From left to right: Lavilin Foot Deodorant, Lavilin Shoe Deodorant, Gran's Remedy
Even though summer is now behind us the weather has really started to heat up. This is great for outdoor barbeques but not so great for personal hygiene. The spate of hot weather has created an evening ritual in our household which goes a little something like this:
HIM: Hello! I'm ho...
ME: DEAR GOD, WHAT IS THAT SMELL?!
HIM: What smell? WHAT SMELL?
ME: It's you! It has to be you! IT'S VILE!
HIM: It can't be me! I had a shower this morning! It must be you!
ME: It's not me, it's you! No, what are you doing! Get back! STAY AWAY FROM ME!
HIM: You must be imagining it! It's not me! I swear!
At this point we try to sniff our own feet to determine who is the culprit which ultimately is a futile exercise since we both have the combined flexibility of an iron pole.
I remember when I was a child and my best friend's sister confided to me that she had banished her stinky feet forever by soaking them in a nice hot tub of her own urine. Luckily there are several products on the market to help with stinky feet that don't involve bathing in your own pee.
Why do feet smell?
The feet have glands (by most counts over 250,000 of them) which excrete salt and water sweat throughout the day. Unfortunately most feet are trapped under a layer of shoe and sock. This means that your feet become a breeding ground for bacteria. It is these little happily munching away bacteria that are the cause of the bad smell.
How do I stop my feet from smelling?
There are many great products on the market that will help combat foot stench. Lavilin Foot Deodorant works to kill the odour producing bacteria and keep your feet smelling fresh for up to 7 days. It comes in a small pot. The pot contains a mild smelling white paste which has a slightly chalky but soft texture. After washing the feet and refraining from applying anything to them for 2 days the Lavilin can be applied. Just a few pea sized dollops will cover the entire sole of your foot. It's not an anti perspirant but it really does help to stop foot odour.
So Lavilin may have made stinky feet things of the past, but what to do with the shoes that are already banished to a remote corner of the house due to their pervasive odour? Lavilin Shoe Deodorant will help prevent shoes from getting stinky - it works best on new or newly washed shoes but can help in freshening up already stinky footwear.
My personal favourite for already stinky shoes is a powder made in New Zealand called Gran's Remedy. It comes in a small pot with a scoop and contains a fine powder which you sprinkle inside the shoes. There are 3 different types, my favourite being the scented powder. Once the powder is inside the shoe it will work its magic. For mildly stinky shoes only 1 application is needed. For very stinky shoes you may wish to re-apply. This little powder has rescued many shoes in our household, rescued them from the cold unfeeling prison of eternal banishment.
Perhaps that was a little over the top, but nobody likes smelly shoes. Also as I discovered, flatmates don't appreciate it when you throw their smelly shoes out of the window and then it rains during the night.
There are other brands of odour protection available such as Scholl Odour Attack Shoe Spray and Scholl Odour Attack Foot Spray. These can't be shipped out of New Zealand as they are aerosols but they are great if you are in a fix and need to de-stink your feet as soon as possible.
So banish the bucket of pee and grab one of these products instead. You will thank us for it.
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