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I have never found a good answer to this one:

How do you clean rock-climbing shoes, without ruining them?

Funky Old Climbing Shoes

Let me be more specific.

I have a pair of modern leather-and-fancy-rubber climbing shoes made by a major brand. They fit exactly the way I want and the rubber is still sound. But they reek like I exercise in them (with no socks) six days a week. How do I make these expensive slippers smell less horrifying without ruining the rubber or the leather?

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Define clean: just get rid of the smell, or also get rid of all the dirt and grime accompanying the odor? – manoftheson Feb 12 at 0:24
Oh, my only concern is the smell. I will try to make that more clear. – theJollySin Mar 10 at 22:33

3 Answers

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First, prevention is going to give you the best bang for your buck. Make sure your shoes dry properly between uses by hanging them out, and not keeping them in a bag/trunk/confined space. During your climbing session, it's a good idea to take your shoes off between climbs, or at least once in a while to let them dry out some.

For odor control, I find that spray deodorizers can do a good job. I don't think I would use powders, but I'm curious what everyone else says.

Once things get really bad, you can give shoes a wash (by hand) using warm water, a mild detergent, and a brush of some sort (an old toothbrush works fine). Wash the insides thoroughly using the brush and soap, it'll take a few rinses to get everything. Allow the shoes to dry completely, put them next to a fan/heater (but not too close). Stuff the shoes with newspaper, and change it often.

Generally, I find some brands to be worse for odors than others. I've had good luck with La Sportiva, and a terrible time with Evolvs. This is most likely because of the material (leather vs. synthetic).

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Just a word of caution from experience: drying wet, leather climbing (or other) shoes with heat will cause the leather to shrink some. So unless you want a smaller size, I recommend just using the fan or other air movement. – manoftheson Feb 12 at 6:24
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This is exactly what I do - a scrub withwarm soapy water and a toothbrush, then leave them to dry in the conservatory, full of newspaper, then a spray with Febreze or similar odour neutraliser. – Rory Alsop Feb 12 at 9:40
Oh yeah about the foot powders for odor control...I don't recommend it. It eventually accumulates in the shoes and kind of makes this combined, congealed conglomeration of sweat, dirt, skin cells, and foot powder that feels really nasty. – manoftheson Mar 11 at 8:14
up vote 1 down vote

Instead of cleaning them, fill them with cedar balls and hang them. That should eliminate the reek.

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Coffee beans will also do the same thing. – manoftheson Feb 12 at 0:58
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I use boot bananas to tame the stench!

http://www.bananafingers.co.uk/boot-bananas-p-1654.html

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I have never seen those before. Awesome. – theJollySin Feb 15 at 15:35

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