Do you wish that the sweaty feet smell from your shoe cabinet can finally go away for good?
Well, unlike clothes, our shoes do not get washed often, if at all, even though we walk in them everyday (and we wear some pairs of shoes way more than others). What does this mean? This means that bacteria can accumulate in our shoes over time and this will eventually lead to that stinky stench in our shoe cabinet.
If you or anyone in your home has Hong Kong feet (also known as Athlete’s foot), it is inevitable that your shoe cabinet will start to smell within days. Also did you know that Athlete’s foot is contagious? This means that if anyone in your home has athlete’s foot, the rest of you will eventually get athlete’s foot too if your shoes are all crammed together in the same smelly shoe cabinet. Therefore, it is super important to keep your shoe cabinet clean at all times to prevent odor and/or athlete’s foot.
The good news is that it is possible to get rid of odor in your shoe cabinet if you consistently take the necessary steps to constantly keep your shoe cabinet clean. Another great news is that there are multiple eco-friendly deodorant for shoe cabinet ideas that you can consider – I will share more about this in the next section in this article.
Here are 8 ways you can maintain your shoe cabinet’s cleanliness and get rid of odor in your shoe cabinet.
1. Baking soda
Did you know that odor in general is acidic in nature? The smell in your shoes comes from isovaleric acid. You need Alkaline ingredients like baking soda to help neutralize out the PH of the odor in the shoe cabinet. Once you add alkaline ingredients like baking soda to smelly shoe cabinets, it can help to balance out the PH level in the shoe cabinet which will in turn also reduce the stench caused by the acidic odor from the stinky shoes.
2. Activated Charcoal Air Purifying Bag
Activated carbon, also called activated charcoal, is a form of carbon that is usually used to filter contaminants from water and air, among many other uses. It can be made from various types of ash, including bamboo and hardwood.
Activated Charcoal normally has a PH level of 9 – 11, and hence, its alkaline nature can help to neutralize the acidic odor of your smelly shoe cabinet.
Activated carbon (activated charcoal) can have a surface of greater than 1000m²/g. This means 3g of activated carbon can have the surface area of a football field. The large surface area is due to its graphite structure, which allows it to absorb a wide range of compounds.
Just as a vacuum sucks up dust, activated charcoal filters ‘suck’ odors from the air.
Some environmentally friendly versions of Activated Charcoal are Bamboo Charcoal or Coconut Charcoal.
Bamboo charcoal comes from pieces of bamboo plants, harvested after at least five years, and burned in ovens at temperatures ranging from 800 to 1200 °C. In addition to absorbing bad odors and moistures, activated bamboo charcoal can also absorb pollutants, allergens, and toxins.
It benefits environmental protection by reducing pollutant residue. It is an environmentally functional material featuring excellent absorption properties.
Activated coconut charcoal is made by burning coconut shells at a very high heat. The activated coconut charcoal is then activated in a furnace at high temperatures.
There are plenty of activated charcoal air purifying products out there in the market. My favorite economical option are these bamboo activated charcoal bags from Amazon.
3. Teabags
The best and most economical tea bags to use to combat the odor in your shoe cabinet are green tea bags. This is because green tea is alkaline in nature (its PH level is 7.2) and will help to absorb and neutralize any foul odor.
Place dried tea bags on all the shelves in your shoe cabinet and let the green tea bags work their magic. If you think that it is a waste to use unused green tea bags, you can also use green tea bags that have already been used to make tea. Simply leave the used tea bags out to dry, after which you can place the dried used green tea bags into your shoe cabinet.
4. Coffee Grounds
Dried coffee grounds are also a great way to neutralize the stench in your shoe cabinet. Coffee grounds are close to pH neutral (between 6.5 to 6.8 pH), and hence can help to neutralize the acidic odor.
Another plus point about coffee grounds is that they smell really good and may cover the stench of the odor as you place the coffee grounds into the shoe cabinet. You can use mini containers or sachets to hold the coffee grounds. Simply pour the coffee grounds into a container or a sachet and place these at various corners in your shoe cabinet.
If you feel that it is a waste to use fresh coffee ground, you can always repurpose used coffee ground. Just make sure the used coffee ground has been dried thoroughly before you place it into your shoe cabinet.
5. Silica Gel
Silica, or silicon dioxide (SiO2), contains millions of tiny pores that can adsorb and hold moisture. Silica gel is essentially porous sand. Silica gel is a cheap and very efficient way to absorb the bacteria causing moisture accumulated in your shoe cabinets.
After walking for the whole day, not washing your shoes before placing them back into the shoe cabinet, your shoes are bound to get damp. It is inevitable that your shoes will somehow soak up the sweat from your feet, the water from any puddles you may have stepped on outside on the streets, or the bacteria from whatever you have stepped on in public toilets.
Odor causing bacteria (or any form of bacteria) thrives in areas that are more damp and humid. Hence, if you place your shoes back in your shoe cabinet without washing your shoes and then drying them well (which is really too much effort for any of us to do), eventually your shoe cabinet will start to stink. Silica gel can help to greatly reduce the amount of moisture in your shoe cabinet, which will in turn help to get rid of the odor in your shoe cabinet.
Get Silica gel at a wallet friendly price from Amazon.
6. Pandan leaves
The pandan plant thrives in soil that is about 6.0 to 10.0 PH and hence, pandan leaves are more of an alkaline nature. Placing fresh pandan leaves in your shoe cabinet can help to combat the acidic odor coming from the stinky shoes. Also just like how the strong aroma of coffee can help to cover up the stench from your shoe cabinet, pandan leaves also have a very strong and pleasant aroma that can help to cover up the odor.
Remember to only use fresh pandan leaves as dried pandan leaves that no longer have any scent can attract nasty pests like cockroaches.
7. Clean with laundry detergent and water mixture
All the baking soda, silica gel, charcoal purifying bags, pandan leaves, coffee grounds in the world (in the right amounts of course), will not be enough to combat the odor in your shoe cabinet if you do not clean it regularly.
To combat that stench for good, You need to clean your shoe cabinet at least once every 2-3 weeks. If your shoe cabinet stench is simply unbearable, try cleaning more often, at least once every 2 days.
To clean, simply mix water with a little bit of laundry detergent and then wipe your entire shoe cabinet. A good rule of thumb is that for every cup of water, you can use ⅛ cup of laundry detergent.
After the first wipe down, wipe every shelf again with just water. I personally prefer using hot water as I like the feeling of using a hot towel to wipe the shelves. It makes the shoe cabinet feel extra clean! After the 2nd wipe down, wipe the shoe cabinet again with a dry cloth. Leave the shoe cabinet to dry for about half a day, and then you can place your shoes back into your shoe cabinet!
8. Air circulation
In addition to cleaning up the shoe cabinet, it is good to keep your shoe cabinet well ventilated and allow for more air flow.
If your shoe cabinet has doors, do leave the doors open for a whole day, at least once a week, to allow for good air circulation. This is also to prevent condensation caused by all the moisture from the shoes, which will in turn reduce the chances of the shoe cabinet getting moldy, rotten and smelly.