Destinking Barn Boots

[Curb_Appeal]

I wear my Ariat Terrains to work 30 hours per week. About 2 hours every day is spent mucking stalls and paddocks. After less than two months my new boots absolutely reek! I was keeping them in the laundry room, but have now had to relegate them to the garage. Driving to work with the heater on in my car is a nasty experience. I have been scraping them daily when I am done, but I think the odors have permeated the soles.

I have done countless searches online, but can only find suggestions for fixing stinky interiors. Does anyone know any tips for removing odor from the soles of boots? Anything I can set them in when I am not wearing, or spray on that might help?

[BuddyRoo]

So you’re not one of those people who can drive around with horse gear in the car, warmed by the sun, take a big whiff and smile, eh? LOL

To be honest, I think that wearing non-leather boots (such as Muck Boot brand) while mucking and saving your Ariats for everything else would be the best prevention in the future. The porous leather absorbs all of that stink/urine if not polished/treated. And if I’m thinking of the right boot, yours are kind of suede-y.

If I were in your “shoes”, I’d think about getting a big thing of Nature’s Miracle and soaking the boots in that for a bit, then letting them dry. You can fluff up the suede part after they dry with a dry tooth brush. All of the other solutions I can think of would likely bleach your boots. But the enzymatic cleaner like Nature’s Miracle should do the trick as long as you get the boots completely saturated and then let them completely dry. After that…back to the muck boot idea.

I’ve had my muck boots for oh…gosh. Nearly 10 years? For several of those years, I was cleaning stalls daily and never had a problem with them being stinky if I hosed them off and there wasn’t actual material stuck to them. Prior to that, I used to wear a hiking boot type (Asolo) and they did reek. So I think I know what you’re talking about and I think it’s simply due to the porous nature of the leather.

[Curb_Appeal]

[QUOTE=BuddyRoo;8342671]
So you’re not one of those people who can drive around with horse gear in the car, warmed by the sun, take a big whiff and smile, eh? LOL [/QUOTE]

I love most horsey smells, but urine is most definitely not one of them.

These are what I wear. www.ariat.com/TERRAIN_H2O_W_FOO.html They are waterproofed leather uppers with what I am assuming is a rubber of some sort for the soles. It’s the soles that stink. The uppers are fine. They are absolutely the most comfortable boots I’ve worn, which is important being on my feet 6 hours per day at work, then having horses to care for at home too.

I will give the Natures Miracle a try. I have a boot tray that they sit on in the garage. Maybe a half an inch in the tray would help to de-stink.

[Zu_Zu]

More than one pair of boots ~ one barn & one work …

two or more pairs of boots

one pair = barn only / stored in trunk of car

one pair = work only & ! never near ‘barn boots’ !

new pair = ready to be put in use = never near other pairs

** change socks too ! Before work to save the smell integrity of ‘work boots’

[frugalannie]

Contact Ariat and ask them. Could possibly be a bad mix of materials for that sole lot.

FWIW I had a pair of Blundstones whose soles starting disintegrating before they were a year old. I contacted the Blundstone US rep and it turned out the rubber wasn’t to spec in that batch and they replaced mine.

If not a material problem, Ariat might know how to destinkify them. :winkgrin:

[Frog_Pond]

@Zu Zu;8342690

two or more pairs of boots . one pair = barn only / stored in trunk of car
one pair = work only & ! never near ‘barn boots’ !

Great thread. I wear the lace up Terrains for mucking, yard work, whatever, and have the same problem – they smell like pee. Stinky mare pee. Soooo, I bought a zip up pair that I wear for riding and leaving the property. Voila! Problem solved. I thought about trying to clean the soles and then just decided life’s too short. FYI, Crocs really soak up the stench, too. Birki plastic clogs do not :yes:!

[Curb_Appeal]

I did email Ariat this morning to see if they had any suggestions. Right now I have my boots sitting in a 1/2" pool of Nature’s Miracle in a boot tray. We shall see if that helps. If not, a second pair may be in order. The only problem with that is that my car is a wagon, so no trunk for stinky boots, and there is no place warm to store my boots at work, so with winter coming I will have to come up with a transportation solution. Maybe an airtight tote for transport.

Thanks all for the suggestions.

[js]

I tossed my Ariat Terrains H20’s in the washing machine and washed them on delicate. It was noisy and probably not good for the washer but it needed to be done. I allowed them to air dry for a couple days. Worked and didn’t ruin the boots either. Would recommend a clean cycle for the washer afterwards.

