Isle Royale Forums

Does anyone else have any issues with their Keens or teva camp shoes stinking up the place after you wear them a while?
I have tried washing them, sun drying them, and soaking them. It seems the smell comes back right after you wear them. I know I must not be the only
one who has this problem. Any suggestions? Thanks.

I've read this elsewhere...

>>I work in a biological research institute. As two of us have Tevas and both have the same problem we set about finding out why. The smell is caused by bacteria which live in and feed on the sweat and skin cells which accumulate on the sandals. This is by no means unusual and most forms of footwear are susceptible to the problem, but we wanted to find out why the problem seems worse with Tevas than other types of footwear. The smell is actually caused by the waste excreted by the bacteria as they feed. Through taking swabs from the Tevas and growing the bacteria found on agar we were able to isolate the strains of bacteria present. Although several strains were found, the predominant strain was Corynebacteria. This bacterium is known to thrive only in acid conditions, and a simple litmus test confirmed the Tevas to be slightly acidic with a pH of 5.5. In further tests we discovered the acidity had been absorbed by the thick skin on the soles of the feet and the Corynebacteria were also present there.

It seems the materials used in Tevas are slightly acidic and so encourage the Corynebacteria bacteria to live on them, which in turn causes the Teva smell. There are many ways to reduce acidity, but most of the methods we use in the laboratory would not be suitable for use on footwear and feet. After trying several ways of tackling the problem we decided to try Marmite, yes I do mean the stuff you put on your toast. Marmite is slightly alkaline with a pH of around 8 but also acts an antiseptic due to the high salt content. Marmite is just alkaline enough to neutralize the acidity present in Tevas, and the mild antiseptic effect is all that is needed to kill the Corynebacteria bacteria. After treating both the sandals and soles of the feet by coating with Marmite for about ten minutes then rinsing in water we found the problem of the smell was completely gone. Tests by taking further swabs from the sandals confirmed the Corynebacteria bacteria were no longer present. The pH of the sandals was found to have shifted to almost 7 which should prevent the Corynebacteria bacteria from returning. It's too early to tell how long this treatment will work for, but our best guess is about three months before needing to be done again.<<

As for me, I tend to use a 1/3 bleach to water solution, and soak the soles of my Tevas for ~10 minutes, then leave them in the sun to dry. I seem to have to do this every three to four weeks to beat back the funk. YMMV.

My brother was discussing this and said that he puts hand sanitizer on the bottom of his feet to reduce the odor.

I have Keen H20's and I wash them when they start to get funky, then spray them with the sanitizer I use for brewing. Works well enough for me.

http://www.amazon.com/Midwest-Homebrewi ... B0064O7YFA

I keep some mixed a spray bottle to use in the kitchen too.