Smelly Shoe Problems? Here's How to Get Rid of Shoe Odor

There’s a lot to love about summer — but it doesn’t always smell good. If you’re walking for exercise or on your feet all day in hot weather, your shoes can easily wind up smelling kind of funky. Here’s how to get rid of shoe odor through summer and beyond.

What Causes Smelly Shoes?

Did you know that your feet contain over 250,000 sweat glands — that’s more sweat glands per inch than any other part of your body — and produce roughly half a pint of sweat per day? When all that sweat gets trapped in a warm shoe, it causes bacteria to multiply, producing smelly shoes. And while summer is certainly peak smelly-shoe season, if you’re familiar with teenage boys (or even if you just own a pair of exercise sneakers), you’ll know that shoe odor can strike at any time.

The Best Smelly Shoe Remedies

Sure, you can leave smelly shoes beside an open window (and we’ve heard that popping your shoes in the freezer overnight can work wonders, too). But the most effective method to remove the smell from shoes is to give them a good clean.

At Taos, we’ve made it easy thanks to our Curves & Pods® removable footbeds. Popular options like Star Burst feature these ultra-comfortable and supportive footbeds. No matter where you take them or how hot it gets, you can remove these footbeds and use a quality shoe deodorizer to keep your feet refreshed and re-energized.

Want to know how to deodorize shoes with this footbed? Simply take them out and spritz with a shoe spray to clean, refresh and deodorize — you can spray the insides of your shoes, too. Then dry everything thoroughly before you put them back in. Footwear wipes also make for one of the best shoe deodorizers, and can easily be taken on the go.

How to Prevent Shoe Odor

While it’s always good to have shoe deodorizer to hand, how can you prevent smelly shoes in the first place? The key is to keep your shoes dry inside so that the bacteria don’t have a chance to do their thing.

You can hope to avoid ever confronting how to get rid of shoe odor if you do things like wear socks when you can to soak up any sweat, and rotate your shoes so that you don’t wear the same pair two days in a row — this will give them time to dry out in between. Additionally, consider stuffing out-of-season shoes with newspaper to absorb moisture in storage.

Finally, look out for shoes with built-in odor defense. The footbeds in Taos styles such as the versatile Ta Dah Mary Jane, the summer-friendly Escape sandal, and the canvas Star sneaker have been treated with a SILVADUR™ Antimicrobial Shield. This defense treatment keeps bacteria at bay while acting as a preventative shoe deodorizer.

Master our tips for how to get rid of shoe odor, and you’ll be feeling fresh all summer long. From using the best shoe deodorizer to finding shoes with odor prevention built in, this is how you can avoid the pitfalls of hot feet this season.