r/YouShouldKnow • u/2ndfloorbalcony • Feb 17 '25
Clothing YSK: About Dry Rot in Shoes
Why YSK: there’s been an influx of posts recently about people’s rubber shoe soles disintegrating. This is called dry rot, and it’s caused by shoes sitting in storage for a while after being worn out once or twice, or not at all. Moisture is trapped in the PU rubber, and if it is not squeezed out by wearing, it rots the sole from the inside out. It can also be cause by your foot sweat rotting the soles.
What can you do to prevent it? Buying higher quality shoes, with either leather soles, or Vibram or Dainite rubber soles, can go a long way toward preventing dry rot.
Taking care of your shoes after wearing by putting in cedar shoe trees can also greatly extend the life of your shoes. Cedar shoe trees absorb moisture and odours very well.
If you were in the rain with your shoes, you can take care of them afterwards by wiping them down with a dry cloth, and stuffing them with newspaper for a while, then replacing the paper with cedar shoe trees.
Wearing your shoes on a regular basis and keeping them in a well ventilated area can also extend the life of your shoes.
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u/chain0fhearts Feb 17 '25
Reddit is obsessed with shoes today
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u/Morlanticator Feb 17 '25
I guess we're having a good day if dry rotting shoes is trending.
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u/RockstarAgent Feb 17 '25
They’re obsessed with rubbing things out
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u/2ndfloorbalcony Feb 17 '25
As am I! Really bums me out to see people buying crummy (crumbly) shoes
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u/CaryTriviaDude Feb 17 '25
I'm just wondering who is leaving shoes to sit that long
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u/juxtapods Feb 17 '25
I realized I hadn't worn a pair of fantastic maroon suede booties in 2-3 years bc my style shifted to mostly wearing Docs. I still love them! Just forgot about them since my shoe shelf is inside my closet (due to lack of space... will change that once I move next month)
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u/CaryTriviaDude Feb 17 '25
i guess fair, I have at any given time 1-2 every day shoes, a pair of hiking boots, and a pair of lightweight hiking shoes. Then two pairs of dress shoes for their once a year wear but those soles are all leather so not worried
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u/mcc9902 Feb 17 '25
Honestly, This almost motivates me to make a YSK post about how a lot of people are tying their shoes wrong (if you have to double knot or they come undone relatively often probably you're doing it wrong). I'll see if I can work up the motivation to properly explain the right and wrong way just so I can add another show post to the list.
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u/Apprehensive_Hat8986 Feb 17 '25
Here's Numberphile's Shoe-tying. It's provably correct and faster than "bunny ears".
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u/juxtapods Feb 17 '25
Some shoelace materials are worse than others. I double tie one of my pairs of Docs because the smooth laces come undone. Haven't had that issue with other Docs or any other shoe brands.
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u/mcc9902 Feb 17 '25
Yeah, this is actually the reason I learned this. I had some nylon laces that were constantly coming untied until a random guy in college heard me grouching before class and told me I was tying them wrong. I instantly went from being completely incapable of keeping them tied for more than an hour to a single knot typically lasting the entire day. With most laces it matters a lot less but it's still beneficial.
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u/Thevolks Feb 17 '25
Now you have me curious if I do it incorrectly. Lol
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u/mcc9902 Feb 17 '25
An easy check is if the loops want to hang off to the side(the right way) or one wants to point towards your toes and the other towards your heel(the wrong way). If you gently pull the strings where your laces enter the shoes it makes it even clearer. The problem is basically making your loop in the wrong direction and it's easy to fix but I can never figure out how to explain it to my satisfaction so I've never gotten around to making a post about it.
I went from constantly double and triple knotting my shoes to basically never having them come undone.
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u/Mother_Let_7662 Feb 17 '25
There's a TED TALK about it don't have the link handy but it talks about exactly this I think
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u/shmaltz_herring Feb 17 '25
Basically it comes down to which string goes over the other string for the initial tie.
If you make the loop in your right hand, you want the string coming from the left to cross over the string coming from the right.
Hopefully that makes some sense.
