# How to clean cycling shoes?



## chad.trent (Apr 4, 2016)

I just picked up a pair of used shoes in really good shape. Before I wear them I want to clean them though. Is there a preferred method? I'm mainly interested in cleaning the lining and insole. The outside doesn't really need cleaning.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

https://wiki.ezvid.com/best-uv-shoe-sanitizers


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## chad.trent (Apr 4, 2016)

Whoa. I never thought of UV sterilization. Good idea.


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## Akirasho (Jan 27, 2004)




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## Peter P. (Dec 30, 2006)

Throw the insoles in with your wash.

If you want to sterilize them, just set them out in the sun for a day.

Harsh detergents can cause the adhesives to fail, so stick with a mild liquid soap such as used for body washing. Even dishwashing liquids can suck the moisture out of leathers and some plastics. Fill a bucket with water, squirt the liquid soap in and submerge the shoe. Either run your fingers inside the shoe or use a small rag to scrub the inside.

Rinse and air dry.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

Peter P. said:


> Throw the insoles in with your wash.
> 
> If you want to sterilize them, just set them out in the sun for a day.
> 
> ...


Or just replace insoles. They're intended to be replaceable and they're cheap.

For synthetic uppers, a bit of 409 and they're like new.


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## PoorInRichfield (Nov 30, 2013)

Marc said:


> Or just replace insoles. They're intended to be replaceable and they're cheap.


They _used to be_ cheap... now some companies are charging $50+ just for silly little slabs of foam :mad2: 

You can probably find a generic insole, like a Spenco insole for relatively little, but it won't likely fit your shoe very well. 

If you want one made by the some company, like Specialized "Body Geometry" insole ($30) or Bontrager "Inform Biodynamics" insole ($40), you'll pay a bit more... although these two brands don't charge as much as others I've seen.


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## tlg (May 11, 2011)

Vinegar is a great disinfectant and odor killer.


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## Akirasho (Jan 27, 2004)

tlg said:


> Vinegar is a great disinfectant and odor killer.


Thankfully, eternally gratefully, I had no idea what that bag hanging on the back of the door and smell of vinegar meant in my childhood bathroom until I was well outta the house and in my twenties...


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## Bee-an-key (May 5, 2007)

Replace the insoles and use alcohol wipes or alcohol and rags/cotton balls. Didn't your mother tell you not to wear other peoples shoes?


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

PoorInRichfield said:


> They _used to be_ cheap... now some companies are charging $50+ just for silly little slabs of foam :mad2:
> 
> You can probably find a generic insole, like a Spenco insole for relatively little, but it won't likely fit your shoe very well.
> 
> If you want one made by the some company, like Specialized "Body Geometry" insole ($30) or Bontrager "Inform Biodynamics" insole ($40), you'll pay a bit more... although these two brands don't charge as much as others I've seen.


Dang...makes aftermarket Sidi insoles that are $15-20 seem cheap. Although even a $40 new insole is cheaper than a new pair of shoes.

Granted...Sidi insoles are best for the flat-footed.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

Bee-an-key said:


> Replace the insoles and use alcohol wipes or alcohol and rags/cotton balls. *Didn't your mother tell you not to wear other peoples shoes*?


But the guy at the bowling alley said it was all right.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

velodog said:


> https://wiki.ezvid.com/best-uv-shoe-sanitizers


Waste of money. Leaving your shoes out in the sun on a warm day does the same thing and it's free. Any odor will be gone within a day.


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

Lombard said:


> Waste of money. Leaving your shoes out in the sun on a warm day does the same thing and it's free. Any odor will be gone within a day.


Sunlight does work. good luck setting up the mirrors to get direct sunlight where you need it.


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## Oxtox (Aug 16, 2006)

personally, I would NEVER buy (or sell) used footwear.

picked up a foot fungus from a public shower almost 40 years ago...it's been resistant to every OTC and Rx drug available. even after lengthy and rigorous treatments, it'll disappear for a while but always comes back...

wouldn't want anyone to get this crap from wearing my shoes.


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## Akirasho (Jan 27, 2004)

Oxtox said:


> personally, I would NEVER buy (or sell) used footwear.
> 
> picked up a foot fungus from a public shower almost 40 years ago...it's been resistant to every OTC and Rx drug available. even after lengthy and rigorous treatments, it'll disappear for a while but always comes back...
> 
> wouldn't want anyone to get this crap from wearing my shoes.


my foot has started to itch after reading this post.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

Oxtox said:


> personally, I would NEVER buy (or sell) used footwear.
> 
> picked up a foot fungus from a public shower almost 40 years ago...it's been resistant to every OTC and Rx drug available. even after lengthy and rigorous treatments, it'll disappear for a while but always comes back...
> 
> wouldn't want anyone to get this crap from wearing my shoes.


Precisely why shoe stores make you wear socks to try on shoes. I doubt anybody wears bike shoes without socks.

Showers are a very good environment for fungi. Some people wear flip-flops in public showers for this very reason.


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## PoorInRichfield (Nov 30, 2013)

cSTD... Cycling Shoe Transmitted Disease 

Although I always used to wear flip-flops when I went swimming for this reason, I had never thought about getting a foot issue from used shoes... until now. :blush2: With the price of shoes pushing $400+ for top-of-the-line models, used shoes are quite attractive to me! 

