You can choose the perfect pair of sandals to complete your fantastic summer outfit and still end up in a mood due to one of the most annoying sandal tragedies – suction noise, aka farting sounds. The noise typically comes out every time you move. The good news is there are actually plenty of ways to prevent your sandals from making suction noise.
The rest of the article will explain why these methods work and the appropriate situations to use either of the steps. Keep reading to make sure you get rid of that suction noise.
Sandals set your feet free and allow you to enjoy the hot summer days without the constraints of your go-to rubber shoes or sneakers. It’s almost literally like your feet can breathe. Unfortunately, though, the summer heat isn’t just out to bring you some fun – it too gives you sweaty feet, and that’s when the tragedy begins.
Before I blame everything on the hot summer sun, let me clarify that even going for long walks still leads to sweaty feet, so it really is on a case-to-case basis. The more you sweat, the more suction noise your sandals may produce, and evidently, the more annoying it’s going to be.
In either case, sweaty feet almost always lead to farting sounds when walking on your favorite pair of sandals. What happens is air trapped in the holes of your footwear gets sealed in by the moisture seeping out of your feet.
Now, that wouldn’t be a problem if you just stay put. There are going to be no suction sounds bothering you or the rest of your friends.
However, once you start to lift your heels and make your attempt at walking, the air previously trapped within the holes of your footwear gets released.
It’s therefore not surprising that the number one on the list is spraying antiperspirant on your feet. Keeping your feet dry is the key to avoiding those unwanted farting noises.
An antiperspirant also adds a layer of safety, as it prevents your sandals from becoming slippery.
Just make sure that the antiperspirant doesn’t release harmful chemicals that eventually damage the insoles or maybe even the skin on your feet during constant contact. You can check Odorex Foot Antiperspirant (available on Amazon), which is supposed to give you protection from heavy perspiration.
If you don’t have an antiperspirant, you can instead apply talcum powder on your feet as well as the sandal insole. The idea is quite similar to the logic behind the antiperspirant, which is to prevent air from being trapped in-between spaces and catch attention once released.
The exact way it solves the problem though is a little different. While antiperspirant sprays prevent you from sweating excessively, talcum powder just absorbs the sweat that you produce.
This means it’s crucial for you to bring your favorite baby powder brand whenever you plan on staying under the sun for too long, or if you really just have sweaty feet and you already sweated out the baby powder you previously applied.
Your feet may look like it has been coated in sugar powder for a while but at least no more of those embarrassing farting sounds.
With a talcum powder, your footwear may also feel more comfortable to walk around on, as besides the suction sound, sweaty feet also leave a slippery feel when wearing most types of sandals.
Word of caution, though, if your feet are really sweaty–antiperspirant sprays may still be the way to go. Putting too much talcum powder on your feet may leave annoying white traces from excess and poorly attached powder particles on the ground. You wouldn’t want to get rid of the annoying noise only to end up looking weird walking around with powder tracing your path.
After the first two items on the list, the third item comes as an evident alternative. You may not be comfortable with antiperspirants and powders come with their own set of issues, so another option would be to use a product that will instead be applied on your sandals, not on you.
A waterproofing solution prevents moisture from getting into the holes of your sandals, trapping air, and ending up releasing the loud suction noise during the cyclical application and removal of pressure on your soles.
Another great motivation to use a waterproofing solution would be that when it suddenly rains or when your sandals get wet unexpectedly, the chemical protects your sandals from damage.
Just like other types of moisture, water seeping into your sandal may lead to the suction noise, and even worse, ruin the material of your footwear way before you’re even able to wear them comfortably.
Sweaty feet aren’t the only ones to blame for squeaky sandals. Trapped air in the insole and cushion of your sandals can also be to blame for those squeaky noises.
Whenever you apply pressure on your sandals, the trapped air underneath the insole and the pores of the midsole try to escape through any hole on the footwear. The loud squeaking sound happens when the trapped air is forced to exit through a few tiny holes.
Knowing this, you can poke small holes on the insole of your sandal to let the trapped air escape more easily. Remember that air is composed of gas molecules that spread out easily. Minimizing the resistance that keeps the air from going out can be an effective way to get rid of the suction noise.
Some sandal manufacturers already incorporate these holes in the design so you wouldn’t have to ruin your sandals too much. At times, though, you’ll have to do it by yourself.
You can use a pin or a sharp knife to poke holes through the insole. The target locations of the holes should be the area under your heels and the ball of your foot as these are the locations where there’s the most pressure. Be careful and be sure not to damage the sandals when poking the holes.