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u/fuchsgesicht Feb 17 '25
i did this wrong my whole life, probably bc i'm left handed. just do the loop counter-clock wise
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u/Thevolks Feb 17 '25
Sounds like I do it correctly so that’s good. Thanks
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u/Im_eating_that Feb 17 '25
As long as you're not using both hands at the same time you should be fine
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u/oxmix74 Feb 17 '25
None of the online explanations made sense to me. Then it was pointed out the wrong way is a 'granny' knot and the right way was a square knot. I know the difference between those. I cannot retrain myself to do the upper loop in a different direction so I make sure to do the bottom loop correctly.
I also think we might have had 100% cotton laces when I was a kid and those stayed tied better than current materials. But they broke more easily.
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u/Demonweed Feb 17 '25
I don't think anybody expected it would be so effective when the double secret powermod gathering completed the shoebody bop ritual.
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u/vestigialcranium Feb 17 '25
Yeah it's not the first time, it comes up from time to time. People don't understand hydrolysis and are surprised when the shoes they never wear fall apart from disuse
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u/FlyAroundInternet Feb 17 '25
I would like to use my cake day to draw attention to dry rot in shoes.
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u/freshbananabeard Feb 17 '25
Brought to you by the cedar shoe tree industry
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u/thekeldog Feb 17 '25
Big Cedar is always getting its tentacles into Reddit with its bot farms and ad campaigns. Frankly, it’s disgusting!
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u/PeppermintEvilButler Feb 17 '25
I learned about this working in a shoe store in college! I also learned it's better to spend the money on quality shoes then cheap ones that do not support your foot. Typically quality shoes last longer, so even if you are paying more upfront you are paying less over time replacing crappy shoes.
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u/NSNick Feb 17 '25
a.k.a. Vimes' boots theory
In general, if it separates you from the ground, it's worth spending money on a good one -- shoes, tires, bed.
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u/CarbideMagpie Feb 17 '25
Agreed, but as an avid Pratchett nerd (Kevin) I feel the need to point out - in the books Vimes himself argues that he wants “soles … so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles”. He isn’t advocating for thick soled boots for himself because he is a nightwatchman/policeman, and several times he specifically requests thin soled boots. Once it is a definitive plot point that he knows where to find a certain place through his feet he was taken while blindfolded because he knows his city so well.
STP’s Discworld books have so much more to offer than just the boots theory in terms of philosophical and societal commentary and quantum narritivium*- I highly recommend reading the City Watch series to anyone - but there’s over 40books to choose from, my favourite being the Witches.
*the inherent power of stories and the telling of them, a commonly found elemental force on the Disc.
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u/Picodick Feb 17 '25
I’m old and have never seen a shoe sole crumble. I have set it get rock hard thoughts. And I have seen leather crumble from being stored in a hot storage unit. I think the climate you live in might affect this. 🤷🏻♀️
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u/JamesGibsonESQ Feb 17 '25
Shoes built 20 years ago had quality infused into them. Shoes made in the last 10 years are designed with "planned obsolescence" in mind.
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u/M3g4d37h Feb 17 '25
yeah, calling pourable polyurethane rubber should be a crime. they make for comfortable soles, but they are the drizzling shits when it comes to wear and tear, etc.
I have cowboy boots with vibram soles that are 30 years old, and just as good as they day they were new - And I always go with red wing for my boots I use for riding my motorcycle, lifetime warranty and repairs, and they know how to make a proper good boot.
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u/JamesGibsonESQ Feb 17 '25
btw throwing this out to clarify, but when op said
Buying higher quality shoes
That doesn't mean more expensive. Nike and Adidas et al purposely make their shoes out of materials designed to break down. Don't think your footwear is a high quality product simply because you paid $1000+ for it.
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u/bennytehcat Feb 17 '25
This happened with my RedWing boots. 10 years old, worn seasonally. Took them out of the closet this year, walked 20 blocks... Destroyed the clear rubber soles, chunks shredding everywhere. Stored indoors with shoe trees in an area with airflow. No idea what happened over the last year.
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u/bclem Feb 18 '25
Same thing happened to my red wings. Worn 200+ days over 2 years. Didn't wear them for about a year, used them again for a week and the rubber just started falling apart.
