So you can smell your feet (or your spouse’s/children’s) even before you can’t see them? Yes, this is a common problem, especially in Texas. Summer is coming to a close but the sweaty feet factor is still here. Add running, football, soccer or just going to the gym and there is a real stink bomb in your house.
Understand that the smell is actually coming from bacteria and fungus that love your sweaty feet. You can simply reduce the bacteria load by creating a drier home for your feet.
How can you do this?
Here are 6 simple things you can do to eliminate the stench:
- Soak in Salt Water – Salt will pull the moisture out of your skin and decrease the bacterial load. Simply add a half a cup of kosher salt or Epsom salt to a large bowl of warm water. Soak for about 20 minutes. Do this every day for a few weeks and the stink should be much better.
- Vinegar soaks – Yes, you may smell like a pickle for a while, but vinegar soaks really kill a large amount of bacteria and dry out their environment. Add one part vinegar to three parts warm water and soak away for at least 20 minutes.
- Soak in Black Tea – Please don’t drink it afterwards! The acid in the tea actually closes your pores, decreasing the amount you sweat. It also works as a natural antibiotic, killing the bacteria that are already there. Add two black tea bags to a pint of water and boil for 15 minutes. Add 2 quarts of cool water and then soak for 30 minutes. A week of this should really help.
- Change Your Socks! Yes, the type of socks matter. Use moisture wicking sock like Cool-max, Dry-weave or Smart-wool. Stay away from nylon socks and change them at least twice a day if you are active.
- Pull out the Lysol spray and use them on your shoes – A great, inexpensive way to salvage your stinky shoes is to spray the entire inside of your shoes with Lysol, let them sit for at least an hour, then dry them with a hairdryer. The combination of the Lysol and the desiccation with a hair dryer will kill off most bacteria and fungus. If that doesn’t work, throw them out!!!
- Need a faster way to deodorize your shoes? Throw in some corn starch to absorb moisture, put on clean socks and go. Rotating your shoes can also help, so they have time to dry out in between usage.
Bottom line: Feet stink! But here are some ways to get the funky smell under control!
If none of these work, you may have a serious bacterial infection called erythrasma, so give us a call to get it taken care of!
Safety Tip: Try these home remedies for about a week – visit your favorite podiatrist!