My shoes are too funky !

November 25, 2020 7:15 AM

I bought a pair of shoes via ebay (Doc Martens, casual) but they've come from a house where they obviously smoked because they have a bad cigarette/nicotine odor. I've tried to clean them but the smell hasn't dissipated. Any tips on eradicating this stench appreciated. They are leather upper, DM soles.
posted by Webbster to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (5 answers total)

Best answer: Activated charcoal. It's sold at pet supplies stores in the section for tropical fish needs. For shoes and clothing, I normally put charcoal in an old sock or a cloth bag to avoid getting black stuff on everything. You might want to put the shoes and the charcoal into a plastic bag or covered box.
posted by wryly at 8:54 AM on November 25, 2020 [5 favorites]

After the charcoal treatment, hours (or if possible, days) of direct sunshine and/or a UV lamp.
posted by bilabial at 9:30 AM on November 25, 2020 [3 favorites]

Be careful with sun on leather. I ruined a good pair of shoes that way once.
posted by aniola at 10:06 AM on November 25, 2020

Ozone treatment works for odors like that but it might be a bit much to buy an ozone generator just for one pair of shoes.
posted by GuyZero at 10:18 AM on November 25, 2020 [1 favorite]

Putting stuff in a box with crumpled up newspaper also works if you still have newspaper.
posted by FencingGal at 10:35 AM on November 25, 2020 [1 favorite]