UGGs are undoubtedly cozy and comfortable winter footwear that insulates your feet from the freezing winter or autumn weather.
However, one question that UGG lovers keep asking is whether these boots smell. So, do UGG boots smell? I did some intensive research, and this is what I discovered!
Do UGGs Smell In 2024?
UGGs smell if worn while wet or by someone with smelly feet. But provided that your feet are clean before sporting the sheepskin footwear, they shouldn’t smell since they have ventilation and moisture-wicking properties. Nonetheless, when left damp for some time, odor-causing bacteria build up inside their inner fleece lining, causing an unpleasant foul smell.
To learn more about whether UGGs smell, how you can get rid of foul smell inside UGGs, how you can prevent odor from building up in your UGGs, and more, keep on reading!
Do UGG Smell with Socks?
UGGs smell with or without socks, provided that you have smelly feet.
According to the company, these boots aren’t designed to be worn with socks.
This is because they have temperature regulating, ventilation, and moisture-wicking properties that prevent odor build-up.
Thus, the footwear shouldn’t smell with or without socks if your feet are clean before putting on the boots.
However, if you sweat a lot and your pair of UGGs have a foul smell, it would be advisable to wear original cotton socks with your boots to absorb the excess sweat.
Wearing thin socks with your UGGs will allow the excess sweat to seep through the socks to the UGGs, making them smell bad.
How to Deodorize Smelly UGGs?
Unfortunately, UGG boots can smell, especially if worn for a long time, while wet, and if not regularly cleaned.
Luckily, it’s easy to deodorize your smelly sheepskin boots and keep them odor-free.
Thus, after cleaning your pair of UGGs, it would be ideal to deodorize them to eliminate the foul smell.
Here are effective ways of deodorizing smelly UGG boots:
1. Use Baking Soda and Cornstarch
It’s worth noting that cornstarch and baking soda have odor-absorbing capabilities. Thus, the two ingredients are effective in deodorizing UGGs.
Pour one tablespoonful of cornstarch and baking soda into a small bowl and mix them using a fork.
Alternatively, you can use cornflour but not cornmeal if you don’t have cornstarch.
Add two to three drops of essential fresh smelling oil to the mixture, such as lavender, eucalyptus, peppermint, or tea tree oil, to give your UGG boots a nice scent.
Consequently, mix the ingredients thoroughly using a fork.
Make sure all clumps and lumps are broken up and ensure the essential oil is evenly distributed in the cornstarch and baking soda mixture.
Sprinkle the same amount of cornstarch, baking soda, and essential oil mixture in each of your clean UGG boots.
Hold your UGGs by the cuff and shake them to evenly distribute the mixture throughout the boot’s inner, and make sure the mixture reaches the toe area.
Let the mixture sit in the boots overnight to allow the cornstarch and the baking soda to soak up all the bad odor.
Afterward, pour the powder in your UGGs into the trash, and if they still stink, repeat the process until you get rid of the unpleasant odor.
2. Use Other UGG Deodorizing Techniques
If you don’t have cornstarch, other odor-absorbing ingredients that you can use to deodorize your UGGs are activated charcoal, tea bags, dryer sheets, sneaker balls, and alcohol.
Fill two tablespoons of activated charcoal and baking soda in a nylon stocking or small cloth bag, shake the bag to mix the two ingredients, and leave the bags in the boots overnight.
Alternatively, place two or three fresh-smelling tea bags, such as peppermint, in each of your UGG boots overnight to absorb the foul smell and leave a fresh scent.
Place a dryer sheet in each UGG boot overnight to help deodorize the stinky shoes.
However, don’t use many dryer sheets, since they may cause allergic reactions, especially asthmatic people.
On the other hand, place sneaker balls inside each of your UGG boots to absorb unpleasant odors in your shoes, as well as prevent odor build-up.
Rubbing alcohol in your smelly UGGs can also deodorize your boots. So, dip a cotton ball in alcohol and wipe the inside of your shoes to kill all odor-causing bacteria.
How to Prevent Odors in UGGs
UGGs smell due to a host and a combination of factors such as bacteria, moisture, not being cleaned regularly, and not airing them.
However, as the adage says, prevention is way better than cure and as such, preventing odors from building up in your UGGs is essential.
The good thing about smelly UGGs is that there are effective ways to prevent odor build-up in these chic boots, which include:
1. Keep UGG Boots Dry
One effective way to prevent odor build-up inside your UGGs is by keeping them dry and not wearing them while wet.
Odor-causing bacteria love residing in damp places. Thus, damp UGGs provide a perfect breeding ground for these bacteria, making your boots stink.
Completely drying your pair of UGGs before wearing them dismantles the breeding ground of these odor-causing bacteria, leaving your boots fresh all day long.
2. Alternate Wearing Your UGGs
Whenever you sport your UGGs, the chances are that your feet will sweat, making your boots damp, especially if you sweat a lot.
This being the case, shying away from wearing the same pair of UGGs every day and allowing at least 24 hours before wearing the pair again is recommended.
If you have two or three pairs of UGGs, it’s advisable to rotate wearing your pairs of boots to allow each pair to air and dry out and get rid of odor-causing bacteria.
3. Deodorize Your Feet
As stated earlier, the main culprit to smelling UGGs are the odor-causing bacteria that like to reside in the feet due to the dampness caused by sweat.
Therefore, to prevent your UGGs from smelling, it’s important to keep your feet odor-free by washing them with antibacterial soap to kill the bacteria.
Additionally, if your feet sweat a lot, you can dust them with baby powder before wearing your UGGs to help absorb the sweat and keep your feet dry.
Conclusion
As you may have noted by now, UGG boots smell if you wear them with smelly feet or keep them damp for a long time, causing the build-up of odor-causing bacteria.
Luckily, the effective ways of deodorizing smelly UGGs and preventing odors in UGGs outlined above will go a long way in helping your boots to remain fresh.