Not necessarily indorsing doing that but letting you know my experience.

[seabreeze]

I’ve never found a solution. There are some boots I wear to the barn and some I don’t. It’s the only way I’ve found to do it.

[buck22]

I recently was volunteering at a horse event. After 30 days of no rain and bright sunshine, the day I volunteered the heavens opened and it poured. Not surprising.

I was wearing light, comfortable, fabric, sneaker-like pullons and no socks - as it had been California-dry for over a month. I finished my duties for the day and into the night in absolutely sopping wet shoes and by the time I got home many hours later, my feet were so pruney they hurt.

I left the shoes in the laundry room to dry out, but by the 3rd day they stunk to high holy heaven.

I washed them with laundry detergent. I left them in the sun for a week. I sprayed them with a strong bleach solution. I soaked them overnight in chlorhexadine. Nothing worked.

Thinking I was going to have throw the shoes out, I read somewhere about trying OxyClean. I made a paste with the stuff, rubbed it in good into the fabric and soles, let it sit for a couple of hours, then immersed them in a bucket of water and agitated them until the water became foamy. Then let them sit for another few hours.

Then rinsed them until the water ran clear, filled them with newspaper to dry. Changed the newspaper every few hours, and voila!!! no more stink!

I’m amazed OxyClean worked better than chlorine bleach.

I agree, if your barn has a strong odor, you need shoes dedicated for the barn. But if you’re desperate to try to salvage these, maybe OxyClean will work for you.

[Zu_Zu]

Hefty Bag = “Odor Block” bag … inside a Rubbermaid plastic Storage Tote Box !

This worked for me …a Hefty Bag the “Odor Block” bag :yes:

inside a Rubbermaid Storage Tote Box …

** this also ensures the "Europeen " boots are not thrown out :eek: in the trash due to being in only a trash bag because then you’d be down to just one pair of boots :winkgrin:

no one will throw out a Storage box ! but they might a trash bag with “STINKY” boots :lol:

ok ok don’t laugh it happens !

[goodhors]

For those washing shoes in the machine, they sell boot driers that do a terrific job getting shoes and boots gently dried out. Totally washing and drying leather will require conditioning leather to remove stiffness in paddock type boots. For leather athletic shoes they seem mostly fine when dry, not stiff at all. I used to wash the kid’s athletic shoes all the time. Put them on boot dryer and they came out well by morning, didn’t shorten useful wear time either.

Our local farm stores sell boot dryers, usually $30 or so. They work by convection, warm not hot. Don’t cook the leather in drying it overnight, ready to wear in the morning with just regular dampness from ra in or wet grass you walk thru. Nothing beats putting on warm footwear before heading to the barn on cold morning!

I use the boot dryers year around on various shoes that get wet during daily use. Heat prevents mold issues with a shorter drying time.

No help with stinky shoe soles. Husband’s barn shoes (worn all day in barns) will get that way over time, but they usually are ready to be replaced by then, so no efforts are made to save those shoes.

[mroades]

I love my boot dryer…but it does nothing for the pee smell on the outside…lol

[Chall]

Put them in a mesh bag and shut the trunk on it with the mesh bag hanging out?
Boots are on the outside of the car.

Never tried it, but they’d get a lot of air and not stink up your car.

[Unfforgettable]

Get some KOE (kennel odor eliminator) and mix it into a quart sized spray bottle. It will kill the smell as soon as you spray it on…not just cover it up, but kill it. You can buy it on Amazon,in a handy little measuring bottle. I triple the strength, using a full ounce in a quart spray bottle, and one little bottle will last about forever.

[Curb_Appeal]

[QUOTE=Unfforgettable;8349965]
Get some KOE (kennel odor eliminator) and mix it into a quart sized spray bottle. It will kill the smell as soon as you spray it on…not just cover it up, but kill it. You can buy it on Amazon,in a handy little measuring bottle. I triple the strength, using a full ounce in a quart spray bottle, and one little bottle will last about forever.[/QUOTE]

I have been letting the boots sit in a tray of Nature’s Miracle between wears. I’m happy to report that it seems to be working! The tray option is getting pricey because the NM evaporates quickly, so I will probably try spraying them instead. I’ll definitely try the KOE.

Thanks for all of the suggestions!

[Mosey_2003]

How high up are you getting the stinkiness? Could try some rubber overshoes, Dad calls them Wellies but I don’t think that’s their proper name. Then you could just take them off, hose off, and leave at the barn to dry.

https://www.google.com/search?q=rubber+over+shoes&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8