Do You Want To Know A Secret?
Posted By Kristabella on July 26, 2011
Apparently years of reading Jonna’s posts have made me start to make song titles my blog post titles.
(And now as I write this, I’ll be singing this song. “ooh, wah, ooh…let me whisper in your ear…ooh, wah, ooh”)
(I think Twitter has made me lose my ability to write one post about a single topic, without wanting to interject other thoughts in 140 characters or less.)
(I mean, I haven’t even gotten to the point of this post and we’re four paragraphs deep.)
(I blame the heat. Because yesterday, as I stood on the platform waiting for my train, talking on the phone with my brother, I was dripping sweat from my elbow crease. My elbow was sweating! DRIPPING.)
(MY ELBOW!)
Ahem.
Speaking of the heat, I have a secret to share with you. This heat, and the sweatiness and all that it entails, has given me an embarrassing affliction (besides elbow, boob and ass sweat) – it has given me stinky feet and stinky shoes!
I know! GROSS!
I’ve never really had this problem before. And in the past, I guess it wasn’t a problem because I was awful sedentary. I got up to go to the bathroom and that was about it. Also, it was always, always cold in there and I had my space heater on, even in the middle of July. So any kind of perspiration was non-existent.
Now it’s different. I work for a large company. I have to get up and walk to the bathroom, to talk to co-workers and my boss, have to go upstairs to discuss things with other departments. That, plus sometimes I leave work to go grab lunch. All this activity and movement makes a girl perspire. Which apparently means my feet sweat and then I wear the same few pairs of shoes and they start to get smelly.
I went out to the store to buy some Odor Eaters foot powder. I thought this would be a good solution. Except, I don’t wear the shoes that need the powder until I get to work. So if I put powder in them, and then throw them in my bag, I get to work with foot powder covering everything, including my lunch.
So I need suggestions, people! I’m afraid no one will talk to me at work because of my foot odor problem!
About the author
I developed the same… Issue… when I started working at a bank. Standing on my feet ALL day long and being perpetually hot ruined quite a damn lot of shoes due to reekage.
The solution I found was gross, but it worked. I put deodorant. On the bottoms of my feet.
People make fun of it all the time, I KNOW, it sounds grody. But I do use a different deodorant for my feet than my pits. And at least my feet don’t stank anymore.
My husband has nasty man swamp foot issues (seriously; I used to make him keep his gym shoes in the garage.), and the Dr. Scholl’s odor-x insoles + Odor Eaters spray make it totally go away.
(The odor-eaters spray also works on gross, gross hockey equipment. But you probably don’t have that problem.)
Hmm I was going to say powder before I got to the bottom of the post…sooo I got nothin
How about putting the power in the shoes then putting the shoes inside a plastic shopping bag before you put them in your work bag.
Vodka. No really…. put some cheap vodka in a spray bottle and spray the inside of your shoes lightly. Do a test patch to make sure it doesn’t leave a faded mark. The vodka kills odor producing bacteria – yay!
Leave the powder in your desk at work and sprinkle when you get there? Use a spray deodorant on your feet.
Lysol spray in the shoes. Seriously. It kills the bacteria that causes foot odor.
Also, if you’re just wearing them at work, why not just leave them at work rather than lugging them along? I keep my heels in my desk at work (along with a can of lysol spray because I have sweaty feet). You can always bring them home on Friday if you need them over the weekend.
I agree with Lisa. Leave the foot powder at work and apply when you get there and change shoes. Wear Odor Eaters insoles in the shoes you wear on the way to work. Wear socks, or those peds thingies if you’re worried about sock lines, on the way to work. And FYI, I’ve used cornstarch in a pinch instead of the foot powder.
i was also going to suggest leaving the foot powder at work, but now i like the vodka suggestion the best! NEAT! please to report back if you try that one 🙂
I’ve actually heard that rubbing down the insoles with rubbing alcohol will help, and I’ve also heard the vodka trick.
I typically put baby powder in my boots after I take them off, and that seems to help a little.
I also have a can of spray deodorant that I’m not afraid to use on my feet, especially because I have a horrible problem with my feet getting sweaty in the summer, while I’m wearing strappy sandals, thus causing me feet to make weird noises when I walk as my feet slip and slide in said strappy sandals. It’s very attractive.
Clearly, your only option is to remove your feet via amputation and replace them with wheels.
I like Avitable’s suggestion. 😉
1) Bounce sheets in your shoes. I KNOW this one works because I do it to my work boots. Ever worn combat boots for 24 hours at a time in the GA summer? If Bounce can help that level of swamp foot then I know it should help you.
2) Odor Eaters Insoles (Note: You do have to trim to the right size. make sure to make a lefty and a righty or you’ll feel dumb)
3) Deodorant. I use a lot. To quote Jen Lancaster “My back fat is April fresh!”
4) Demand foot baths and pedicures at work. 🙂
Assuming you wear closed toed shoes, you could try Sneaker Balls – they are designed for running shoes, but you can really put them in any type of closed shoe – they have them at most sporting goods stores now.
Basically they are little plastic ball air fresheners so same benefit as foot powder without the powder mess.