How to Clean Smelly Gym Shoes

Regular workouts do wonders for your appearance, your energy level and your overall fitness, but they're murder on your Adidas. What's more, the tell-tale odor has a nasty way of following you, stinking up your closet, your gym bag, your locker or your car. You can shower, but your shoes can't.
So what's the best way to deal with smelly gym shoes? Wear clean, cotton socks during every workout and sprinkle a teaspoon of baking soda into each shoe after every wearing. Send them through the washing machine every once in a while, just like you do with the rest of your gym clothes. Here's how to wash your sneakers without ruining them.

Things You'll Need

• Terrycloth washcloth
• Laundry pre-treat spray
• Washing machine
• Laundry detergent
• Color-safe bleach
• Dryer
• White paper

Instructions

1. Take the laces out of your shoes, and remove any inserts. Pull the tongue of the shoes out, to expose as much of the surface as possible.

2. Brush any loose dirt or mud off your gym shoes with a terrycloth washcloth. Spray especially dirty areas with laundry pre-treater.

3. Set the washing machine to maximum capacity and the water temperature to warm. Start the water running.

4. Add the recommended amount of detergent and color-safe bleach for the laundry cycle you are running. The bleach will kill the bacteria that makes the shoes smelly. Put the shoes, laces and inserts in the washing machine, and let the cycle run until finished.

5. Set the dryer temperature to warm, and tumble dry the shoes for 10 minutes. Remove the shoes and stuff the toes with crumpled white paper, and place them in a well-ventilated area to air dry.