Shoe Talk » Shoe Repair

How to Get Rid of Shoe Odor

gzpatton — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:33:05 +0000

What Causes This Horrible Shoe Smell?

Smelly shoes are usually caused by smelly feet and smelly feet are usually the result of bacterial growth. Bacteria like warm, dark, moist places, and since our feet are covered in sweat glands the shoes and socks of a person with sweaty or moist feet are a perfect environment for odor-causing bacteria to thrive. Understanding this simple ‘why’ makes the ‘how’ become much easier.

Taking the ‘Eeeww’ out of ‘Shoe’

This section is broken into two parts, shoe odor prevention and shoe odor removal.

Shoe Odor Prevention

Since we now know that shoe odor is caused by bacteria requiring warm and moist environments, we should make our footwear inhospitable to them. The best (and easiest) method of keeping foot and shoe odor at bay is to keep your feet and shoes dry! Here’s some tips:

After your showers take care to dry your feet well, especially the spaces between your toes. If your feet are moist when you put on your shoes then your shoes are going to be moist, and you’ll have just created a nice, warm stink incubator.
If you suffer from excessively sweaty feet, apply a anti-perspirant to your feet to help keep them dry and coat the inside of your shoes with talcum powder to absorb any excess moisture.
Wear thick, cotton socks and change them as often as is needed to keep your feet dry. Stay away from synthetic materials because they don’t absorb moisture or breathe as well as cotton.
If your shoes ever get moist or wet, let them dry completely before wearing them again. You can stuff them with newspaper, coat them with talcum powder, or even throw them into the dryer (shoe-care-instructions ermitting) – but don’t put them back onto your feet!

Shoe Odor Removal: Home Remedies

If ‘kicking off your shoes’ at the end of a long day magically clears the room (and that’s a bad thing), we’ve got some easy, home remedies to get rid of your home-made shoe cheese. It’s important to remember that you’re not just combating a smell, you’re also combating living bacteria that produce the smell – if you just attack the odor and leave the bacteria then you’ve only fought half the battle. Kill the bacteria and then remove the odor. Here are some easy ways to do just that:

When you remove your shoes for the evening, coat the insides thoroughly with baking soda, seal them in a plastic bag, and put them in the freezer until morning. The cold will kill the bacteria, and the baking soda will absorb the odor. When you pull them out, set them in a well ventilated area for a while to dissipate any excess moisture that remains.
If you don’t have room in your freezer, pour or spray just enough rubbing alcohol into your shoes to coat the insides and then place them on their sides in a well ventilated (but unpopulated) area. The rubbing alcohol will kill the bacteria and evaporates quickly. Afterwards, coat the insides with a little baking soda to soak up any remaining odor or moisture.
If these methods leave you in the lurch, experiment with different products (usually powders and sprays) that are designed to eliminate foot and shoe odor.

Remember, it’s all about the bacteria! Keeping your feet and shoes dry will prevent it from growing, and cold or alcohol will kill it off quickly.

How Can You Mend a Broken Heel

gzpatton — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:28:42 +0000

If there were a spoof of the Bee Gees’ song, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, and it involved a broken heel, you’d probably spot “crazy glue” somewhere in the lyrics. That’s the quick fix for those days when changing your shoes is just not an option. Keep some powerful glue in your purse for emergencies like this one and your feet will thank you!

If your broken heel came detached at the base and nails are visible, coat them with the glue and slide them back into their places. If the heel just snapped, coat one piece with glue at the site of the break and do your best to re-attach them.

The long-term answer to a broken heel is to take both shoes to a shoe repair store. They can replace the heel block for you if it’s broken, or just re-attach it if it’s still in one piece. If a replacement is needed, you’ll have to have both shoes in the pair worked on simply because the new heel block is not likely to be a perfect match to the old one.

Shoe Repair – Broken Heel

gzpatton — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:26:23 +0000

What to do about a Broken Heel? Before you take the shoe to a shoe repair shop,Just take a view for the Q&A below that may help you.

How Much Does mengding Broken Heel Cost?

That will vary greatly on the way the heel broke (or it if only detached itself from the upper), the type of shoe you have and the area in which you live. Go to ShoeRepairShops.com to find the nearest stores that can repair your broken heel. You will find the store’s phone number on the site, as well. Call ahead to make sure they can do what you need them to.

When to Just Replace the Whole Shoe

If the shoes were cheap, it’s pretty much a no-brainer–toss those things! In some cases, you will find that the shoes that stole your heart were shoes you made out like a bandit on. They were cheap, yes, but they are now irreplaceable. In that case, go ahead and give shoe repair a shot. A broken heel doesn’t necessarily mean death for your shoe.

If you have a pair of designer shoes and the heel snaps, you’ll definitely want to get those looked at by a very good shoe repair specialist. It’s less common for designer shoes to have this type of problem anyway, since they’re of higher quality than their inexpensive counterparts.

If your shoes are new, definitely try to take them back to the store where you bought them for an exchange. If they’re defective, the store may allow you to choose a new pair. It never hurts to try it!

How to Function If Your Heel Breaks

The moment you feel your heel about to give way, you may not be in the perfect situation to whip out the superglue and repair your broken heel. Shift your weight to your tiptoes, taking the weight off the heel. You’ll lessen the probability that you’ll fall on your face once the heel finally does finish detaching from the shoe’s upper.

If the heel’s going to snap in the middle, you probably won’t have much warning. Try to keep your balance if possible, then tiptoe over to a place where you can apply glue and wait for it to dry. Try not to walk much more after that!

Squeaky Soles

gzpatton — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 05:51:26 +0000

Fixing a squeak in a sole depends on the original construction of the boot. Some of the lower cost boots today have a molded sole and is difficult to remove in one piece therefore having to replace the sole. Some goodyear welted boots almost always can be fixed with great success. Squeaks can be caused by air pockets in the sole, loose shanks, or two different materials rubbing against each other. It us usually a problem caused by it’s original construction.

shoes that squeak in the sole area is most offen caused by the shank (steel or fiber board) rubbing against the sole. the only way to stop the squeak is to have the sole peeled back and cement added or replace the soles. the squeak is caused by not enough cement holding the shank in place.when the shoe flexes friction causes the squeak anyone shoe care prof.who says they cannot repair does not want to do the job or is an idiot.hope i helped.