How can I clean moth ball smells out of shoes?

Vanessa
by Vanessa
  13 answers
  • Try pouring baking soda in them and leaving them for a few days. Then pour it out. This always helps with my daughter's stinky shoes.

  • Janice Janice on Dec 16, 2019

    Sprinkle baking soda into the shoes.

  • I would add baking soda to them and then put them in the bright, hot sun for a few days, but bring them inside from dusk to dawn. You don't want them to get damp.


  • Redcatcec Redcatcec on Dec 16, 2019

    Yes, baking soda sprinkled into the shoes should do the trick. dump it out after several days and that should be that. Fresh air and sunshine helps.

  • Dana Mason Dana Mason on Dec 16, 2019

    a few drops of essential oils may help too....

  • Toni @ Girl, Just DIY! Toni @ Girl, Just DIY! on Dec 17, 2019

    Sprinkle baking soda inside the shoes and change it every day over a few days.

  • Cynthia H Cynthia H on Dec 18, 2019

    I have bags of bamboo charcoal that I keep for stinky sneakers. You recharge them in the sin.

  • Em Em on Apr 03, 2021

    Got to ask first, why do they smell like moth balls in the first place? Two things that work are newspapers and sunshine. Both take odors away. Remove laces and let in sun for a few days, newspaper crumpled up absorbs odors.

  • Betsy Betsy on Sep 01, 2023

    Hi Vanessa: To remove the smell from your shoes, use the mixture of vinegar and lemon juice, or stuff a paper pouch filled with fresh ground coffee beans into the shoes and let them sit for at least a week. Like baking soda, the ground coffee beans absorb the mothball smell. Or, you can just put them outside in the sun, but after a few days, spiders may like them for their homes :(

  • Deb K Deb K on Sep 02, 2023

    Hi Vanessa, hope this helps you out.

    Baking soda and white vinegar are the most commonly used home-based ingredients that are used to remove smells and clean leather. You can make a solution of 1-part of water with 1-part white vinegar and lightly wipe the surface with the solution using a soft, clean cloth.

    Fill a paper bag with coffee beans. Place the paper bag and your shoes inside a larger plastic bag. Seal the plastic bag or tie it shut; let it sit overnight. Coffee beans can absorb strong mothball odors.


  • Johnavallance82 Johnavallance82 on Sep 06, 2023

    Charcol

  • Mogie Mogie on Sep 10, 2023

    To remove the smell from your shoes, use the mixture of vinegar and lemon juice, or stuff a paper pouch filled with fresh ground coffee beans into the shoes and let them sit for at least a week. Like baking soda, the ground coffee beans absorb the mothball smell.