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Smelly Feet

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  • Hi peeps

    Have done a search and found how to solve smelly shoes, but any ideas how to solve smelly feet?

    My housemate's feet stink all the time and as awful as it sounds, i hate being in the same room when she takes her shoes off as they are so bad they make me feel ill :eek:

    She is really clean and showers regularly, changes socks regularly, but doesn't seem to make any difference.

    Am i destined to carry on living with the smell (and spending most of my time in room) or is there any hope, lol

    Thanks very much
    [FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]D[FONT=&quot]ebt free since May 2015[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot][/FONT][/FONT]
  • greenbee
    greenbee Posts: 17,757 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Does she know that she has a problem? If so, is she willing to let you make suggestions or is she defensive about it?

    Try here, here and here for ideas and suggestions.

    N.B. this may do better on the health & beauty forum...
  • irishwexford
    irishwexford Posts: 561 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker
    I find that I have this problem at present. I have a foot spray which I use every day, perhaps you could buy her one if it will not offend. I make sure I do not wear the same sandles two days running and leave mine outside to dry out . My bowls shoes smell so I leave these outside after every match as I have just the one pair. Its easy to sort this out as long as she is aware of the problem, I certainly am as I can smell my feet myself.
  • Thanks for the suggestions.

    She doesn't seem to ever acknowledge or notice the smell and is VERY sensitive to criticism. I didn't know her before I moved in and have only been living with her for a short while so a difficult one to broach as we don't really know each other very well.

    Might have to start menioning that mine are a bit smelly and see if she responds! Failing that, i will buy some spray and leave it lying round in the kitchen
    [FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]D[FONT=&quot]ebt free since May 2015[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot][/FONT][/FONT]
  • greenbee
    greenbee Posts: 17,757 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Thanks for the suggestions.

    She doesn't seem to ever acknowledge or notice the smell and is VERY sensitive to criticism. I didn't know her before I moved in and have only been living with her for a short while so a difficult one to broach as we don't really know each other very well.

    Might have to start menioning that mine are a bit smelly and see if she responds! Failing that, i will buy some spray and leave it lying round in the kitchen

    How about you treat the two of you to a pedicure? Or even suggest a home pedicure, with a nice long foot soak and scrub, cleaning under toe-nails, cutting toe nails etc - and you can talk about how you keep your feet lovely and soft and sweet-smelling :D.

    I use out of date camomile teabags as a foot soak, scrub with salt/pumice and one of those scary things that looks like a cheese grater, then bung on foot cream (burts bees is nice, but vaseline actually works very well) and sit with my feet wrapped in warm towels for a while. Getting rid of hard skin etc may well help, as should making sure toenails are clean and healthy.

    Good luck... it can't be pleasant :o
  • Penelope_Penguin
    Penelope_Penguin Posts: 17,242 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker I've been Money Tipped!
    Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere (please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].
    :rudolf: Sheep, pigs, hens and bees on our Teesdale smallholding :rudolf:
  • geordie_joe
    geordie_joe Posts: 9,112 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Failing that, i will buy some spray and leave it lying round in the kitchen

    Might be better leaving it in the bathroom, unless she washes her feet in the kitchen sink?

    If she were a man I would suggest the age old trick of leaving a bar of Wrights coal tar soap in her shoe. It may not be subtle enough for this occasion, but I've known a few men who arrived at work to find a colleague had left them a present of a bar of soap.
  • Serena51
    Serena51 Posts: 203 Forumite
    100 Posts
    My son has had this problem since puberty, he's now 29 and I found the most effective was tea tree oil. Now when he showers he rubs the neat oil over the soles of his feet and no problem. He also alternates his footwear and washes trainers in the washing machine on a regular basis. He also goes barefoot whenever possible.

    Hope this helps.
  • Katie-Kat-Kins
    Katie-Kat-Kins Posts: 1,741 Forumite
    Make sure you are wearing breathable shoes.

    A surprising number of even fairly expensive shoes these days are not leather and are synthetic lined.

    When you buy new shoes check the little label underneath, look for the leather symbol and check that the upper and the inner are both leather. This will let your feet breath, and will allow the sweat to evaporate. Synthetic shoes can be like wearing plastic bags, they "contain" the sweat.

    If you keep them well looked after they will last for ages too!
  • you know i think the best and cheapest way to get rid of the smell is to soak ur feet in cold tea, yes i know its strange but it works lol.
    Also using bi carb pwder sprikled in the shoes to absorb the smell and to put the shoes in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer over night, it kills the bacteria, strange but true.
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