How often do you wear your water shoes? If you wear them regularly then chances are that they smell stinky as hell. And you might be totally clueless about how to clean water shoes. Don’t worry cause we are about to unfold the secret to wash water shoes.
Why Do Water Shoes Stink?
It’s one of the greatest mysteries of the universe or is it? Well, maybe not so much. One of the main reasons why water shoes stink is because the material they are made with. These mystical materials are known as neoprene and rubber. That’s why they don’t smell so natural. At least not when you sniff them. Even the cleanest of the cleanest water contains some amount of microorganisms like bacteria and fungus coupled with their cousins from you feet. And these microorganisms love warm and moist conditions found in water shoes. When you wear water shoes for a long period of time or they go uncleaned after you wear them that’s when the shoes starts to stink. It is also very important to dry them. Drying and cleaning are interconnected. So how does one get rid of that odor? Let’s find out.
You might also want to know what the best water shoes in the market are.
How to clean water shoes?
STEP-1: Remove your shoes right after you finish wearing them. Don’t put them on for a long period of time as it will cause your feet to have fungus and allergy.
STEP-2: The rubber fasteners in your water shoe has to be loosened before doing anything.
STEP-3: Rinse your shoes thoroughly with some fresh,clean and hot water for about a minute or two or put them in a sink for a few minutes.
STEP-4: Give them a mild wash using wetsuit soap or shampoo. Dish soap or hand soap will work just fine assuming you don’t have wetsuit soap or shampoo.
STEP-5: Put some baking soda into the water and also sprinkle some more on top of a sponge.
STEP-6: Dampen the sponge for a while.
STEP-7: Release any moisture that remains inside the water shoes.
STEP-8: Scrub the inside and outside of the shoe using the sponge and let the shoes soak in the for half an hour inside the water solution.
STEP-9: After you are done scrubbing the shoe with the sponge, use some old newspaper or a dry rag to rub off the water inside and outside the water shoes.
STEP-10: If it takes too long to dry then use your blow dryer and dry the shoe inside out
STEP-11: If your water shoe still stinks then no need to worry; spill some deodorizer solution in a bucket and leave the shoes inside the bucket for a while. These solutions not only takes away the odor but the enzymes inside them neutralize odor causing bacteria and fungus. Don’t forget to dry them off with a blow dryer.
STEP-12: If you still find that there’s smell then sprinkle a bit of baking soda in places where it stinks overnight and in the morning rinse and dry the shoes and you’ll be good to go.
Water shoes take a lot of time to clean and to dry. As most of the time they are left unclean and wet. The excess moisture also makes it a difficult hurdle. It can also be very off putting if you don’t have time but having said that you don’t want your shoes to stink and leave your feet susceptible to diseases do you? So take the time and clean your water shoes regularly and keep them dry. I hope this article about how to clean a water shoe added a lot of value to your life.
And if you're someone who doesn't know what water shoes are then we go you covered visit the mentioned link. This Wikipedia article also helps.
You also may read this guide: Do You Wear Socks With Water Shoes?
