Sarah asks-
Dear Joey,
I don’t know if you can help me or not but I thought I would ask you and your readers who may be fishermen if they can help me save my new Sperry boat shoes.I was walking along Magnolia Beach when my foot sank into the seaweed and mud with my new leather and partial canvas boat shoes. My shoe actually came off and I couldn’t even see it in the muck and I had to dig it out. The smell is horrific (maybe sewage empties into Magnolia beach?)
I tried washing them with dishwashing liquid and leaving them out in the sun but they still smell. I know fishermen get into more smelly situations than what I described.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Please send me a link.
Thank you. I don’t have much money and any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated.
-Sarah
Good Morning Gloucester 
A good option is to seal them in a ziplock with cat litter or a mesh bag of activated charcoal (I use the ones that are sold to use in an aquarium filter) for a couple of days. Both are great odor removers.
If that doesn’t work, try washing them on the top rack of a dishwasher. Make sure that you use a gentle cycle that doesn’t get too hot or you could melt the glue that holds on the sole.
LikeLike
Soak ’em in some Lestoil and water. Then dry ’em in the sun. That’ll get the smell out.
LikeLike
More sun. Definitely. After as above.
LikeLike
Baking soda and vinegar.
Set a small wash load on the gentle cycle. Use about a cup of baking soda. Let it agitate for about 1 minute and then add 1/2 cup of vinegar and let stand for about 30 minutes. Resume the wash cycle until complete. Let dry in the sun.
You may have to recover the leather portions with some mink oil, as the baking soda may dull the finish of the leather.
LikeLike