De-stinking Vibram Five Fingers

Do your VFFs smell like dead squid?

A few years ago, as the sun spilled over the horizon, I bought some fresh seafood from Dubai fish market for a paella I was making later that day. In amongst the bags was some glistening fresh squid and when I got home I discovered that some of the squid juice had leaked from the bag and saturated the car's carpeting. To make matters worse it was my wife's car!
No matter how much I washed the carpet, the Dubai heat ensured that the car smelled like a corpse left out in the sun for a few weeks. The wife was somewhat unimpressed, as you can imagine.

Despite all my efforts nothing seemed to help until my wife suggested using cat litter, an old trick her Mom had taught her to keep tennis shoes (those old canvas types) smelling clean. So I soaked the affected area with fresh water and piled an inch deep layer of  cat litter over it. It took two treatments but it worked and she happily drives her car to this day, making sure I take plastic container with on my trips to the fish market.

So, when my much worn and loved Vibram Five Fingers developed a definite funk (in Dubai heat your feet sweat even if you're just wearing flip-flops, never mind toe hugging black textile) I thought I'd try the same treatment.

1. I first tossed the shoes into the washing machine for an initial clean. They were damp when I took them out but a quick rinse under the tap made sure they were wet again.
2. Holding the shoes so they hung toes down I poured handfuls of litter into them, making sure to push some into each toe pocket. I don't own cats so don't know much about cat litter other than its odour eating properties, but my bag of kitty litter has quite fine granules which are perfect for getting into toe pockets.
3. I left the shoes outside to dry for a day or so. Things dry fast here despite the humidity.

4. Once dry I poured the kitty litter out and rinsed the shoes again to get all the little bits out, especially those in the toes. I don't need kitty litter pebble induced chafing or blister, thank you.

The Vibram's smell much better now, no funky fug. I wouldn't do this treatment too regularly as it's time consuming, but I think it's a good treatment every now and then for when things get a bit much.


sunburnt ... and in need of a shave