It is no secret that feet smell bad. I’m not afraid to talk about it. 😊 The secret seems to be that feet don’t have to be stinky. At least it was a secret to me for most of my life. I will share with you how to stop stinky socks and shoes forever.
Why Feet Stink
Feet are sweaty, stuffed in a dark sealed cave, and constantly moving. Friction causes the skin to shed while the dark moist environment grows bacteria. Nice post, right? I wanted to share this with you because we have all been fed a big ole stinky lie. Clean socks and shoes will not keep our feet smelling like petunias. Well, they could if we changed them several times a day. Several times of day meaning every few hours. But who has the time and sock collection to support that theory?
The Worst Fabric for Stinky Socks and Shoes
The problem is the type of socks we have been told to wear. Here in the South, we are taught that pure cotton is the cleanest, breeziest, freshest choice for underclothing and socks. WRONG! Cotton is a lovely fabric, but it can kill a person hiking in it! It holds onto perspiration and it sits there stuck to you instead of quickly evaporating and cooling you off. The danger of overheating in cotton clothes is real. For hikers, there is even a danger of hyperthermia once the sun goes down and that shirt is still soaking wet. But we aren’t hiking in this post. We just have smelly feet.
Wool Socks=Fresh Feet
We could pull off our socks and shoes and walk barefoot. Our feet would smell great (depending on where we step.) But this isn’t advisable. So, if cotton turns our feet into skunks, what will transform them into flowers? Turn to our fuzzy friends the sheep. Wool socks are unbeatable for stopping foot odor. It seems counterintuitive to wear wool when your feet are hot, but there is a big difference between sopping wet hot and dry hot. It’s like going outside in southern Florida at the peak of summer versus strolling through the park here in Virginia in late spring.
I read about how to stop stinky socks and shoes with wool socks, but I didn’t believe it until I tried it! Now I am 100% sold. I live in rubber galoshes in the fall and winter. They are very practical for going out in the rain, mud, snow, and dog territory. But rubber plus warm moist skin is “p” to the you-wee. I started wearing wool socks and the odor isn’t a problem! There are lightweight “summer” wool socks to keep your tootsies in tip-top condition year-round. No stink about it!
So, there it is. I discussed stinky feet with the world…wide…web. Be sure to bookmark this page for more helpful home suggestions. Be my guest at the Sawdust and Cornbread YouTube Channel for practical home improvement videos. Until next time, I hope this finds your smelly garbage, old dumpster, low tide, and wet dog scents forever forgotten. Unless you’re on the scare floor.
~Lora Lea