5. Apply Petroleum Jelly On the Insole
Surprisingly, the suction sound in your sandals isn’t always due to trapped air. Another crucial factor to consider could be the friction buildup between your feet and the sandal’s insoles. When the friction is too high, your feet will start to produce suction noise whenever it rubs into the insoles. In this case, lubricants may be the way to go.
To prevent friction, a smooth contact between your feet and the inside of your sandal must be maintained. One way to do this is by applying a tiny amount of petroleum jelly on the insole just enough to create a thin layer of lubricant. A product that’s been around since the 1800s, Vaseline Petroleum Jelly is a classic choice.
Just be careful not to overapply, you wouldn’t want this trip to end up being a choice between squeaky and sticky.
Another thing to consider would be that lubricants easily attract dust. When going for an outdoor activity with your sandals, you may want to be more cautious of the dirt that’s attached to your feet because of the jelly.
6. Apply WD-40 on Squeaky Areas
If, for some reason, you ran out of petroleum jelly in your house. You can always look in the garage to check if you still have your WD-40.
WD-40 is an industrial lubricant used to lubricate almost anything you can think of. From loud door joints and now your squeaky sandals, this industrial lubricant is guaranteed to stop all those annoying noises.
Just spray a small amount onto a cloth and apply on the outside seams or any other squeaky areas and you’re good to go. However, always remember to use this method only for synthetic or PVC sandals as these are more resistant to the substances found in WD-40.
For leather fabrics that need lubrication, just stick with your old-school petroleum jelly.
7. Break in Your New Pair of Sandals
A pair of sandal’s age can also be a good risk factor for the suction noise. You may think this could be because the sandals are old, and that could be true, but even new sandals pose problems.
In particular, sandals with comfy cushions that ensure you don’t hurt your feet when you walk long distances also make for noisy footwear. Cushions provide tiny air pockets that need prolonged and constant application of pressure to compress.
To get rid of these air pockets, after buying your new pair of sandals, use them around the house until the suction noises are gone. Constant compression releases trapped air and prepares your sandals to be noise-free when it’s time to use them outdoors.
8. Fix Damaged Layer/s
Suction noise can sometimes get tricky. We get so used to thinking suction noise is just produced between the skins of our feet and our sandals’ insoles, but after doing all that we can, our footwear still keeps on making the annoying sound.
This time, the problem could be that your pair of sandals is going through the natural wear and tear process, and the surfaces of contact between the layers of your sandals are the ones making the noise.
Sweat may not anymore trap the air bubbles in your insoles but release them once in a while through a resounding farting noise. However, the spaces in between your inner sole and midsole or your midsole and outer sole invite air to come in. They trap them when you exert pressure as you walk and release them the very moment you raise your heels.
It’s almost the same annoying sweat story, except for the fact that you wouldn’t have to apply the fix as often as if it were a perspiration problem.
Gorilla Glue will typically do the magic. Just make sure to get rid of trapped dirt within the layers so that the exposed surfaces are smooth and are expected to adhere completely with each other.
If dirt is still present when you attach the sandal layers, you end up leaving air pockets that’ll once again connive with water and other sources of moisture to get the annoying suction noise you’ve been trying to avoid.
9. Get Rid of Smooth Outsoles
When your sandals go through wear and tear, it doesn’t only break in between the layers. Due to constant friction, the outsoles may eventually smoothen, exposing you to danger while walking down the slippery streets.
Now, this overly smooth sole doesn’t only put you at risk for accidents but also for the farting sound produced when the smooth surface rubs on concrete.
To get rid of smooth outsoles, you can use a fine-grained sandpaper to gently rub through the surface of your soles until the friction between them and the ground is back to normal.
10. Dry Your Sandals
Finally, you’ll have to remember to make sure that your sandals have completely dried before using them again. There’s almost no better recipe for suction sounds than trapped air and water present in all of the sole layers.
You can simply leave your sandals to dry under the heat of the sun and get back to them by nighttime. It should be ready for use the next morning.
When dealing with annoying suction noise on your sandals, you must check for at least five main causes:
- The sandals are new and you need to break them in.
- The sandals are old and they need repair.
- The sweat coming from your feet traps air within your sandals, and the air is released when you lift your feet and relieve the pressure.
- Friction between your feet and your sandals needs to be minimized.
- Friction between your feed and your sandals need to be increased.
Identifying which of the five most common reasons for the suction noise leads you to your solution.