How to remove awful odor from shoes?? Help!
Hello! I've had an awful issue with my shoes for a while now. I need every. single. hack. to remove stench.
I have a pair of Converse, so they're canvas material, and they absolutely STINK. they're the only shoes I own that smell, including other converse and fabric shoes. They smell pretty similar to cat pee, which is strange because they started smelling before I went home to see my cats (I was in college, not around any animals for months. they started smelling out of nowhere and it's strange that it's so similar to cat pee). I assume it was bacteria build up since I was often walking in incredibly wet or snowy areas, so my shoes were often soaked and probably caused massive bacteria growth when I was wearing them. Again, these are the ONLY pair that smells at all though. New and old shoes smell fine, leather or fabric or canvas. These are the only ones that stink.
I have tried
washing multiple times with heavy duty detergent, the kind that has oxy clean in it as well. I wash them by themselves, on heavy soil wash settings, and air dry them in the window or in front of a fan if it's too cold for the window to be open. I don't wear them until they're fully dry
Soaking in baking soda and detergent. Didn't immediately get the smell out but I ended up washing them after and it was slightly better?
Baking soda paste. I made a very thick paste and completely smothered my shoes in it, inside and out. left it on for over a day, then washed with the same heavy duty detergent.
Vinegar bath. about 1-1 ratio of white distilled vinegar and water. Did not help at all ALTHOUGH I was told to usyt let the vinegar dry out afterwards, so I haven't washed with detergent yet. they are completely bone dry but now they just stink like pee and vinegar.
The only thing that somewhat helped was the baking soda paste. the vinegar made it infinitely worse. These are the only shoes I can comfortably drive in, and I don't want to replace them since they're a custom pair. Please give ANY HACKS POSSIBLE! I'll try everything.