h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've been told before that putting deodorant on cheesy feet is a fatal mistake.

Does the same apply to carpets?

Never heard of not putting deodorant on.
Any reasons given for why?

As for the carpet I would suggest it get washed or possibly the first known use for "Shake and Vac"

Bicarbonate of soda also works - sprinkle liberally and leave as long as you can, preferrably overnight, then vacuum.

Deb

"Cheesy feet" is a new expression to me. It doesn't mean walking through cheese, does it?

Feet naturally give off the same smells as cheese.

As to how to get rid of the smell:

You do the shake-and-vac, shake-and-vac,
Do the shake-and-vac and put the freshness back

Marvelous! I'll get t'wife to do a little dance!

Bald Bloke - no idea why deodorant is supposed to make cheesy feet worse and if it's true! The way the person said it made me think it was common knowledge for everyone but me!

any kind of deoderant or esp anti-persperants are just evil horrid tings for ones skin... - a bit of perfume fair enough, but... the way some people lather on the deoderants and anti-persperants, is just horrible to smell sometimes - if one showers, baths daily then really, I can't see there is any need for such things, so long as one does decent personal hygine as it were and changes blouses/shirts socks, knickers etc, with a sutiable degree of frequency

as for the problem of carpet smells, I find a can of petrol and a match work well... you may end up a difernt smell to what you started with though... hmm. nothing wrong with a bit of fragrance au natural from time to time anyhow, I recon.... all those feramones are there for a reason afterall

You're probably right, 2Legs, but I would need a translator to figure out what you actually said.

Bicarb of soda or talcum powder. I used up an otherwise useless supply of talcum powder, gifted to me over the years, in freshening up our carpets.

It had never occurred to me to use deodorant/anti-perspirant on my feet. But if I was ever to do such a thing, I would definitely use one of those deodorants that contains a moisturiser. I've never worried about my underarms (or, indeed, armpits, as they used to be known) needing moisturising, but feet, well, that's a different matter. In fact that's probably why they developed a moisturising deodorant - they knew people are using it on their feet

Mol

Don't be rediculus! there isn't a part of the human body that doesn't need to be moisturised! *faints at the notion*

Blimey!! 2legs you get around

I'm like a multi-faceted thing of multi-faceted-ness that's me. me in a nut shell, well, that would be me too, only hiding in a nutshell. I've hidden behind dustbins, but, oddly, never inside a nutshell I'm rubbish at hiding

Deodorant sprays are usually aluminum sulphate based.

Aluminum sulphate (and other sulphate salts) when mixed with soap make a sticky, tarry, gummy substance suitable for water proofing canvas.

If you get deposits of the stuff between the toes, it'll have a consistency like toe jam and tend to hold odors.

Sulphate salts mixed with ammonia (from sweat, for example) undergo a similar reaction, which in the pure form provides the base for dental cement.

So, if you use a deodorant, rinse carefully with plain water before soaping.

For deodorizing shoes and feet and carpets, sodium bicarbonate is a better choice.

I've never understood the mechanism by which sodium bicarbonate works on a carpet. You put it down, dry, you vacuum it up; what has happened?

GNOMON!
now I have a flippin' ear worm

I've always understood that sodium bicarbonate absorbs odours. Hence leaving it overnight if possible to give it more time to do that. But apparently it also cleans, in which case no idea!

Deb

I've never understood the 'absorbs odours' theory, deb. If you've got a stinky carpet, constantly putting out that smell, then once the soda is vacuumed up, what's stopping the stinky carpet from continuing to give off cheesy emanations?

"Aluminum sulphate (and other sulphate salts) when mixed with soap make a sticky, tarry, gummy substance suitable for water proofing canvas"

Ah! I often wondered why I found lumps of bright green shower gel on my armpits, and it must be because I sometimes use antiperspirant deodorant... I thought the shower gel had gone off!

Very handy thread - in this warm weather my shoes have gone a bit cheesy, so I'll try bicarb

> in this warm weather my shoes have gone a bit cheesy (SashaQ)

Stuffing them with crumpled-up newspaper overnight (or whenever you're not wearing them) will help, too. The newspaper absorbs both moisture and odor. It is not likely of much use for freshening the carpet, though.