Just one day before we departed for Kota Kinabalu, I took Cynthia to AMK Hub to show her my love-at-first-sight Nike ACG (All Condition Gear) sport shoes. There is a lady version as well. Need not to say, upon seeing those beauties, Cynthia has chucked her idea of getting a pair of cheap sport shoes away. Those sport shoes were on 10% discount and through my charm and persistence in uncovering more discounts, the sale assistance gave in. You see, discounts are everywhere if you care to uncover them. If you recall my blog on my car insurance renewal, a 10% discount on your premium is just an email away. My friends find it hard to believe that we can bargain in the shops inside shopping malls. The truth is, it is as simple as the sale assistance overwriting the amounts of the goods at the till. I bought 7 items and he overwrote the price of each item to give me further discount. I gave the guy a hug before leaving the nicely renovated shop at AMK Hub.
After the trip, our beloved Nike ACG sport shoes were covered in mud. With an impressive determination, Cynthia said she would take care of those shoes in her authentic-sport-shoes-cleansing methodology dated back from her younger days in Bandung, Indonesia. Who am I to inject new ideas? After all, if I was to do it, I would have thrown those shoes into the washing machine and the dryer. Nothing beats hand wash (especially when it is not my hands!).
Armed with shampoo, toothbrush, and a wide bucket full of hot water, Cynthia has magically transformed our sport shoes into something sparkling clean, something that looked as though they were fresh from the store, something that looked totally brand new … except I have never seen sport shoes that felt so wet and smelled so full of shampoo in my life before. I tried drip-drying them outside my home but somehow for the lack of direct sunlight, our shoes were not drying as fast as I wished them to be.
So I took out my hair-dryer this morning and attempted to blow dry them. I had no clue why my right shoe smelled of shampoo while my left one has some musky smell (I actually have some idea but since I did not lift a single finger in cleaning those shoes, I better keep quiet). That was no good. What to do, what to do?
This morning I woke up with some nagging minor pain on my right knee. Concern over the slow recovery, I was thinking of ways to exercise my joint. People say that swimming is the best exercise for joints. I looked out of the window and saw a bright sunny day. I thought of my injured knee and our Nike ACG sport shoes. I connect all three together and decided to go for a swim while sunning our sport shoes! Brilliant idea it was!
I dashed down to my swimming pool with such an urgency not wanting to miss even a single moment of sunlight. I set down my towel on the bench by the pool, took out the shoes from a plastic bag, and lined them up nicely underneath a hot sun. Feeling triumphant, I dipped myself into the pool and started my laps. First lap, bright and sunny. Second lap, the clouds above me thickened. Third lap, the wind was getting stronger. Fourth lap, there was hardly any sun. Fifth lap, the sky was going to pour at any minute. I kept on swimming doing my laps hoping that the clouds above me would clear soon. Halfway before I could complete my last lap, it was raining cats and dogs. I swam as fast as I could, got out of the water, and ran around the pool trying to save my shoes but it was a little bit too late. I reckon they were wetter than before I attempted to sun them.
Then, the lyrics Alanis Morissette’s “Irony” rang in my head.
PS. Time now is 4pm and the sky looks clear. Shall I …
9 replies on “So I Attempted To Sun My Shoes”
No wonder you went offline in a hurry. One can only hope that the rain solved the problem of the musky smell 😛 When I was in primary school and used to get my shoes (those old white-coloured Panda brand ones) wet due to rain, I would place them under our old fridge and the next morning they would be dry (or at least wearable). These days I think the new fridges don’t allow you the space to put your shoes under them. Oh well… maybe you can hand them near the air con – air is dry and wind will blow dry the shoes.
Ah, you noticed that I went offline in a hurry! Ya, I brought those shoes indoor now and hope the condition is better for drying them. The material of our shoes is pretty thick so I guess it will take a while.
Heard that placing a piece of charcoal in your shoe while sunning it will rid it of any odour. Haven’t tried it myself though. 🙂
Charcoal … charcoal … Yes! I have some charcoal pills for the stomach! I think once they are dry, I will put those Sneaker Balls back in to zap the smell.
How about used teabags? Or dried tea leaves? Actually I have tried Sodium Bicarbonate and it works in getting rid of smell. Wikipedia says so too.
Actually, now it is the scent of the shampoo I have to see if there is a need to get rid of. Today I have successfully took our shoes out for some sun and I could smell the shampoo scent while I was in the pool!
haha… shampoo smell on your feet should be not bad wor.
dun use hair dryer to dry it… the smell will get worse. I tried it before…. accelerating the drying process means the moisture will go away but the smell stays.
Thanks Lani … no hair dryer! Noted!
I think those shoes are doing okay now … the wonderful smell of shampoo mixed with the mint scent from the Sneaker Ball (S$9 a pair!).
[…] of you may recall my rather memorable experience in trying to sun dry my sport shoes. Three years have passed and I found myself in the same situation. Mid November, as I was near […]