What stinks?

WHAT STINKS?

 



I recently had the distinct privilege of becoming one of those mothers who clenched every time my son took his shoes off. It was Torture, the smell I'm sure could have killed any small rodent within a 10 ft. radius.
It started about half way through soccer season. Understandable since he was running non stop for hours in hot weather, sometimes in the rain, it could happen to anyone. Right?
So his cleats were banned to the garage where I would dose them frequently with fabric refresher until I was reasonable certain the odor was under control. As for his feet- straight to the tub to be washed as well as any prepubescent boy washed themselves. Which I'm fairly certain involved a quick splash of water , a minut amount of soap, a rinse , then the smell test. Not familiar with this particular test? Well picture a boy lifting his foot to his nose, if he smells soap before anything else. There clean.
Two weeks after school started and new shoes , the smell once again began to permeate my nasal passages. ugh.
I admit I scoured the internet for solutions. Surprisingly not one cause or remedy had anything to do with what the material of the shoe was made of, which I guess I had always assumed that leather was the culprit when really it was  a buildup of bacteria all along. Duh ! Of course. my son's feet stink because of bacteria.

A few of  the remedies I've tried , Baking soda was just ok, soaking the feet in tea , nope. Even a drug store powder was a bust . A trick that somewhat helped was putting antiperspirant on his feet, who would have thought?

This is What works for him now

He now has 2 pairs of shoes , which he wears on alternating days, it gives the other pair a chance to air dry properly. As well as midday sock change if needed .
Thankfully now the answer to my question " what stinks" no longer is my son's feet.
Though I'm always on sniff patrol Its winter time, hormones are raging . I can't wait to see what spring smells fill the air in our house.