Musty smell in shoes?

[phoenixgirl]

Long story, but it's kind of interesting, so here goes . . . I had this long-lost rich uncle (my only uncle, actually) who fell out of the picture because his wife was bed-ridden. Being rich, she had a personal shopper and continued purchasing clothes and shoes (and building/decorating this ginormous mansion that they never moved into) which she never got to wear. She passed away 3 years ago, and my uncle, no longer unable/unwilling to leave home, came back into the picture. At one point I was alone in her closet of the never-lived-in mansion and told to pick something out (having won the Cinderella contest ~ none of his 3 daughters/in-law or 4 granddaughters had the same size feet). Since she was an old lady not everything was to my taste, but I picked out two pairs of never-worn Stuart Weitzman pumps, one silver and one gold. (Here's the gold one for a visual: http://www.etsy.com/listing/3518883...+gold&ga_search_type=user_shop_ttt_id_7100069)

So I don't remember the closet smelling musty, but ever since the shoes came home with me, they have totally reeked of must. Little old lady must. I remember that there was a leak in the bedroom ceiling (which, granted, was like 50 feet from the closet since this was a mansion), so maybe that was the cause. Or maybe it was the Miss Havisham of it all. Anyway, now my guestroom closet reeks of Little Old Lady. Over the years I've tried to deodorize them and Febreeze them and all that, but they still smell. Right now I've got them on my back porch in the sun.

I just can't bring myself to throw them away, but I don't want the closet of the guestroom to reek forever. What can I do? A lot of the normal "must" treatments might damage the fabric, I think? Any suggestions?

 

[soocool]

What I have always done with my boots is to stuff them with newspaper. For some reason it works and no musty smell. And believe me after wearing them all winter and stroring away in the closet for 9 months they have absolutely no odor.

 

[iheartscience]

You could try putting them in the freezer. When I worked retail we used to recommend that to the guys who were into not washing their raw denim jeans, and apparently it really works.

 

[DivaDiamond007]

What I have always done with my boots is to stuff them with newspaper. For some reason it works and no musty smell. And believe me after wearing them all winter and stroring away in the closet for 9 months they have absolutely no odor.

This or try stuffing them with fresh dryer sheets (not used ones). I used to do that with my pointe shoes when they developed a funk

 

[phoenixgirl]

Awesome, I'm going to try all (if necessary) of these suggestions.

When I was reading my daughter "Pat the Bunny" tonight, I realized that the smell is almost exactly the "flower" smell in the book. So I am wondering if maybe the smell is more some fragrance she had in the closet and less actual mildew or grossness? Do they sell "little old lady" fragrances?

I think I'm going to try the freezer first.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

LOL "little old lady" fragrance. What about putting them in a bag or box with a charcoal deodorizer. HD/Lowes sells bags of it for closets.