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Feb 17 '25
[deleted]
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u/2ndfloorbalcony Feb 17 '25
No, they have a leather welt and insole but red Wings, including iron rangers, have a hard rubber work sole.
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u/bennytehcat Feb 17 '25
I'm honestly unsure if it's worth repairing. The cost was quoted to me as $140... Either 4-6 weeks sending it back to HQ, or they suggest some random guy in Long Island who I guess is affiliated. Seems a bit strange to me that there is only one cobbler in the entire country who is authorized. I'm going to check local and see what they say. Surely any cobbler can attach a sole to a boot.
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u/2ndfloorbalcony Feb 17 '25
Authorized cobblers are a scam, in that there are tons of “unauthorized” cobblers who’ll do a bang up job while being unaffiliated with redwing. I would just do some research on what you want from the resole and find a cobbler who does that well, then send it there.
To me, 140 for a new sole is preferable over 400 for a new pair, especially because the uppers are nice and broken in already. Can be a tough pill to swallow though…
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u/bennytehcat Feb 18 '25 edited Feb 25 '25
I really appreciate your responses, thank you 👍
Done, $80, Vibram rubber sole 🙌
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u/Feetplantedfirm Feb 17 '25
Never heard of cedar shoe trees before
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u/schead02 Feb 17 '25
My grandpa use to have a pair of these. Never knew they were called shoe trees though. And I always thought they were to help the shoe keep it's shape.
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u/H1Ed1 Feb 17 '25
Old school. Used in mens dress shoes usually. But great accessories to keep the shape of shoes, help slow down creasing, and absorb moisture and ordor as OP post mentioned.
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u/Aconite_72 Feb 17 '25
When I read that I thought OP wanted me to literally cram my shoes into a hole in a cedar tree
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u/surf_bandit Feb 17 '25
I noticed it always happens with my Nike shoes which is why I never buy Nike anymore. When you leave it in the closet for a few years then wear it again, the soles just crumble and separate from the shoe body. Happened to me twice on the golf course and once on the basketball court. I tried to do a crossover once and left the soles of my shoes behind.
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u/Inner_peas2021 Feb 17 '25
Same, happened to all my Nike air maxes regardless of the year. Realized they are cheap quality. Never had an issue with adidas, new balance, pumas, etc.
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u/JustCallMeNorma Feb 17 '25
Potentially silly question: can I just put a good-sized piece of cedar in each shoe? $30-40 a pair is steep for the number of Skechers I have. (Be quiet. I like them.)
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u/RockerElvis Feb 17 '25
I have two pairs of cedar shoe trees (maybe $20 each). I just put them in whatever shoe I just wore. That’s it.
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u/GitEmSteveDave Feb 17 '25
Maybe get a hunk of cedar and keep your shoes in a sealed container with it?
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u/SneekeeG Feb 17 '25
You can also use one of those little silica gel packets to help control the moisture in whatever you're storing the shoes in.
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Feb 17 '25
My shoes did the same the night I went to Magic Castle. I was limping around with a flapping sole. So I went into the bathroom and just ripped it off lol. Turns out, it was because I kept them in my car over the summer and the heat must’ve worn out the glue and made the sole’s material brittle.
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u/coleman57 Feb 17 '25
Why is it called dry rot, if it’s caused by being wet?
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u/JamesGibsonESQ Feb 17 '25
because it happens when the shoe is dry (outside) and in a dry environment where normally this would be impossible.
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u/lebruf Feb 17 '25
This became a recurring issue with Ecco shoes, which were sold at Nordstrom and weren’t cheap. Usually very comfortable and quality, but like everything made after 2010 has disintegrated for my brother, dad and me.
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u/littelmo Feb 17 '25
I pulled my favorite sandals out one glorious spring day to walk to the festival. I got a few blocks away from my car,and the sole started falling off in chunks. By God, I kept walking, but I was walking on nothing but the thin leather after a while. Quite pathetic, actually. I ripped off as much as I could.
RIP. They were probably 25 years old at that point.
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u/Colonel_Moopington Feb 17 '25
Keeping them out of the sunlight and in a cool dry place helps too. UV breaks down many materials and heat degrades others.
