# Caring for/drying boots



## bobsy852 (Mar 24, 2011)

I just wondered if anyone could advise me or just pass on your methods for dryng out your boots after a good session. 
I take regular sessions at my indoor slope here in the UK but now my boots are a few months old I find them starting to smell a bit inside after a session in the fridge and wondered if anyone had any tips for keeping the smells down? 
I've tried drying them naturally outside when the weather is nice, or leaving them in an airing cupboard - although not sure how good the warm temperatures in there are for snowboarding boots? :dunno:

Just wondered if anyone could offer their tips for keeping the boots smelling fresh? 
Also how best to store them? As I just put mine back in their box once they're dry....? 
Thanks


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## Hellude (Nov 12, 2010)

Take out the liner and dry that separeatley.
If you keep the temperature around 40 C it should not be a problem in an airing cupboard.
Also if the smell is really bad you can take out the liner and put them in the home freezer (Perferably in a bag) the cold will kill the smell, shoe stores also have spray to get rid of funny smells =)


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## CheeseForSteeze (May 11, 2011)

Odors are produced by bacteria and fungus, so an antibiotic spray that won't damage the materials will help get rid of some of the smell. Febreeze or Oust will help with this. I have safely used Oxiclean on the liners.

The other trick I picked up back when I played basketball for my bball sneaks was to put some of those silicone bags or some white rice along with a scented laundry dryer sheet in my shoes. The silicone/rice absorbs moisture, so the bacteria/fungus doesn't have as good of an environment to thrive in and the dryer sheet makes it smell better. If you tear it in half, it works just as well but you go through them half as quickly.


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## Cr0_Reps_Smit (Jun 27, 2009)

i have a pair of boot dryers that i use that work real well. if i canr use them for whatever reason ill usually just stuff news paper or paper towels into the toe box and rest of the boot/liners to absorb most of the moisture


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## howeh (Jun 2, 2011)

Remove liners, Febreze and let them dry.


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## bobsy852 (Mar 24, 2011)

Thanks for the replies guys! I'll look at febreezing them and try getting them properly dry! I don't like removing my liners much though as it affects the heel hold kit I have attached to the liners every time I take them out! 

ThirtyTwo Heel hold kit as these are just stuck on to the liners and have a tendancy to rub off and lose their stick on the way in and out of the boot!


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Boot dryers without a doubt.

Febreeze if your feet are especially foul.


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## CheeseForSteeze (May 11, 2011)

I use j-bar to help get heel hold as wheel as a heel shim. I recommend you tape them flat against the liners with some Gorilla Tape. It's the strongest tape I've used, it's like duct tape but duct tape really is only strong for wrapping stuff together whereas Gorilla Tape is strong enough to tape things flat together. It also has a slick surface like duct tape so it helps the j-bar slide into the boot without becoming displaced. You might wonder if the slickness reduces the heel hold but I found it to be minimal and unnoticable esepcially if you lace your boots tightly.

Try it, you won't have to worry about your boot tearing the j-bar off the liners anymore.


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## chupacabraman (Jul 30, 2009)

Definitely remove your liners every day and have a fan directly on the boots. You can buy boot dryers, but if you're going to be riding almost every day you'll need a full-on drying area/room. Racks, hangers, bins, heaters, strongs fan(s), tuning work table, etc.


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## crozierm (Mar 13, 2011)

*Boot Dryers*

I have this boot dryer and it works great. It has a 12volt adapter for a car lighter too, though I've never needed it.

DryGuy - Boot Dryers - Glove Dryer - Shoe Dryer - Boot Dryer Accessories


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## Kuragari (May 26, 2009)

I found for me with things like snowboard boots and climbing shoes that if you forget to air out your gear properly just once, that's all it takes for the funk to start setting in and then it's a pest to get rid of. The key seems to be in prevention, not giving the bacteria a good environment to thrive in.

So now at the end of a day's ride I take the liners out and use one of these Smarter Life and Leisure - smarterlife.com.au: Ionic Shoe Dryer 
No idea if the 'ionic breeze technology' makes an ounce of difference, but I figure it can't hurt. It just blows cool air through the liner for 6 hours then auto shuts off so by the next morning it's dry and ready to go.

One thing I found that does work for getting rid of odour really well is MiraZyme? Enzyme-Based Odor Eliminator I saved a pair of chuck taylors once that had inherited the post-ride stink from my snowboard socks due to an old pair of snowboard boots that I had let mistakenly let funk up. I honestly thought I was going to have to throw the shoes out, but decided to test it out and was pleasantly surprised. Obviously this wouldn't work as an everyday solution, but I guess it could be the last line of defense for when it gets to the point where your eyes start watering when you go to put on your boots.


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## Bones (Feb 24, 2008)

Kuragari said:


> So now at the end of a day's ride I take the liners out and use one of these Smarter Life and Leisure - smarterlife.com.au: Ionic Shoe Dryer
> No idea if the 'ionic breeze technology' makes an ounce of difference, but I figure it can't hurt. It just blows cool air through the liner for 6 hours then auto shuts off so by the next morning it's dry and ready to go.


I actually built something that looks just like that. A couple of pieces of ABS pipe and 2 muffin fans from an old computer. I figured that I didn't want any heater in case it screwed up my heat molding. Works great overnight and does the same for my wet leather cleats in the summer. Plugging it to a lamp timer sounds like a good idea, hadn't thought of that


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

this stuff works well...used for wetsuits, 

yup recommend MiraZyme? Enzyme-Based Odor Eliminator

if stuff really stinks, 
-1 mix a paste of baking soda and water and coat it on and let it dry
-2 rinse off the crust of paste with white vinager (the theory is baking soda and vinegar messes with the ph so its unfriendly to bacteria)...it foams and then rinse off with water
-3 use the above mirazyme in bucket...soak items a few minutes then let air dry or on a boot dryer

I also use the above process on stinky jacket parts, goggle shells and gloves.

I always immediately when getting home separate the insoles, liners and shell to dry on blower (no heat) boot dryer. I do the above once or maybe twice (at the end of the season). I also use nylon tape called hurricane tape to keep the butterflies and j/c bars attached...its light and makes it easy to slip liners in/out of shells.

I also got a diy ion cannon, theory is something like the negative ions rupture the membrane of the bacteria and then they die. But be careful cause high ion concentration can damage your lungs. I use the ion cannon to de-stink basement rooms in the house, let run for 15-20 minutes with door closed, turn off then don't enter the room for a few hours...guess they use it on small sail boats with for mold prevention.


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