My neoprene booties smell like f_ _ ! I put them in a solution of vinegar and water in a bucket overnight. It sure does kill the stink. I hate buying products at over rated prices when a hosehold product will do the same thing.
My question is: should I be rinsing the vinegar/water (acidic solution), off the neoprene? or doesn’t it hurt it?
What other household products can be used in our sport?
303 for gaskets and kayak decks, or________________.
Any others?
Vinegar works pretty well.
I’ve been told that if you leave the booties in full strength vinegar solution it will dissolve adhesive in some brands of booties. So I always rinse mine.
I also discovered that the algae (or maybe some organism that grows with them) that grow during heavy red tides seem to efficiently metabolize the acetic acid in my booties, I don’t know the chemical reaction but it smelled like mercaptoacetic (HSCH2CO2H) acid and smells really really bad. Probably not something you have to worry about in fresh water.
distilled white vinegar
works best. Works great for river shoe… whew… about two cups in two gallons of water in a bucket. Amazingly, after years of trying to get cat pee off some of my gear, I found this works well at full strength. I did not try dilluting for the cat pee.
I always rinse it off real good though. Never tried not rinsing, so don’t know there.
My river shoes went from sewer smell from the plystocene period, to facotry fresh, like they were just pulled from the molding press. I can actually smell the rubber chemicals they are made from.
I need to try that on my booties - whew!
how does that work on pfds
left one of my pfds in my buddy’s truck for a few days and his truck is pretty disgusting. i was thinking about using simple green on it, but any ideas are appreciated.
ODOBAN
I had to pick it up at Walmart in the US (not available in Canada). it works too.
Let em stink.
It keeps the bad guys from breaking into your car.
<br />
Mine stink so bad, that my feet keep telling me that they are going to dis-own me.
cheers,
JackL
Works on pfds and pms
Vinegar and water. The original odor remover.
Potatoes, Onion & Garlic
A few years ago I was on a trip to the Central BC coast for a couple of weeks and I carried 10 pounds of potatoes, 5 pounds of onions and a bag of garlic ahead of my feet in the cockpit. It was to go with the fish that we caught for meals and when fish weren’t caught potateos, onion and garlic was what we ate.
I’m telling you, onion and garlic takes away the foot funk that fouls neoprene booties. It also blows your head backwards when you pop your sprayskirt at the end of the day.
The best cure is prevention
There are two simple things you can do that will prevent your water shoes from getting stinky:
1- Rinse them out and let them dry thoroughly between uses, preferably in the sun. If that’s not possible, stuff them with newspaper after rinsing them.
2- Wear socks. As simple as this sounds, it’s VERY effective. The bacteria that make footwear stink feed on skin oil and dead skin cells. Wearing socks helps to keep these things out of you shoes and dramatically reduces bacterial growth and the resultant stench.
socks in booties
Socks also make it much easier to take the bootie on/off. I like wool socks the best for this and wear them almost year round inside a neo bootie.
Suz
2nd that
…especially the “sun” comment. Works great for me.
Third the Socks
Once you’ve successfully defunkified your booties, keep them that way by wearing poly socks. I like the thin liner socks intended for hiking boots, but also use thicker ones for cold-weather paddling. The Wigwam Diabetic Socks are my favorites: http://www.gobros.com/cat/Wigwam-Diabetic-Walker-Socks-Black-F1221-cat100999.html
Good Luck!
Delphinus
http://www.AquaDynology.com