The great shoe washing of 2016

As August wrapped up, I'd reached that point with my running shoes: the point at which I could no longer allow them in the house. As I left a pair on the front porch, my neighbor called out a warning. "Better not leave those out there! There's a tomcat in this neighborhood that's been spraying everything!"
As if that would make them smell any worse.

I kept waiting for the weather to cool down to attempt washing my shoes, but it really never did until November (and even then, today's high is 77 F). I couldn't keep waiting. Both pairs of every-day shoes were downright vile. So I washed them. I threw them in a short cycle of cold water with extra detergent. I let the washer fill and allowed them to soak for about an hour, then closed the washer lid and started the wash cycle as I headed out the door to work (I didn't want to listen to shoes bang around in the washer).
When I got home, they were a lot cleaner, and almost didn't smell. There's just a hint of stinkiness left. I laid them out in full sun until I saw storm clouds start to move in, then switched them to indoors, stuffed with newspaper.

All clean!

The drying process

Even after 14 hours of drying, they weren't totally dry in the morning. But that's nothing new. At least it was water dampness, and not residual sweat!

Verdict: it worked pretty well, it didn't destroy the shoes, and my husband has stopped backing away from me when I come home from a run.