Win the battle against smelly shoes with two simple homemade remedies
Nobody is immune to the curse of smelly shoes: the longer we wear them, the more "malodorous" they become when we take them off at home. And we all know that sneakers or certain other poorly ventilated shoes can be a real problem.
Fortunately, we can resort to homemade remedies that prevent bad odors from spreading throughout the house, and these are easy DIY solutions to try. Keep reading to find out how:
A DIY spray to neutralize unpleasant shoe odors
Creativo
An excellent solution is to have a ready-to-use spray to hand for smelly shoes. It is alcohol-based, with distilled water and essential oils, so it can be used almost anywhere, but it's better to be cautious - or at least perform a test - on leather or suede shoes first.
To make this, you need a glass spray bottle and:
- 2 tablespoons of alcohol
- 4 tablespoons of distilled water
- 5 drops of tea tree essential oil
- 3 drops of peppermint essential oil
- 2 drops of eucalyptus essential oil
Either of the last two essential oils can also be replaced with lavender oil if you prefer.
The preparation is very easy: simply pour all the ingredients into the bottle and shake well before each use. When spraying, focus on the inside of the shoes, and if it won't cause damage, you can also mist the outsides, from a distance of about 20 cm.
Cinnamon to deodorize shoes
Kjokkenutstyr/Wikimedia Commons
The above method also works if, instead of the various essential oils mentioned, you use 7-8 drops of cinnamon essential oil. This spice is excellent for eliminating bad odors, thanks to the cinnamic aldehyde it contains, which has antimicrobial properties.
An even simpler way to use cinnamon is to use the powder or, better still, a stick of it which is inserted into the shoes: to avoid mess and getting cinnamon everywhere, simply use lightweight fabric bags (in cheesecloth, for example), to hold the sticks.
Put these sticks into your shoes when you take them off, and leave them there overnight (or even longer)! The unpleasant odor will disappear and leave a subtle fragrance of cinnamon.
Do you have other methods for deodorizing shoes?
