Disinfecting stinky leather without damaging it beyond use?

18 year military veteran here who has learned the hard way the best techniques to take care of feet and boots: 1. Clean normally, and spray with lysol as suggested upthread. 2. Then let dry for as long as you can in the sunlight-- a really long time, like a month if possible. 3. You can try to speed this up by crumpling up newspapers and stuffing them down in the toebox-- this wicks moisture away from the leather and is a good way to dry out wet shoes and boots in general. Change the crumpled up newspapers every day. 4. If you have a friend who is a skier or snowboarder, that person may have access to a http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001J4HQ76/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000AMK8R/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/)-- basically a very low powered hair dryer that blows a small amount of warm air into the boots for several hours. Sunlight really helps this process, as well. The rationale behind all of these measures is that the fungal/yeast organisms that are living in your boots will survive a trip through the laundry-- it just helps spread them around. They will survive several days or even weeks (depending on the strain) on the leather and seams of the boots. But the one thing they can't survive is a completely dry environment. You kill the fungus by making it die of thirst. The longer you dry out your boots, the better chance that you will succeed in rehabilitating them. To rid a pair of socks of the athlete's foot fungus usually only takes a week or so of drying out. Because boots are much thicker and have so much more surface area, I'm guessing that it will take a lot longer. 5. Once this is done, you leather may be quite stiff and dry or even cracked, but it can be restored with a http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000RNES2G/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ or (my preference) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000E903WC/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/. All these techniques also work for ridding your body of athletes foot-- buy at least two pairs of shoes, and alternate them every day making sure each pair is completely dried out. Own more than 20 pairs of socks, and wear one after the other in succession so that each pair of socks goes through the laundry and then dries out for many days before you put it back on again. If you do these things you will no longer be troubled by athlete's foot in your footwear, socks or feet. The question is-- do you really love these boots that much to go through this trouble? Good luck with your problem!

Wires, here's some advice for a year from now. When you go to replace those lovely but stinky boots, buy two pair, and alternate wearings. Leather footwear needs to breathe/air out for a full day before you wear it again...no, this is not urban folklore, it's really true. Your boots will last much longer, and they (and your feet) will thank you. Also, I'm sure that you would never dream of wearing them without socks, right?

I'm pretty sure tea tree oil is a no-go because it eats through certain rubbers and plastics. I've used alcohol on leather successfully, but not for this purpose. I'm pretty sure alcohol is the main ingredient in bowling shoe disinfectant. Basically, we're talking about Lysol here. However. The BEST way to clean these initially is to dry them out completely, use soap and water inside, and dry them out COMPLETELY. Repeat. Spray with anti-fungal spray or Lysol. Let dry completely... Then, make sure you air them out and spray as needed. http://vintageclothing.about.com/od/alterationcare/ht/leather_mold.htm

I wonder if you could microwave them?

It may not work for you, but I chucked my stinky fungal suede leather shoes in a cold wash in the washer with a little bleach. After long, long air drying they're odorless and fine to wear again. They'd gotten really, really bad after being left two weeks in a plastic bag, wet from sloshing around in south Indian monsoon rice-paddy mud.