How to Clean Smelly Trainers: The Complete UK Guide

You can wash your gym kit religiously, but if your trainers smell, everything smells — the gym bag, the hallway, the car. Trainers are the one bit of sports kit most people never actually clean, and it shows. The good news: cleaning smelly trainers is easier than you think, and with the right routine you can stop the smell coming back at all.

Why trainers smell in the first place

Sweat itself is almost odourless. The smell comes from bacteria feeding on sweat trapped in the shoe — mostly in the insole and the foam padding around the collar and tongue. Your feet produce up to half a pint of sweat a day, and trainers are warm, dark and rarely dry out fully between sessions. That's a perfect breeding ground. Kill the bacteria and remove the residue they feed on, and the odour goes with them.

Can you put trainers in the washing machine?

Usually, yes — with a few caveats. Most mesh and knit running or gym trainers machine wash well. Check the care label first, and avoid machine washing leather, suede or anything with glued-on decorative panels, as hot water and agitation can break down the adhesive.

Here's the method:

1. Remove the laces and insoles. Wash laces in the drum; insoles are better hand-washed (see below).
2. Knock off loose dirt outside with a soft brush — dried mud clogs your machine's filter.
3. Put trainers in a mesh laundry bag or pillowcase to protect both the shoes and the drum. Toss a couple of towels in alongside to stop them banging around.
4. Wash cool — 30°C maximum — on a delicate or low-spin cycle. Heat is what warps soles and lifts glue, not the water itself.
5. Use a proper sports detergent. Standard supermarket detergents mask odour with fragrance; a sports formula like Titan Wash is built to break down the sweat residue and bacteria that cause the smell in the first place, which is exactly what a stinking trainer needs.

Dealing with the insoles

Insoles hold most of the smell, so don't skip them. Hand-wash them in warm water with a dose of sports detergent, scrub gently with a soft brush, rinse well and squeeze out the excess. If they still smell after washing, leave them to soak for 30 minutes before scrubbing again. Insoles that are years old and permanently rank are cheap to replace — sometimes that's the honest answer.

Drying: the step everyone gets wrong

Never tumble dry trainers and never park them on a radiator. Direct heat warps the sole, shrinks the upper and weakens the glue holding everything together. Instead, stuff them with scrunched newspaper or kitchen roll to draw moisture out, swap the paper after a few hours, and leave them somewhere airy at room temperature. Expect 24–48 hours for a full dry. Putting trainers away damp is how the smell comes straight back.

Keeping them fresh between washes

A few habits make a bigger difference than any deep clean:

• Air them after every session. Loosen the laces, pull the tongue up and let them dry out fully before wearing again. Never leave them zipped in a gym bag overnight.
• Rotate two pairs if you train most days, so each pair gets a full day to dry.
• Wear fresh socks every session — ideally a technical or merino sports sock rather than cotton, which holds sweat against the shoe.
• Sprinkle bicarbonate of soda inside overnight and tip it out in the morning for a quick refresh between proper washes.

How often should you wash trainers?

For regular training use, a machine wash every four to six weeks is plenty, with insole washes more often if you notice a smell building. Daily airing does most of the heavy lifting — washing is the reset, not the routine.

The bottom line

Smelly trainers aren't a fact of life — they're a bacteria problem, and bacteria problems are solvable. Wash cool with a detergent that actually targets sweat and odour, dry them properly, and air them between sessions. Your gym bag (and your household) will thank you.

Ready to sort the smell at the source? Try Titan Wash sports detergent — engineered to destroy sweat odour in trainers, kit and everything else in your gym bag.