How do I avoid stench with my Vibram Five Fingers?
FiveFingers are great shoes for running, hiking, and general lounging. I believe that running barefoot has improved my fitness and also general running ability -- even with conventional shoes. But they possess an interesting characteristic that my wife loves to remind me of: they stink. Not just a little stink. These are a "put those things out on the patio and go take a shower" level of stink.
Vibram states that you can wash your FiveFingers in the washing machine and then air dry. This gets rid of the stench for a short period, but it usually comes back after wearing the shoes a few times. If I wear Injinji socks with the shoes it keeps the stink away, but that's not going to be practical once Minneapolis emerges from it's arctic winter.
For the sake of my marriage, what's the best way to keep my FiveFingers from stinking?
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They're machine washable, just wash them regularly.
Vibram FiveFingers® footwear is
machine washable. Use gentle, warm
water cycle with liquid or powdered
detergent. Hang to air dry.
From: www.vibramfivefingers.com/faq/
I would highly recommend checking out "The Definitive Guide to Cleaning Vibram Five Fingers" on birthdayshoes.com
I can personally attest to the success of daily wiping of the feet with tea tree oil, and soaking the shoes in a basin with a few antibacterial denture tablets (2 in each shoe for a small basin, more for something larger). For really nasty stank, an overnight soak may be warranted. Rinse well, then make sure that the shoes dry completely before wearing them again. Stuffing them with paper towel to wick moisture and then putting them in front of the vents at the bottom of the refrigerator works well to dry in less than a day. I don't know if regular denture tablets work the same, but generic antibacterial tablets seem to do the trick. Plus they leave your shoes smelling minty fresh. I'm sure they'd also taste minty if you were so keen to try.
My experience comes mostly from washing Merrell Barefoots, but I've tried denture tablets on VFFs and it seems to work equally well. By rotating between 2 pairs of shoes and following a tea tree oil regimen, the shoes tend to stay within an acceptable odor spectrum for 3 to 4 weeks before needing to be soaked again.
The odor is standard (although possibly more acute) bacterial foot odor. Spraying them with Lysol after use will make them go longer without needing washed, as will putting them in a (very) mild bleach/water mixture. Basically anything to kill the odor-causing bacteria (laundry detergent is typically not anti-bacterial), washing them in the sink with an anti-bacterial soap by hand is more effective than the laundry. You'll probably still need to wash your feet (or hit them with the Lysol/bleach as well).
Other possible suggestions to kill the bacteria (and thus eliminate the funk) are:
vinegar (white)
UV light
air them in sunlight
I too have had to look at ways to combat the odor. First, I just ignored the problem and continued to wear my VFF's while running and working out at the local gym. It was until one day a trainer recommended OxyClean detergent. She kindly made the comment about my VFF's could be washed using this detergent. I've been washing them once a week, and it seams to work in combating the stink. Secondly, she recommend wearing injinji socks to soak up the sweat since the footbed liner is very thin on top; which is placed on top of a rubber sole. The sweat just has no place to go. I don't care for the socks myself when wearing the VFF's. It does help in keeping the feet drier.
Toss them in the wash as needed. If they get a real nasty smell that doesn't come out, soak the VFFs for 30 minutes in a mixture of oxy clean and hot water and then toss in the wash.
Machine wash as normal and air dry but put baking soda in them and shake and let air dry. the smell has never come back.
Use deodorant on your feet before you wear them. Prevents them from stinking in the first place. My boyfriend has 2 pairs and they stunk so bad and then the guy at REI suggested that and they have never stunk again. They smell because your feet sweat, so stop your feet from sweating.
My solution was to buy the KSO Treks, even though I don't like the soles as much. The kangaroo leather just doesn't stink up the way the synthetic materials do. Trek LS would also work, although again, same issues with the sole bein unideal. I'm not sure why they don't make a kangaroo leather model with their traditional sole.
So far, and I've had my pair of KSO Treks for over a year, there's no stench in them at all. My previous two pairs of VFFs ended up being useless due to the stench after 6-9 months.
As others have said, WEAR SOCKS if you can. (Personally I can't wear the socks while running because they wedge painfully between my toes.)
Two unorthodox yet natural cleaners of my VFF's:
1) The ocean. Wear your VFF's surfing or otherwise have them in the ocean for some 30 minutes, and they'll be clean as a whistle.