My wife has about 3 trillion pairs of used shoes from resale shops and I don't recall that she has ever had a problem. Heck, I don't even know if she owns any new shoes. Perhaps women are less likely to have stinky, nasty feet?

I'm not saying that means you can't get a foot fungus from a used pair of shoes, but I'm wondering if the solutions provided here would be more than enough to keep your feet 'safe' (I.e., vinegar, new insoles, sunlight, etc.)


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

PoorInRichfield said:


> cSTD... Cycling Shoe Transmitted Disease
> 
> Although I always used to wear flip-flops when I went swimming for this reason, I had never thought about getting a foot issue from used shoes... until now. :blush2: With the price of shoes pushing $400+ for top-of-the-line models, used shoes are quite attractive to me!
> 
> ...


I am thinking because showers can be continuously wet, it is quite easy to transmit a fungus from one pair of feet to another. Shoes probably dry out long enough between wearers for that environment to be hostile to the continued life of a fungus.

After all, look at all the bowling shoes that are rented out. All they do it spay inside them between wearings with something that probably does nothing more than mask odors.


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## Oxtox (Aug 16, 2006)

whatever strain of fungus I picked up, it's apparently unkillable.

the best respite from symptoms is when I go on live-aboard dive vacations where I'm in the ocean several hours per day and not wearing shoes for 10-12 consecutive days. this combo produced the longest-term relief. but, once back on land and wearing shoes daily, the stuff re-appears in a few weeks.

was working in a chem lab and the itching/burning was so bad one day I tried putting reagent-grade nitric acid between two of my toes to see if that would kill the stuff...

didn't help and not recommended.


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## Akirasho (Jan 27, 2004)

Oxtox said:


> whatever strain of fungus I picked up, it's apparently unkillable.


So, in this case, the fungus picked up a human...


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

Oxtox said:


> whatever strain of fungus I picked up, it's apparently unkillable.
> 
> the best respite from symptoms is when I go on live-aboard dive vacations where I'm in the ocean several hours per day and not wearing shoes for 10-12 consecutive days. this combo produced the longest-term relief. but, once back on land and wearing shoes daily, the stuff re-appears in a few weeks.
> 
> ...


Yikes! I don't know what that is you picked up, but I have to wonder if it's systemic.


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## PBL450 (Apr 12, 2014)

Oxtox said:


> whatever strain of fungus I picked up, it's apparently unkillable.
> 
> the best respite from symptoms is when I go on live-aboard dive vacations where I'm in the ocean several hours per day and not wearing shoes for 10-12 consecutive days. this combo produced the longest-term relief. but, once back on land and wearing shoes daily, the stuff re-appears in a few weeks.
> 
> ...


OMG, I had something like this happen many years ago. It tortured me for YEARS! Toes and under my ankles... I tried everything. I would mix bleach with liquid styptic and apply with a QTip. Also don’t recommend. That said, the burning was actually a relief and I think that may have been the combo that eventually worked. I would never buy used shoes... What I spent battling that problem could buy you a bike let alone a pair of shoes. I’m never sockless in any shoe and I’m never bare foot in the gym unless I’m seated and keeping my feet off the floor when I change. I’m very careful with my feet ever since... I feel for you and I mean it...


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## Akirasho (Jan 27, 2004)

So, the takeaway from this thread is, feet are just not worth it!


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## PoorInRichfield (Nov 30, 2013)

PBL450 said:


> I would never buy used shoes... ... I’m very careful with my feet ever since... I feel for you and I mean it...


Did either of you contract your foot issues from used shoes or are you just being cautious? 

This article support the idea that nasty things can be transferred via used shoes:

Can You Get Toenail Fungus from Used Shoes?



> *How Long Does Toenail Fungus Live on Surfaces?*
> 
> The problem with wearing pre-owned shoes is that toenail fungus can continue to live in a shoe for a long period of time. Yes, the nail bed of a toe provides extra moisture and ‘food’ for a fungus to grow. But, how long do fungal spores live on their own? It isn’t exactly known how long spores can live. But, we do know that fungus can survive on a surface for up to six months.



:yikes:


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## PBL450 (Apr 12, 2014)

PoorInRichfield said:


> Did either of you contract your foot issues from used shoes or are you just being cautious?
> 
> This article support the idea that nasty things can be transferred via used shoes:
> 
> ...


I cant say with any confidence how I got the problem... Sorry.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

PoorInRichfield said:


> Did either of you contract your foot issues from used shoes or are you just being cautious?
> 
> This article support the idea that nasty things can be transferred via used shoes:
> 
> ...


Toenail fungus is pretty common and I would bet most people are exposed to the fungus even if their nails are never infected. What eventually causes infection is when a nail bed becomes damaged from being jammed inside a shoe.


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## Akirasho (Jan 27, 2004)

Lombard said:


> Toenail fungus is pretty common and I would bet most people are exposed to the fungus even if their nails are never infected. What eventually causes infection is when a nail bed becomes damaged from being jammed inside a shoe.


A good point. We often see ourselves as biological fortresses, but in truth our bodies are in constant flux, dealing with other biologics from within and without. We only tend to notice when the balance tips. In some cases, the balance never returns.

Now, everybody go outside and get a handful of dirt and...


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## DonS49 (Sep 21, 2016)

To anyone with continuing problems of foot fungus, you may want to try Oregano Oil capsules. Oregano oil is anti-bacterial and anti-fungal--it has helped two of my friends clear up fungal infections.


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