I thought I would pick a few brains. My wife said the inside of her Merrell Siren XCR shoes were starting to smell and could I do something about it. I'm pretty sure that I had read on here that to clean / refresh the insides, I was to fill the shoes with water and a little bit of Tech Wash, gentle brushing ( I used a toothbrush), empty and rinse. So I filled the shoes with water and TW and water started leaking out of the sides of the shoes after about 60 seconds.
Is this normal? Shouldn't the Gore-Tex lining prevent water from leaking out as well as from getting in?
I have contacted Merrell UK, to ask them how to clean the insides as I had done the outsides with Nikwax cleaning gel and farbic and leather proof. The response merely gave me a link to the Nikwax website.
I thought I would ask on here to find out if they should leak as I described; I don't think so. And whether that if I have a faulty pair of shoes, who my recourse would be with, Merrell or Gore-Tex. Oh, and we got the shoes from Dick's in America.
Usual best place for first contact is the place you got them, if possible. Importers and agents are primarily set up to deal with their resellers rather than Joe Public, and if it's a fault it's the seller, rather than whoever sold it to them that is legally obliged to do something.
Though ultimately I'd say the moral is unlined shoes are far less prone to growing bad smells...
I'd repeat your little experiment to check that...
...the 'leak' wasn't just water going over the top of the membrane liner 'sock' sewn into the shoe. Quarter fill the shoes... wait... is water leaking? Half fill them... wait... is water leaking?... Three quarter fill them... wait... is water leaking?... you get the idea. Water could also be wicking over the top of the liner sock and back down the outer fabric of the shoe. A bit less likely but not impossible.
If you are still sure that there's water passing through the fabric of the shoe from inside to out (rather than over) then you've got a leaky membrane. No amount of reproofing will fix this; I'd take them back to the shop and be politely assertive...!
If, however, you suspect that water is wicking over the top of the liner then perhaps a hydrophobic treatment (replacement DWR type) might help things. This kind of wicking is a common fault in lined waterproof jackets where water is drawn up the sleeve lining.
I agree with Pete about unlined approach shoes being preferrable but it's a personal choice. We were recently discussing it here. If the shop won't do anything about the leak, then you could always try using a goretex sock inside them.
As for the smells... two things to note. Most 'body odours' are the result of bacteria feeding on lipids (fats) that are secreted body oils in sweat. The bacteria's waste product is what smells. Killing the bacteria is a temporary solution (using a mild disinfectant in the wash for example) but the only sure way is to remove the residue of oils from the shoe. Not easy, especially if you are washing them in mild soaps. As a last resort you could try leaving them to soak in a bucket of warm water with a capful of biological washing liquid. The enzymes should have a chance to remove these oils. Then rinse....rinse...rinse... and rinse some more. This might not be great for the dwr coatings but if it's a choice of binning the shoes or attempting this, then I'd go for the washing liquid. Then reproof as needed.
Thanks for all the advice, guys. Depending on the response from Merrell UK, I 'll give the re-experimenting a go. They have been cleaned and proofed omn the outside and I can't take them back where we got them from as we aren't going back to Virginia, USA in the near future...Christmas maybe but we only got them the Christmas just past.
If she notices though, buy her some new ones?
. But as she's the bread winner, I won't have to my hands in my pockets
