Happy Feet has some interesting tips for keeping your shoes healthy after wet outings:
- Do not put them in the dryer and do not place them directly over a heater or too near a heat source.
- Remove the laces and open the tongue so the shoe can breathe. Remove the insoles so they dry outside of the shoes.
- Stuff newspaper into your wet shoes to help dry them out overnight.
- Before using them again, sprinkle a bit of baking soda powder into each shoe and again after using them.
Or you could go the overkill route: Get some overshoes. I have these mondo boots by Neos that look like something you’d take on a moonwalk. They add quite a bit of weight (especially when there’s mud and muck afoot), but think of it as resistance training. Best part: you just peel ’em off and toss in the trunk of your car when you’re done hiking, and you’ve got clean shoes to wear home (They will be a bit damp because there’s none of that sissified GorTex and you’re feet’ll sweat. But like I said, it’s a workout, right?).
When I worked in the shrimp cannery, newspaper got the boots dry for the next day. It didn’t help with the smell though.
I have an innovative product that will effectively dry wet shoes and boots. They’re called Stuffitts. They are 100% cedar-filled sachets that you simply stick in your shoes/boots when you’re not wearing them, and the product removes moisture and eliminates odor. I’m a triathlete and have only been selling this product for a few months– having attended race expos and placing a few ads (see Triathlete mag). Great response thus far. Give them a shot. http://www.stuffitts.com.
Editor’s note: I haven’t tried Mike Huebner’s product, above; normally I would delete promotional postings like this but he’s one guy making these on his own so I’m relaxing the rules a bit.
I know this is an old post, but since you say you’re still getting traffic on it, I thought I’d add this bit of advice.
Do not dry your shoes next to a fire. If it burns wood, it can and will burn your shoes. I have a pair of $200 hiking boots with burned tops that I still wear because they can’t be fixed, and I can’t afford to replace them. Fortunately they serve as a constant reminder on the trail, “don’t be stupid”.
The worst part about the day I caught them on fire, when I put them back on, they were still wet.
Thanks for the tips on taking care of this issue. If you don’t have newspaper, the pages from an old phone book work pretty well.