Rock climbing is an exhilarating activity that lets you work up a good sweat (great for weight loss). But every time I come back from climbing, my climbing shoes emit a horrible smell. I’ve tried leaving them out in the sun for 15 to 20 minutes—this does help get rid of the odor temporarily, but as soon as I bring them back indoors, the smell comes rushing back. It seems sunlight only offers short-term relief. Later, I tried spraying air freshener inside the shoes, which helped a bit, but the faint smell still lingers and isn’t very effective. So I searched various websites and forums and found several commonly used methods. Let’s discuss and add to them:
A. After each climb, crumple up some newspaper and stuff it inside the shoes. This effectively absorbs sweat. Even if you leave the shoes in your bag for a month, they won’t smell. When you’re ready to climb again, just take the newspaper out and let it dry before reusing (using fresh newspaper is even better).
B. Place activated carbon bags inside the shoes to deodorize and absorb moisture.
Method:
1. Sew small cloth bags (not too big—smaller kids’ socks can also be used);
2. Crush barbecue charcoal and fill the bags with it;
3. Seal the bags: sew them shut or tie them with cotton string;
After using for a while, simply place them in the sun to restore their effectiveness.
C. Wash with hot water, but be careful not to use water that’s too hot and damages the material—the ideal temperature is around 60–70°C.
Method:
1. First, soak the climbing shoes in hot water for 3 minutes;
2. Take them out and let them cool until they’re not too hot to handle, then use an old toothbrush dipped in soap or laundry detergent to carefully scrub the insides and outsides;
3. Rinse clean with water, then put the shoes in the washing machine and run a spin cycle with minimal water;
4. When it’s time to spin-dry, point the shoe openings toward the inner wall of the washing machine so that the water can be spun out;
5. After washing, let the shoes air-dry. They’ll dry in half a day after spinning, or about a day in winter.
Then you’ll have a pair of climbing shoes that look almost brand new again.
D. Dry used tea bags and place them inside the shoes, then store the shoes in a ventilated area.
E. Fill a spray bottle with medical alcohol and spray it inside the shoes... the nasty smell will be eliminated....