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Running shoes smell so weirdly crisp and wonderful right out of the box. And then after a week or two of workouts—not so much.
That footy-smell can be tricky to remove. Putting running shoes in the washing machine (or even the dishwasher as some recommend) can degrade the form and decrease the shelf life of your kicks. You can try spraying a freshener like Febreze, but in our experience that creates a clean-sheets-meets-gym-socks scent.
To kill the smell, you need to kill the bacteria. What murders bacteria like a champ? Cheap vodka.
Here’s how:
- Fill up a spray bottle 1/3 of the way with vodka and top it off with water.
- Spritz your shoes (inside and out) and let them dry overnight.
- Voila! A scentless shoe cocktail. The booze will kill the bacteria and leaves no alcohol-smell once dry.