FunkAway Review: Does It Really Work on Shoes?

By Paul G.
Published: September 17, 2026

FunkAway is a household odor spray. You spray it on the thing that smells, it breaks down the odor molecules already sitting in it, and the thing stops smelling.

That's what it does. If you're pointing it into your shoes, that's also where it stops.

Because the smell in your shoes didn't start in your shoes.

Which FunkAway Do People Use on Shoes?

Worth clearing up first, because there's some confusion in the search results.

FunkAway doesn't make a shoe spray. Their shoe category has two things in it: drop-in sachets for boots, shoes and gym bags, and a small TSA-size travel pump listed for clothes, shoes and gear.

The can people actually mean when they say "FunkAway shoe spray" is the 8 oz aerosol. That's their flagship, and their own product page calls it the all-purpose answer. The uses listed on it are couches, carpet, trash and bathrooms. Shoes aren't on that list. The customer reviews they feature are a litter room, a trash bin, a bedroom carpet and a garage.

None of that makes it a bad can. It just means that if you bought it for your shoes, you bought a household spray and aimed it somewhere the label didn't.

What FunkAway Does

The active ingredient is OM Complex, short for Odor Molecule Encapsulator. It's their patented blend and it's in everything they sell.

The process is straightforward. The spray disperses onto the surface, each molecule wraps around an odor compound and binds it, and the trapped compound breaks down into pieces that don't smell. The odor that was in the shoe when you sprayed is no longer in the shoe.

That's the whole mechanism. It acts on odor molecules that already exist.

Does FunkAway Work on Shoe Odor?

On the odor that's in the shoe at the moment you spray it, yes.

The reports aren't unanimous. Plenty of people spray a pair of boots, let them dry and find the smell still there afterward. That shows up most with the heavy cases, where odor has soaked into padding and foam that a surface spray doesn't fully reach in one pass.

But set the mixed reviews aside, because they're not the interesting part. Even when it works exactly as described, you're left with the same shoe you started with and the same feet going back into it in the morning.

What FunkAway Doesn't Do

Two things, and both of them matter if shoe odor is your actual problem.

It isn't a disinfectant. It doesn't sanitize and it doesn't kill germs. That's worth knowing, because the thing producing your shoe odor is bacteria, and this product isn't built to have any opinion about them.

It doesn't go on skin. It's made for fabric, surfaces and air. Your feet aren't on the label of any product they sell.

Put those next to how foot odor is made and you can see the gap. Each of your feet has around 250,000 sweat glands, more per inch than anywhere else on your body. The sweat itself has no smell. The bacteria on your skin break it down, and the byproducts are the smell you're dealing with.

Which means the odor in your shoe tonight was made today, on your feet.

Spray the shoe and that odor is gone. Tomorrow morning your feet go into the same shoe and make more, and the spray had no part in that either way. It's a cleanup, and cleanups only ever run backwards.

Every odor eliminator in this category has the same shape. I got into it when I wrote about carbon pads and what they can and can't do. Different chemistry, same stopping point.

Can You Use FunkAway on Your Feet?

No. It's a spray for fabric, surfaces and air, and skin isn't one of those.

Look at the rest of the lineup and it's clear what the brand is built around. A smoke spray, a car odor blaster, closet sachets, a laundry add-in, beads for a room. Every one of them treats an object. You treat the object, the object stops smelling, you move on.

Your feet aren't an object you treat once. They're skin, and they're going to make more odor tomorrow whether you sprayed the shoe or not. That job needs a foot deodorant, which is a different product in a different category.

That difference catches a lot of people out, and it's why so many end up trying their regular underarm stick on their feet instead. I wrote about whether that actually works if that's where you've been.

How Long Does FunkAway Last in Shoes?

Until you wear the shoes again.

The molecules it broke down stay broken down. That part holds. But new sweat and new bacteria make new odor molecules, and those are a fresh problem the spray was never involved in.

So how long you get is really a question about your feet, not about the can. A shoe you wear now and then, in a house where it gets to dry out, might go weeks. Work boots every day through the summer and you'll be back at it fast.

This is the part that makes people think a product quit on them. It didn't quit. It was never in a position to affect tomorrow in the first place.

What I Use

I dealt with this for years. I tried the sprays off the shelf, the powders, the inserts, and I mixed my own for a while. My uncle runs a cosmetic lab in Costa Rica, so eventually the two of us sat down and made something properly.

It came out as two bottles. A spray for the shoes and a roll-on for my feet.

The spray goes in the shoes when I walk in the door. The roll-on goes on in the morning before my socks. About a minute a day, and at this point it's just part of getting dressed.

The reason it's two bottles is the same reason this post exists. The shoe holds the smell and the feet make it, and anything that only reaches one of those is going to leave you doing this again next week. I got tired of reacting.

If tonight's shoes are the problem, here's the shoe spray on its own. If they keep going bad on you every few days, it's your feet reloading them, and the pair together is what I actually use.

The key is consistency. It's a deodorant, so you use it every day, the same way you put one on under your arms without thinking about it.

FAQ

Does FunkAway work on shoe odor?

It works on the odor sitting in the shoe when you spray it. It isn't a disinfectant and it doesn't go on skin, so it has no effect on the feet producing that odor. Spray it tonight and you'll get a fresh shoe. Wear it tomorrow and you start over.

Does FunkAway make a shoe spray?

Not really. Their shoe category is drop-in sachets and a small travel pump listed for clothes, shoes and gear. The can most people mean is their 8 oz all-purpose aerosol, which is sold for couches, carpet, trash and bathrooms.

How long does FunkAway last in shoes?

Until you wear them again. The odor it broke down is gone for good, but your feet make new odor the next day. How long you get depends on your feet and how often the shoes go back on, not on the can.

Can you spray FunkAway on your feet?

No. It's made for fabric, surfaces and air. For skin you want a foot deodorant, which is a different category with a different job. I broke down the difference here.

Why do my shoes smell again after using FunkAway?

Because the smell is new, not because the old smell came back. Your feet reload the shoe every time you wear it. If one application only buys you a couple of days, that's the tell, and the fix has to include your feet. Here's how I'd handle both.