I have waders that are 12 seasons old, and they don't smell.
Keep in mind that I dry the INSIDE of the waders completely after every use. I use homemade wader dryers.

 

Fill nylons with cat litter and leave them in your boots for a couple days. Should do the trick.

 

The boots got damp-either with water, sweat or both and then were allowed to mildew-or worse you have some nasty black mold growing in them. I made the mistake of letting a pair of waders sit for a couple weeks without hanging them upside down to dry and when I went to put them on besides the horrific smell I jammed my foot right into a black sloppy mess! Never again.

 

Helathy doses of Fabree.........................

 

I have waders that are 12 seasons old, and they don't smell.
Keep in mind that I dry the INSIDE of the waders completely after every use. I use homemade wader dryers.

Not possible.,,,no way...no how...
UNLESS you go out once a year and then cryovac them!

 

Cat litter, Fabreeze, Baking Soda, will not rid the smell from your waders. You may need to mix a Clorox solution to kill anything growing in there. Soak them for at least an hour or two. After that, rinse them very well. Then dry them with Peets wader driers. In order to keep any waders a long time do the following be they neoprene or breathable, you have to maintain them properly. Hang dry them for no more than two days, preferably one. You shouldn't hang your waders too long, only long enough to dry the exterior. Hanging them stretches the glue, epoxy, rubber or whatever is used to seal them as well as stretching the fabric and neoprene. Neoprene and the adhesives creep, which means they get a permanent set in the stretch after a while. This significantly weakens the joints. Next dry the insides with a Peets drier. Then store them in a cool dry place. The waders need to be dry before you store them or they will "dry rot". Dry rot requires the presence of water; the name is deceiving. If the waders are dry, they should not smell. Bacteria and mold need water to thrive as well.

 

Mine hang all year over a dryer, after every hunt they're back in there. At the end of the season I leave them sometimes a week or more, whenever I get around to storing them in original box in the basement (heated/cooled). I have a pair of lacrosse 5's that are probably 4 or 5 yrs old that are still in pretty good shape. All leak in the crouch if I stand in deep water for a good while.
My feet sweat like a hog in waders. I have to dry every night.

 

Any tips?

Scrub your nuts! :thumbsup:

 

Try washing them with a solution of baking soda and water, let them dry and give them a shot of some kind of scent away spray like that from Hunter's Specialties or Scent Killer. This has worked for me in the past on my waders as well as my girlfriend's son's football pads.

 

I assume you hang them upside down after each trip.

 

Go to a scuba dive shop or order on line a bottle of Sink the Stink (8 oz or so). I also scuba dive and this is what I and a lot of divers use to wash our wet suits, boots and gear with after diving. Nothing stinks worse than a wet suit after diving in salt water that is 80-85 degrees and been in the suit for 6-8 hours, 4 in the water and 3-4 on deck in 90+ degree air temp. Wet suits are made of neoprene and other dive equipment is made of nylon/rubber/plastic all the same things as waders.

Place them fully submerged in a container (will need about 25-40 gallons for waders, like a trash can or kiddy pool) with the Sink the Stink (use twice what it calls for) and let soak for 15 minutes or so, agitating them and making sure it gets down in the boots. Or, if just worried about the insides hang them from a tree and squirt the Sink the Stink in each leg and fill up with water, slosh it around as it soaks for 15-20 minutes then dump out. Then rinse them and hang to dry. It will take a while to dry. We hang our waders and wet suits & dive gear in a 12x14 room with a dehumidifier running. usually are good to go within 24 hrs.
We usually wash our wet suits after each day of diving. I only wash my waders at the end of the year with Sink the Stink unless I have taken a fall and filled them up.

You may have mold or mildew growing, in which case the tech guy at our dive shop recommends dunking them in a well maintained swimming pool. The chemicals in pool water are good at killing the bad stuff without ruining the material in a wet suit or other dive equipment

 

I have waders that are 12 seasons old, and they don't smell.
Keep in mind that I dry the INSIDE of the waders completely after every use. I use homemade wader dryers.

Not possible.,,,no way...no how...
UNLESS you go out once a year and then cryovac them!

I hunt three or four days straight every week of the season. I cannot abide putting on waders that are damp inside. SOOOOOO, I dry them completely every night. Wader dryers make it easy-squeasy.

 

I think I got rid of the smell... dried them and used shoe deodorant... hunted Friday-Sunday all day w/o any bad smell.

Maybe I need to hang them boots up. Usually I do it the other way.. hopefully that will make them dry faster.

 

Maybe I need to hang them boots up.

yes....

 

Bueller...Bueller?