How do you clean the inside of your boots?

[Marmots]

Howdy Rokslide,

Sorry for a gross thread.

I wear Zamberlans every day it's not snow machine season.

I have kind of chronic athlete's foot and can't seem to shake it for more than a few weeks at a time. I think that the treatments I use on my feet are working, but it's possible I'm reinfecting my feet with my boots or insoles.

All of the articles I find on the matter say "you can actually put your shoes in the washing machine"! Putting size 14 mountain boots in a washing machine would probably be like chucking two cinder blocks in there.

Do you folks have any methods for disinfecting big mountain boots and orthotic insoles?

 

[Drenalin]

Take this for what it's worth (a free bump) because I don't have athlete's foot. My normal cleaning is to hose and brush my boots off, then put deodorizing boot powder on the inside. If I were going to add a disinfecting element to that, I'd hose and brush the outside then spray Microban or Lysol inside, give it some time, then come back with the boot powder. I probably wouldn't put my hunting boots in a washing machine, for the sake of the boots and the machine.

 

[TxxAgg]

I'd throw them in the washing machine with some soap and bleach. You could throw a few towels in there to take up space and lessen the "clunk"

We wash our sneakers this when they start getting nasty. We usually wash 5 or 6 pair together.

 

[Brendan]

Hose them off first, then wash in a Bucket with the same Atsko sport wash I use on my technical gear. Rinse clean with a hose. Re-treat or re-seal.

 

[BadDogPSD]

Do you wear the same pair everyday?

 

[xcutter]

Boot dryer has helped my sweaty feet out a bunch. Remove the moist environment and you won't have a whole lot of stink in them. I put my work boots on a dryer every night. Helps a lot.

 

[Laelkhunter]

Peet boot dryer works really well at keeping the odor down.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

I do not wear my boots 365 days a year. I do not suffer from athlete's foot.

Periodically through the season I will pull out my insoles. I'll give them a liberal dose of Lysol as well as spray the inside of my boots with Lysol. I'll let them air dry and call it good.

When hunting, I often open my boots up when I stop to glass. This helps keep my feet dryer (ex: hard climb in the heat --> sweaty feet). If my socks are too damp or even wet, I'll swap them out. Unless it is humid, the socks dry fairly quickly.

 

[Marmots]

Do you wear the same pair everyday?

Yeah. I have half a dozen pairs at home, but I work two-week hitches and often don't have the packing space for more than the pair I'm wearing and sometimes one spare.

 

[William Sublette]

First - never put a dirty sock in your boot.

 

[Poser]

When I used to rock climb, I would sometimes put my climbing shoes in the freezer overnight to kill any foot funk I might experience in the summer. The fungus can’t live in those temps so might be a a practical solution.

 

[Gorp2007]

I'd pull the insoles and liberally powder the insoles and insides of your boot with antifungal powder and let them sit for a day or two to thoroughly dry out and let the powder do its job. I wouldn't throw my boots in the washing machine since laundry soap likely won't do anything to the spores and damp boots will probably just promote more fungal growth.

 

[yfarm]

Fill the boots with a dilute bleach solution let stand for 10 minutes, rinse out a couple of times and let air dry. Kills everything, had no deleterious effects on multiple brands of leather boots lined and unlined. Also done this with running shoes.

https://doh.wa.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/Documents/8340//970-216-Disinfect-en-L.pdf

 

[*zap*]

I read the label on the sole...

 

[grfox92]

Wash the inside of your boots with dish soap and a heavy dose of vinegar. Then rinse and repeat without the vinegar, just soapy water. Then just water. Let the water from the sink run into the boot for as long as it takes to get the soap suds out.

Vinegar kills all odor and almost all bacteria. You don't need any kind of chemical powders in your boots.

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

 

[LongWayAround]

For boots with a liner, I have used a cap full of nikwax tech wash and filled to the brim with hot tap water.

 

[TSAMP]

So lots of good thoughts on cleaning the boots up top. A couple things that jump out to me personally.
A boot dryer if you can't rotate boots is #1.

Second change out socks frequently. Merino ones seem to perform well for sweaty feet.

Third, they have otc lotions or prescription items to put on your feet to reduce sweat. They help alot.


I also had Intermittent foot issues for years and always chalked it up to athletes foot(so did my general physician) found out later I am allergic to neoprene/rubber. It seems my feet care about insoles mostly. I wear most footwear without issue anymore so long as I use correct insoles.

Hope that helps you out.

 

[hiker270]

Gold Bond medicated foot powder in my boots and Darn Tough merino wool socks keep my feet in good shape.

 

[Tod osier]

Howdy Rokslide,

Sorry for a gross thread.

I wear Zamberlans every day it's not snow machine season.

I have kind of chronic athlete's foot and can't seem to shake it for more than a few weeks at a time. I think that the treatments I use on my feet are working, but it's possible I'm reinfecting my feet with my boots or insoles.

All of the articles I find on the matter say "you can actually put your shoes in the washing machine"! Putting size 14 mountain boots in a washing machine would probably be like chucking two cinder blocks in there.

Do you folks have any methods for disinfecting big mountain boots and orthotic insoles?

Were it me with the same concern, I'd consider a powdered fungicide labeled for skin contact and athlete's foot (a lot of products don't contain an actual fungicide). A quick search suggests that there are options OTC (for example: Lotrimin AF Athlete's Foot Antifungal Powder, Miconazole Nitrate 2% Treatment). Use on as labeled on feet would have boots coated within a short time.

Also a peet dryer would have your boots dry every morning.

 

[dtrkyman]

I have no foot funk issues but I pull my insoles often and occasionally dump baking soad in their, used gold bond for a bit but never replaced after I used it up, no perticular reason just didn't seem to need it.