People Are Sharing the Brilliant Ways They Deal with Musty Winter Boots
Winter weather recently blanketed snow and ice over regions that almost never receive it, like Florida and Louisiana. It’s a beautiful recipe for people who don’t have proper winter footwear to have very wet and cold feet as they try out snow-shoveling hacks for the first time or try to get their plants inside to survive the cold. Brrr!
Even I, someone who’s lived in the Midwest since college, wish I had more helpful tips. I have the proper footwear, and there’s always that dreaded moment when snow gets into my winter boots from the top and the waterproof exterior makes the liquid puddle around my toes until I take them off.
If this is you — and you’re looking at a pile of wet boots in the corner of your living room right now, people on the LifeProTips subreddit have ingenious tips they swear by for eradicating that lingering wet smell and damp material the next day — and I’ll be trying all of them out ASAP.
Reddit user @Pristine_Kick8337, recently crowdsourced wet boot solutions while also sharing their go-tos. “If you’re like me and your boots always end up damp or freezing after being outside, try this: Stuff your boots with crumpled newspaper or paper towels when you come inside,” they said. “The paper absorbs all the moisture from the inside of your boots overnight, leaving them dry and warm by morning. Plus, it helps keep them from smelling funky, too.”
To make your boots feel a little warmer (and even less stinky!) the next day, they suggested putting “reusable hand warmers or even a sock filled with uncooked rice (heated in the microwave)” in each boot for 10-15 minutes before you head out into the snow.
Other Redditors were quick to point out that newspapers aren’t readily available for most people nowadays, and suggested their own eco-friendly tips for keeping wet boots dry and smell-free. Here are the best ones.
Put your boots over a vent
Redditor @ItTakesaWhile said that they make use of their home’s heating system to effortlessly dry their footwear. “I put my boots upside down over the floor vent so the air is blowing into the boot,” they shared. “Dry shoes the next day every time.”
Meanwhile, @WhiteBoyRick92 said they’d repurposed their white noise fan as a makeshift dryer. “I have a box fan on every night for noise. I just put my boots in front of it so they’re always dry in the morning, and they never stink.”
Invest in a specialty boot dryer
If you live in a region that regularly gets snow and still haven’t figured out how to make sure your boots stay dry, there are investments you can make. Numerous Redditors said they’d splurged on a specialty boot dryer like the “game-changing” DryGuy Boot Dryer or the Peet Boot Dryer. @LineWorker2448 shared, “I rotate all my footwear year-round on my (2) Peet boot dryers. Dries and pre-toasts them in the winter time & dries and deodorizes them in the summer.”
Use shoe trees to retain your boots’ shape while simultaneously drying them
User @ThinkBullets said you can use a boot product you probably already have at home to absorb any dampness — the shoe tree. Pointing out that no one has newspaper “laying around anymore,” they argued, “Shoe trees absorb moisture and maintain the shape of the boot/shoe.
Drop silica gel packets in your shoes overnight
Several people said that the reusable desiccant, silica gel beads, which come in product packaging and are used for keeping things dry and preventing any mold and bacteria, are perfect for getting rid of excess moisture.
Redditor @LiftsEatsSleeps pointed out that these packets can be “dried out in the oven for reuse when they eventually get saturated,” making them an eco-friendly (and, likely free!) solution.
Put dryer sheets in your boots for fresh-smelling footwear
If your boots are dry but still smell bad, Redditor @ClarenceBirdFrost suggests putting a common laundry product in your shoes overnight for getting rid of any weird scents. “On a semi-related note, scented dryer sheets are great for odor,” they said.
Further Reading
Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About Article’s DTC Furniture
We Tested (and Rated!) All the Sofas at Pottery Barn — Here Are the Best for Every Type of Need
We Asked 8 Pro Travelers What They Never Pack in Their Carry-On, and Here’s What They Said
