelly boots. While you can buy standard foot powder, which is designed to keep feet dry, you can also purchase specialist powders that treat specific fungal conditions.
The way you store your boots also impacts the extent to which bacteria can grow and proliferate. Keeping your boots in a cool, dry place and avoiding high-humidity environments with limited ventilation will prevent smells from forming.
Antibacterial odor control additives are the most effective way of preventing smells in your shoes. Polygiene StayFresh is integrated into textiles at the point of manufacture and provides 24/7 antibacterial protection.
While you can purchase Polygiene-treated boots that feature our odor control technology in the footwear’s textile components, you can also introduce it into your regular pair of boots by purchasing Polygiene-treated insoles. You can slip these into your existing pair of boots and enjoy all the benefits of Polygiene antibacterial protection without purchasing new footwear.
Keeping your feet clean, dry, and well looked after will prevent bad bacterial smells in your boots. Even simple things like regularly trimming your nails can have a significant impact. While this may be difficult in some instances, such as on multi-day hikes, it is incredibly important.
Polygiene StayFresh isn’t a footwear-specific technology. Manufacturers can incorporate it into any textile. For instance, several brands integrate it into socks. Used in conjunction with Polygiene-treated boots or insoles, it offers outstanding odor protection.
While several factors produce unpleasant odors in boots, bacteria is by far and away the single biggest culprit. Bacteria thrive in warm and moist conditions, and boots provide precisely that. When your feet sweat, the moisture gets trapped, and the heat generated also contributes to your boots becoming an ideal breeding ground for microbes. As the microorganisms feed on and break down the sweat and skin cells in the boot, they produce the unpleasant odors associated with stinky boots.
Consequently, bad boot smells are made worse by:
It’s also important to recognize that the type of boot and how you use it will significantly impact unpleasant odors. For instance, heavy-duty work or hiking boots are usually worn for extended periods in tough conditions and all weather. Generally, this leads to the accumulation of more sweat, dirt, and grime. As we already know, this means bacteria will proliferate. In contrast, boots designed for casual or streetwear are typically used less intensively and will often stay fresh for a little longer. Frequency of use will also influence the extent to which smells accumulate.
Though it tends to depend on the specifics of the design, boots are generally more prone to bad smells than shoes. This is largely because boots enclose more of the foot than low-cut shoes and extend higher up the ankle and calf. The higher cut limits ventilation and creates an environment where bacteria and fungi grow more quickly and freely. Similarly, the fact that boots are often worn for longer periods and for activities that involve greater exertion further compounds the issues.
The materials utilized for constructing boots are also crucial. Many modern boots incorporate breathable materials that enhance ventilation and enable moisture to evaporate more freely. However, it’s also true that more breathable materials are used in conjunction with synthetic fabrics that retain moisture. Unlike sneakers, which often feature light mesh sections to improve airflow, boots cannot incorporate weak or easily damaged sections, resulting in hotter, damper feet.
We’ve established that odor-causing bacteria thrive in warm and wet environments. But what’s the science behind that process, and what can that tell us about possible solutions to the problem?
The feet feature one of the highest densities of sweat glands anywhere on the body and produce a significant amount of moisture every day. As the feet sweat, they also shed dead skin cells. While sweat largely consists of salt and water, it also includes organic compounds like proteins, fatty acids, and lipids. These nutrient-rich substances provide bacteria and other microorganisms with all the sustenance they need to proliferate.
As the bacteria feed on these organic compounds, they break them down and produce a large number of by-products.
Some by-products released as part of the bacterial metabolization process are known as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). These VOCs are responsible for many of the unpleasant odors that form in our footwear. If you can smell a cheesy odor, there’s a good chance it’s the isovaleric VOC. If you’re getting a rotten egg stink, you’re probably smelling sulfur VOCs.
The various parts of the boot respond to conditions in different ways and pose distinct challenges.
Polygiene StayFresh solution uses silver ion technology to target bacteria and prevent growth. It does so in three distinct ways:
Polygiene StayFresh is entirely skin-safe and has been extensively tested and approved for skin-adjacent textiles. As an additive technology, manufacturers integrate it into textiles during the manufacturing process. This is quick, easy, and relatively straightforward. Once in the fabric, Polygiene StayFresh provides around-the-clock protection for an extended period.
Polygiene OdorCrunch leverages the power of natural silica particles to capture the odors that attach themselves to fabric fibers. The solution consists of 95% filtered river water and 5% modified silica sand particles and works by attracting oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur molecules, absorbing them, and then “crunching” them so they lose their potency and the smell is permanently eliminated.
Learn more about Polygiene StayFresh.
Learn more about Polygiene OdorCrunch.
