Drying shoes

[calvin]

^ yes, but if you have to repeat this process almost every day it will become annoying.
i prefer to use special dryers for shoes

[mattr]

Newspaper stuffing is for when i'm away from home at a race or something.

[dmulligan]

Set and forget, dryers work great. I also already had mine for my family's ski boots.

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[ToffieBoi]

I like washing my shoes in washing machine, with few other old t-shirts after a wet ride.
Then I just stuff them with newspaper and place them under heater at home. A night is mostly enough to dry them.

[MRM]

Diapers turned inside out work well. More expensive than newspapers though.

[davidalone]

Shoes are not meant to be washed too often. This applies to any and all types of shoes. Materials in shoes are joined together either by stitching or by some sort of glue.

When shoes get wet, threads in the stitching and material itself absorbs water and expands. Once dry they contract. keep doing this and you have damaged threads and glued/stitched surfaces will seperate from each other. Wash when dirty, but avoid doing it too often. if you do have to di it, use a light soap and brush with a little water. avoid dunking the whole shoe in water.

Source: a friend who works for Asics.

[velomane]

I always leave my shoes air dry and rotate shoes. I current have 4 pairs of road shoes and 3 mtb. I never wash them. I will knock dirt and mud off them.

There's a novel solution! Why didn't I think of that. Looks like I'm shoe shopping now.

[dereksmalls]

Rinse the crap off, take out the inner soles, stuff with newspaper and put in front of the heater. No other option for me

[Devon]

Thanks for all the responses! My shoes aren't leather. They're the plastic-y Northwave Torpedo Plus and annoyingly don't have a removable insole (I think it's glued in).

For reference, I live in England. It rains every day and I use my shoes more frequently than every 12 hours (usually 2-3 rides a day including commuting). I don't have a clothes drier or a ceiling fan.

I do however have a dehumidifier that we use for the bathroom and drying clothes. I use it currently for shoes but it's a pain having to stand it in front of a chair to get the shoes at the right height etc. and isn't overly efficient.

I think I'll try some of the ski boot warmers, as buying newspapers will get expensive and tedious after a while when used all day every day!

That said, the heating will be on soon...

[dmulligan]

I was at my local ski shop yesterday and they had small portable ski boot warmer/dryers that slip into one pair for about $35 CAD. They would do the job very nicely.
When I use my upright stand made for 4 ski boots I just put my gloves on the other two. If I'm not riding again that day I don't even turn on the heat, just air for 3 hours usually does the trick.
You can make one of these with some PVC pipe and a hair dryer or a CPU fan. A small strong CPU fan or a larger one with a PVC reducer should work well. Ski boot dryers don't move a lot of air, it's just a lot more than moves through your shoes on their own.
D

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[11.4]

Shoes made from genuine leather are simply not a good choice in wet climates. You can't just not wash them, because the leather deteriorates rapidly from fine abrasive silt from mud or dirt on them working into the leather. These shoes have to be kept clean, whether it's mud or perspiration or energy drink. A certain amount of washing is necessary, but treating them with a good water-repellent shoe polish or leather treatment goes a long way to making washing a very simple affair.

Wet climates are where the smart choice becomes lorica. This stuff is synthetic and lasts forever, even in the wet. That doesn't mean your gluing and stitching is as durable, but at least you can clean off the uppers properly and rinse the insides to get out grunge and "biological debris."

There's no heat source that is good for any shoe, basically. If you have to dry them, you have to dry them, and then any treatment becomes a compromise between heat damage and damage from prolonged dampness. I have an LG clothes dryer that has a plastic shelf that fits inside the dryer drum. The drum rotates and hot air blows but the shelf stays level so you can put a sweater, cycling clothing, and... yes, shoes ... on it to dry them. It avoids localized heat in the shoe that most shoe dryers create, and it's over in about 20 minutes at a mild temperature. Best trick I've found to drying shoes (and also for drying expensive bib shorts and skin suits). Obviously it's not the least expensive approach for a compact apartment, but if you are in the market for a dryer, it's a valuable option if you're a cyclist.

The secret to shoes is that if you let them dry too slowly, they deteriorate from the damaging effects of water. If you try to dry them too fast with excessive heat, the heat affects glues in the shoes, as well as softening leather around the stitching, causing stitching in tight areas to pull through the leather. The answer is mild and even heat -- no localized heating pads or hot air ducts, no sitting on a hot surface, no sitting right under a radiator, that kind of thing. And because leather is more fragile when wet, no letting the shoes bounce around in a dryer either. Just keep it gentle and barely warm and they will dry quickly and easily.

[boysa]

Great post, 11.4! You've covered it quite nicely.

[fogman]

I use the Seirus Boot Toasters.

http://seirus.com/boot-toasters-6143.html

[Jmdesignz2]

How about a centripetal shoe dryer?
Kind of like a salad spinner but for shoes with a fan that blows air through the uppers?
Of course, pedal powered - could attach to one's stationary trainer