2) Playa dust at Burning Man (a.k.a. alkaline silt). This dust gets EVERYWHERE, and you feel certain it can do nothing but ruin your VFF. On the contrary; after being in the dust for a week, followed by a regular machine wash, a beat-up old pair which I was on the verge of trashing was suddenly as clean as the first day I bought them!
This is how I clean my five fingers, it's my little secret and it does not smell afterwards.
After each wear of five fingers, I always blow at it with a fan. It will help dry up the sweat much more quickly and will slow down the bacteria build up. Once it start to stink or have odor. Usually 1-2 months of wear. I do the following.
I put dish washing soap on the bottom to clean off the oil, dirt, etc.
I put hot water into 5 finger then use Martha Stewart Clean Detergent to clean the inside. I like to keep things as organic as possible.
I boil hot water and pour it into my five finger and let it sit until all the water in the shoe drain. The hot water will kill any bacteria.
I let it sit to air dry at an angle.
This had help me keep my smelling like new again and does not damage my shoe.
Wow, VFFs are so environmently unfriendly if they need a machine wash so often, plus all that effort after the wash. I sweat well above average, and have experienced the same stink issues with my Komodo Sport VFF. I have hit upon an environmentally friendly solution that actually works, thanks to Grandma :)
I just wash them in tap water after every use, sun dry, and then pop one half of a used (squeezed out) lime or lemon into each shoe overnight. By next morning, the stink is 95% gone and the shoes are ready to go. Works every time. Good old Grandma!
I have shoes that I've worn for many years without problems. The key is to allow the shoes to dry out completely between usages. I have shoes that are over 10 years old that still don't stink because I switch them out daily. They also wear longer when they're fully dried between usages.
Adam Nuttall added a comment to this question linking to my answer to another question and I just updated that answer based on recent experience so thought I would post an answer here that included my update.
In the past I have suggested spraying a low-fragrance disinfectant spray like Oust into your shoes after each run and adding a small amount of bleach when washing Fivefingers to reduce odor, but now I would like to add another suggestion.
I ran in VFFs for years and I would take them off during each run and run 1 to 3 miles barefooted to work on my form, then put them back on and finish my run. Several months ago I purchased a few pairs of Injinji socks and started wearing my Vibrams with socks like I would any other shoe. I decided to give up barefoot running so that I would not have to take off the shoes AND the socks AND put them back on in the middle of my run. I had been running exclusively in VFFs for over two years so I didn't really need to work on my form any more. Since then my Vibrams have not had any odor problem in excess of what I would expect from any other shoe, so I suggest buying some toe socks to go with your Fivefingers.
The simplest way to kill the odor causing bacteria is located in your kitchen. Just put your shoes in the freezer. The bacteria can't survive the sub-zero temperatures. This really applies to any shoe that has an odor issue.
I've never had similar problems in my Vibrams, but then I wash them after almost every use (if I did something like running to get sweaty - I also love them for weightlifting which doesn't cause me to sweat nearly as much).
Think of it this way: you're wearing them directly against your skin and they'll be in contact with any sweat or dampness. Would you keep re-wearing the same pair of socks for several days without washing them?
I wash in a low-water front loading washing machine every few days (1-2x per week). I also use a Tea Tree Oil liquid for the soap. I use a pre-wash cycle with the tee tree oil in both times and no other detergents. Once done they come out and go right in front of a fan to dry. I've been doing this for a year with my shoes as well as my two daughters' and we wear them all the time. I mean all day to work, around the house, yard work, and running - that kind of all day.
When not near home to do that I'll go sit in a hot tub or swim in a pool for a while. The chlorine content will kill the bacteria off. In fact the first time I encountered the stink that is what we did as we were in a hotel in a different state. Worked beautifully.
Wearing socks helps reduce the speed of the buildup, so if you can wear them try that in addition to cleaning them regularly. MY oldest daughter tried that and it did reduce it. She could get away with washing once a week or so. My youngest daughter and I can't stand them so we just wash twice a week. After over a year, lots of miles and washes, nary a day going by without being worn my Vibrams (Bikila LS) are still hanging strong with just some of the reflective tape peeling off.
Another thing I've tried is isopropyl alcohol, 70% solution. Soak them for a few minutes in that, then let dry in front of a fan. Works well.
The dry in front of a fan I have found to be crucial. Times when the fan wasn't available they would pick the smell back up quickly.
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