How to Treat Bad Foot Odor Naturally at Home

You might not notice if your feet smell a little when you're in the comfort of your own home, but take your shoes off at someone else's after walking around all day and the stench will hit you - and everyone else - like a brick wall.

We've all been in the company of someone with 'cheesy' feet before. It's unpleasant, undesirable and plain old embarrassing. Whilst feet becoming a little stinky is, just like body odour, perfectly normal, excessive smells do suggest a lack of personal hygiene.

If you're struggling to keep your tootsies smelling fresh as a daisy, you've come to the right place. Today we're showing you how to get rid of smelly feet for good so you never have to worry about taking your shoes off again.

What makes our feet smell?

Just like the rest of our body, feet sweat, and when they do, they create an ideal environment for bacteria. In fact, bacteria thrive in the hot, damp darkness of your sweaty shoes and love to feast on your dead skin cells too.

Just like any living microorganism, bacteria excrete waste products - it's these organic acids which produce that stinky feet smell. The sweatier your feet become the more bacteria are able to thrive there, producing all sorts of smelly waste productions that can make your feet as pongy as blue cheese.

But what dictates how much our feet sweat?

Besides how much movement we're doing, the temperature and material our socks and shoes are made out of, hormones also play an important role, explaining why teens have notoriously smelly feet.

How to get rid of smelly feet

Banish smelly feet fast with these easy home remedies!

1. Apple cider vinegar soak

Apple cider vinegar has many beauty uses, and today we've got another one to share with you.

To freshen up stinky feet, mix a solution of 2 parts water and 1 part apple cider vinegar in a basin and dip your feet inside. Soak for 20 minutes to completely deodorise them.

2. Tea soak

Both apple cider vinegar and tea are astringents, meaning they help to close pores. The tannins in black tea also kill bacteria, preventing those feet from stinking out your shoes.

Add 2 black tea bags to a cup of boiling water, and leave to brew. Pour into a basin containing 2 pints of water, pop your feet inside and relax for 20 minutes to leave feet feeling - and smelling - fresh.

3. Use an alcohol wipe

Forget face wipes. When it comes to refreshing your feet, there's nothing better than alcohol wipes. A quick sweep over your stinky soles will remove odour and shrink pores to reduce sweating - easy!

4. Wash shoes/insoles

If no matter what you seem to do, your feet smell, try keeping on top of washing your shoes and insoles - it will really help you to keep the stench under control.

Washing the inside of your shoes regularly and also the insoles will kill lingering bacteria and reduce the odour.

5. Kill germs

Get rid of the bacteria, get rid of the stench. It's easy to kill germs inside your shoes, all you need is some disinfectant spray. Spritz lightly inside your shoes to banish germs and the smells they're causing.