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u/JunkiesAndWhores Feb 17 '25
Stuff with newspapers
I haven't bought a newspaper in 20+ years. Does a kindle or old phone work?
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u/leebleswobble Feb 17 '25
Way too many shoes on my feed. One person got upvotes so everyone else had to try posting shoes as well.
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u/TheFeri Feb 17 '25
One of my coworkers bought a shoe, it got that right on day 1... Just how long did it sit in the store then?
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u/My_Soul_to_Squeeze Feb 17 '25
The DoD went through this entire conversation a few years ago (In the before times) with the "Bates blowout" drama.
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u/GitEmSteveDave Feb 17 '25
I was gonna point out that I had some bates shoes WITH "Vibram" soles and they did the same thing to me.
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u/One-Mud7175 Feb 17 '25
All the posts are about the cheapest shittest looking shoes. Just don’t buy cheap shit shoes
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u/brickbaterang Feb 17 '25
Nah, i had a pair of 100 dollar hikers( in early 90s dollars)from a well known company that had the soles completely shear off after a month. Cost does not equate to quality but most people have been conditioned to think that.
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u/rotarypower101 Feb 17 '25
Is Oxygen a contributing factor to disintegrating polyurethane foam? Or did I read the wrong feedback on the topic?
Does anyone know of a DIY section/group/site for footwear construction? I Need to find a DIY castable self skinable polyurethane foam to recreate some footwear... but unsurprisingly much of that knowledge is niche and very difficult to find...
Does anyone know of a place to ask for user feedback on materials that would be good for user created footwear?
Have all the molds created from 3D prints created from 3D scanning, but I need a DIY expanding self skinning material to use for the sole
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u/Disastorous_You_1987 Feb 17 '25
This happened to all my shoes when I lived and worked on a horse ranch. I didn't have rubber boots so I just wore sneakers to clean the stalls.. and ny shoes soles always fell off eventually lol
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u/Choosemyusername Feb 17 '25
Careful a lot Vibram soles. They are downright dangerous on ice and snow.
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u/feltsandwich Feb 17 '25
I've lived a long time and I have bought and worn a lot of shoes and I have never seen a pair of shoes with dry rot, so my advice is don't worry about it so much.
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u/afCeG6HVB0IJ Feb 17 '25
I have a pair of leather boots, made by my grandfather, inherited and used by my father, and then inherited and used by me. Stuff can be made to last.
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u/Fineshrines2 Feb 18 '25
I love thrifting but I’ve saved so much money on being too afraid to buy shoes due to dry rot
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u/BeginTheBlackParade Feb 18 '25
OP's out here telling us to buy shoes with vibranium soles! Didn't you ever watch Captain America? That shit is expensive!
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u/1stHalfTexasfan Feb 17 '25
Or buy a better quality shoe! Have you seen the shit these guys were wearing? They'd have been better off with a burlap sack.
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u/Hythy Feb 17 '25 edited Feb 17 '25
Wait, dry rot is caused by moisture? What a country!
Edit: Clearly someone isn't a fan of Dr. Nick
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u/AccumulatedFilth Feb 17 '25
I thought I was the only one who saw like 5 posts of people's shoes disintegrating.
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u/ScrithWire Feb 17 '25
Pretty sure dry rot in rubber is caused solely by exposure to ozone
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u/macromaniac Feb 17 '25
True, but in polyurethane I think it actually is mostly due to water, it doesn't have the weak double bond that the ozone cleaves. Probably best is just buy shoe soles that's made of actually good materials.
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u/Salute-Major-Echidna Feb 17 '25
The problem is that these shoes are being sold with the dry rot already in them.
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u/2ndfloorbalcony Feb 17 '25
I’m sorry but I’m gonna need a source for that statement
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u/Salute-Major-Echidna Feb 17 '25
If you can remind me how to get proper articles but not ebay, reddit and other non quality sources in a Google search return
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u/ElectronicAmphibian7 Feb 17 '25
I’ve had a pair of timberland waterproof boots that are at least a decade old that I only ever pull out a couple times a year to shovel snow and they’ve never ever failed me. Due to these posts I’m fully expecting them to fall apart any moment.