Whether you use them for outdoor or indoor sports climbing and bouldering, every once in a while you will have to clean your climbing shoes. Some climbers might find it outrageous, but we guarantee it won’t hurt them. Do yourself and your climbing partners a favor, and take care of your stinky shoes! It’s fairly simple, as long as you follow these easy instructions after each use. We recommend being consistent to avoid unpleasant smells coming out of your climbing bag.
How to keep your climbing shoes clean
Let them dry in the open air after each use
First of all, try not to stash your shoes right back into your backpack, leaving them in there until your next session. This results in damp materials that won’t dry fully– meaning bacteria build-up and, eventually, terrible smells. To avoid this, let your shoes air dry, but don’t leave them in the sun. This could damage the rubbers. Try also to always have two pairs of shoes with you and swap them from time to time. It will help them dry faster and prevent sweat build-up.
Periodically use a shoe spray deodorant
The colonies of bacteria, which reproduce at an immeasurable speed thanks to the use of socks-free shoes, can increase dramatically if we leave the shoes close to heat sources (or more simply in the hood of the machine in the sun)or if we forget to try to flush them out for days, weeks and months. The company Grangers has thought of a kit of cleaning products that help us take care of both footwear and our rigid climbing equipment. The line includes a highly appreciated Odour Eliminator Spray plus a specific Footwear Care Kit, which also help maintain excellent levels of breathability.
Don’t wear them when you’re not climbing
Sometimes climbing shoes get dirty not only on the outside but also inside. Dirt, dust, leaves, small rocks, and all sorts of other things just can’t wait to make their way into your shoes. To avoid this, try not to walk barefoot around the crag or gym or, at least, make sure you wipe your feet before putting your shoes on. Also, never walk around using your climbing shoes as slippers, folding down the heels. This would irreparably deform your shoes– but that’s something no climber would ever dream of doing, isn’t it?
Always close the Velcro!
Special attention should be paid to the shoes with velcro closure, joy and pain of every boulderer but also of every family with small climbers growing. Velcro tends to get dirty very quickly, trapping dust - and any kind of microparticles in the air - especially in its rough part. The first rule to follow to ensure that the closure does not lose points in terms of precision and fasciability is to avoid as much as possible that they get dirty. Keeping the Velcri always closed, even when we do not use the shoes, is essential to ensure an excellent seal even in torsion movements or in any situation where errors are not allowed.
Foto di Hugo Vincent, SCARPA
Specific products to take care of climbing shoes
Some brands came up with creative ideas to avoid unpleasant smells and help climbers live a happy, stink-free life. The most popular solution is Boot Bananas. They are shoe deodorizers filled with sodium bicarbonate (you might have heard of people sprinkling sodium bicarbonate to clean their shoes, but we would advise against it),and other natural ingredients such as bamboo, zeolite, dried lavender flowers and essential oils of lavender and tea tree, the latter being an excellent natural antibacterial. They are naturally antibacterial and moisture-absorbing. Also, they are banana-shaped. Preventing awful smells will help you live happily ever after with your climbing shoes.
The Boot Bananas, clearly recognizable by their shape, absorb the moisture of the shoes that is created during use without socks, blocking the proliferation of bacteria and making it more pleasant to live with your shoes. The color of the Boot Bananas will change with use, indicating you, without a doubt, when it’s time to replace them. Of course you can use Boot Bananas with any type of footwear!
Can I wash my climbing shoes in the washing machine?
Some climbing brands have introduced some models of shoes specific for indoor climbing, courses and footwear rental and that have among their features the possibility of being washed in the washing machine. The indications are usually on the label, but no doubt it will be necessary to wash at low temperatures with natural detergents, such as Marseille soap, and without centrifuge. Remember to let them dry well in the open air but carefully avoiding direct sun rays.
Beyond these models where this possibility is expressly indicated, we strongly advise against washing the shoes in the washing machine: washing, although delicate, most likely will damage the fabric of the shoe and could cause the sole to fall off the upper.
Photo by Antoine Mesnage @esprits_outdoor_SCARPA
How to wash climbing shoes by hand
At this point we just need to arm ourselves with a bowl and neutral detergent and wash them by hand: after removing mud, magnesite and other dirt from the sole and upper with a soft brush, we can immerse them in warm water and wash them with a neutral soap. After washing both inside and outside of the shoes, we rinse abundantly with water and let dry in a ventilated and dry place, but not exposing them to the direct rays of the sun.
If we have Velcro shoes, which are particularly delicate and which we have already talked about before, you will need to take a few minutes to restore the grip of the lacing. You can clean the rough part using a comb with narrow teeth and rather rigid (we discourage you the new silicone brushes with soft teeth), so as to remove all the accumulated dust, while for the softer part it will be enough to stick the flap to a piece of adhesive tape, so as to remove any accumulated dust. And if your Velcro just doesn’t want to know to stick together, we give you a suggestion that maybe you didn’t think: you can try to have it replaced by your trusted shoemaker, maybe the same to whom you bring your shoes to resonate from time to time!
Credit to jochen perschmann, SCARPA