Subject: Re: Killing spores in smelly shoes?

From: [email-masked] ("David Brayford ", IMI)
Date: 25 Mar 1996 06:25:54 -0800

Soak them in live yoghurt overnight and then microwave on high for 6 minutes 
each.  That way they won't glow in the dark.  Alternatively, you could try 
wrapping your feet in cling-film first, or lacing your socks with 
Trichoderma.  No, the easiest solution is to bury them in the garden for 2-3 
weeks and let the soil microflora sort it out.  (Don't try this if you have 
a dog.  It will get confused).
:-)
DaveB

 ----------
From: BIOSCI-REQUEST
To: mycology
Subject: Re: Killing spores in smelly shoes?
Date: 23 March 1996 8:04

On 23 Mar 1996, Marc Anton wrote:

>> I have a couple pair of shoes that somehow got contaminated
>> with what I take to be a fungi of some kind.  None of my other
>> shoes, nor my feet, smell.  I've tried washing these shoes with soap and

>.....<<Munch..munch>>

>Well, if yo have access to a nuclear submarinr hang 'em in front of the
>reactor with the control rods pulled out for a few hours... -)
>Seroiusly, have you tried spraying thouroughly with Lysol? Some fungii
>are too hard to kill and too dangerous to play around with (especially
>the kind that live in bowling shoes... consider yourself lucky the fungii
>chose to cannibalize you shoes and NOT your feet)... you may just have to
>throw the loafers away, dude.

>Dave.

---

From: [email-masked] (Paul Zambino)
Date: 25 Mar 1996 15:28:58 -0800

>shoes, nor my feet, smell.  ...
>Any suggestions would be appreciated.
>I prefer some kind of natural or "green" solution if possible.
>
>Thanks.
>
>-Marc
Marc, you might check what materials the shoes are made of.  I have had
some smelly pairs before, too.  One was a pair of hush-puppies (pigskin)
another a pair of cheap tennis (poor quality rubber that didn't breath
well).  The smell may be due to the materials, or the materials favoring
bacterial or fungal growth, but my guess is that even if you are able to
disinfest the shoes, that it won't be a permanent solution.  Try odor
eaters or the equivalent, that contain activated charcoal to absorb the
organic compounds that are what we smell.  Paul

Paul Zambino, Ph.D.
USDA Forest Service
Forestry Sciences Lab
5985 Highway K
Rhinelander, WI 54501
PH:(715)362-1178
FAX: (715)362-1166
EMAIL: [email-masked]
DG:p.zambino:R09F06A