The Unexpected Reason People Put Their Shoes Inside The Freezer (& Should You?)

It's hard to imagine opening up the freezer to grab something for dinner, only to see a pair of shoes. While it might seem like a very strange find, many people actually freeze their sneakers as a hack for eliminating smelly odors within a few hours. But does it work? Sort of. As we know, stinky shoes can really take overwhelm a home, which might have you playing detective to locate the source. The pungent smell is also quite embarrassing, especially if you have roommates or guests. So, it makes sense that people want to get rid of it as fast as possible.

Bad-smelling shoes are a witch's brew of things like bacteria, sweat, fungus, skin cells, and dirt. Bacteria thrive in moisture, and a sweaty foot creates the perfect environment inside a shoe. An unpleasant odor is produced after sweat is broken down by the bacteria, leaving you with sneakers you want to hide. There are all kinds of ways to try and banish funky shoe odors, including solutions like baking soda, activated charcoal, rubbing alcohol, and citrus peels. However, although it's unappealing, tossing your footwear in the freezer has to be one of the easiest solutions. It won't completely solve the problem, but it will reduce some of the bacteria and smell for some time, and all it requires is a plastic bag or container.

Bacteria need a warm, moist home to grow, and a freezer is essentially the opposite of that. Many believe that freezing your shoes will kill all the bacteria, but it only eliminates some of them. This means that it only reduces some of the foul smell, too. So while this technique may temporarily help with the odor, it won't get rid of it for good. Sometime after your shoes come out of the freezer and warm up again, the remaining bacteria will happily continue feasting on your sweat and producing those annoying odors.

While it might not be the perfect solution, this trick could be a great temporary remedy for certain situations. For example, if you want to wear your favorite sneakers the next day, and need an quick and easy fix for clearing up some of the odor. It'll at least buy you some time before you can address the issue completely. Keep in mind that you shouldn't put suede or leather shoes in the freezer — stick to sneakers and casual fabric ones.

If you want to try this fascinating technique for even a little odor relief, here's what to do. Take your shoes and place them in either a plastic container or a sealed plastic bag, which will help contain the bad smell. It'll also prevent food odors from transferring over to your sneakers. Then, let them chill in the freezer overnight (or for about 12 hours). When you take them out the next day, make sure they reach room temperature before putting them back on.  

To really achieve smell-free shoes, this method should be combined with other solutions. One combination could be freezing the shoes, pouring baking soda into them after they thaw naturally, then allowing them to dry in the sunshine after use. Merge it with other habits like washing your shoes regularly and storing them in areas that are well-ventilated. If you get these tricks and combinations right, it's very likely smelly shoes will be a thing of the past. Overall, this freezing tip is an interesting technique to keep in your back pocket.