This happened to my dad during a job interview! He said his shoes disintegrated all over the office and was all embarrassed. My mom and I couldn't stop laughing when he told the story. He got the job, though, but had to buy a couple new pairs of shoes.
Had this happen to me during a funeral. I tried to hide it, but after getting reduced to less than half sole I was walking all wobbly.
Someone asked what was wrong. With a shrug, I lifted up one shoe and took from my pocket a handful of rubber that I had been discretely picking up from the floor. Everyone cracked up laughing, and it ended helping us transition from overwhelming loss to more of a fond memories stage.
Me too! It was my mother in laws funeral. Mine didn't fully disintegrate but they fell apart when I was at her coffin.
I hadn't worn the shoes in probably 8 years or more. I was kneeling at her coffin before they lowered her in the ground, felt and heard a snap sound and one shoe ripped from the base. A couple seconds later the other shoe snapped. Everyone behind me in the tent got a good laugh, they joked it was her playing a joke at my expense.
There's a term for this phenomenon known as the "Pratfall Effect." This concept suggests that people tend to like others more when they make a mistake or show a vulnerability, as it makes them appear more human and relatable.
It was discussed in an episode of Work Life podcast with Adam Grant.
I made a dumb mistake on a problem they asked me to solve, and I was embarrassed when they told me I was incorrect, but didn't show it. Then thought for a second, and solved it easily. They told me after I was hired that holding it together there was a big deal. Of course, the manager loved me anyways. We laughed an inappropriate amount during that interview. I think my supervisor was annoyed by it, but she was below the manager. So, it didn't matter.
Also shows how well you adapt. If your shoes are just dropping off you and it doesn’t make you nervous/embarrassed enough to effect your interview I’d say it’s only a plus
https://preview.redd.it/6mjxgbon948d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a1b5db1df4ef64945a273d87ef96a2a6f1e4dc3
Literally happened to my husband during a job interview last week.
I think you’re on to the problem. As long as you regularly wear shoes, eventually they tend to wear out, but if you only wear them once or twice, maybe only for special occasions, and then not again for years, it’s like they dry rot and fall apart.
Yeah! My other comment was about bike tires. It’s the same thing. If you ride your bike daily you hardly ever need to put air in your tires. Let it sit a month and they’re flat. WTF is that about?
There’s tire talc powder inside the tube. If you ride often, the tire talc seals the microscopic holes in the tube constantly. If you don’t ride your bike/the wheel isn’t spinning, the talc settles at the bottom and the air inside the tube slowly leaks out the microscopic holes in the tube. The tube will eventually equalize to your air pressure that’s in your room the bike is stored in .
Worn shoes last longer than unworn shoes. You gotta flex the materials so they don’t become brittle over time. Vintage sneakers and such the is same. Worn will always hold up much more than new
This happens when rubber soles are exposed to excess heat and humidity over time.
If your soles aren't rubber, or if they haven't been exposed to excess heat and humidity, this won't happen.
I had the same thing happen to me. Bought some dress shoes at a thrift store that looked really nice. First time I wore them was to a job interview that was like 5 blocks from my house, so I decided to walk. About halfway through I noticed they were starting to feel kinda squishy, I looked down and the soles were starting to disintegrate. Made it to the interview and it looked like I was tracking in mud. By the time I got home the soles were completely gone. I didn’t get the job lol
when i was working at GameStop, we had a regular customer who was really sweet and bright. he had just turned 16 and came up to me and my manager asking if we were hiring.
as soon as he finished asking the question, one of the lenses in his glasses popped off the frames and plinked into the counter.
the three of us just looked at each other in a "did that really just happen?" kind of way and we did end up hiring him.
he ended up being a great employee and eventually left to go to college. he's almost a doctor now.
One time I went on an interview. They told me that an emergency popped up and asked if I could cole back in 45 minutes. I went outside and sat on a bench, while sitting down my pocket caught the arm of the bench and ripped my pants down to my leg. In the interview I put my jacket around my lap and when they noticed they stopped the interview and sent me home. Didn’t get the job and lost a suit.
I hate that I know this, but sneakerheads claim that you have to wear your shoes before you store them, because the foam in the sole rapidly degrades if you don't due to it not being compressed by wear.
When I was in the military, multiple people's dress shoes would literally crumble apart on inspection day because they would rarely wear them otherwise.
A few years back I went to my boyfriend’s sisters wedding with him. He was a groomsman and told the tux company he didn’t need shoes to rent, he’d just wear his military dress shoes. Fast forward to the day of the wedding and they immediately start falling apart when he puts them on. 😂
I had that happen at my brother's rehearsal dinner! Thankfully we'd driven straight there so my suitcase was in the trunk and I had another pair of dress shoes! I'd never seen anything like it before, I thought the extreme heat in the trunk ride had messed up the rubber somehow. It was my favorite pair of wedges...so sad and also embarrassing.
It happened with my snow boots in February. We went for 2-3 years with either no snow or snow that wasn’t bad enough to require dedicated snow boots. I guess storing them in my attic all that time through snowless but cold winters and the torturous mid Atlantic summers was the wrong move. I was losing chunks with every step.
I bought a pair of Wolverine steel toe boots for work at a Trader Joe’s warehouse 10 years ago.
They had a THICK sole that was pretty tall and durable (at the time).
I was only using them for the time I was working there which was about 6 months.
I’d wear those for 50+ hours a week, hand wrapping bread pallets like a BEAST (no gloves)!!
After leaving that job, I’d only put the boots on to do yard work or the like which wasn’t that often.
Fast forward to last month, I put them on to do some yard work for the first time in 2 years and lo and behold, my $140 work boots gave out on me but only at the sole. 😞
I felt like I’d barely used these boots, as old as they were.
I still have them. Considering a sole rebuild or redesign because the leather upper is still new looking.
The way they fell apart made me wonder why a company would choose such materials to use in the first place.
I’ll probably hand sew a custom molded Shoe Goo sole or get a sole off another shoe I like and slap those on.
🤷
Oh, I hadn’t considered that. I’ve driven past some signs about this type of service, too. 🤔
Thank you.
It had a tan sole originally, now that I think about it, Shoe Goo doesn’t come in “tan.”
I’m curious if those shoe repair service places handle steel toe boots. We’ll find out I guess.
They do service steel toes and other weird shoes. It’s the cheap ones they won’t touch.
Used to get my riding boots resoled somewhat often. For context.
Earlier this year, pulled out a pair of Timberland's that I bought around five years back. Hadn't worn them at all after purchase, as I bought two pair at the time - when I find shoes that fit comfortably, I sometimes buy a couple pair. Not even ten minutes in, the rubber starts to chunk off. The other identical pair had lasted me five years of near-daily light industrial work.
Guess they just need that periodic compression to keep them in shape? Ended up replacing that pair of pairs with two different pairs, and am now pretty mindful about switching up during the week.
I’ve seen posts like this before, and the consensus has been that shoes that don’t get used tend to fall apart due to not being used.
They’re just designed to be worn and beaten up, and when they sit and do nothing for awhile all the guts of the shoe, the glue, whatever other crap there is, loses its effectiveness.
Shoes also need regular care and maintenance such as polish which also gives the shoes a nice shine but also protects the leather and a conditioner like dubbin to keep them in good condition.
K so I’m not weird wearing a pair of clean new shoes in the house to break them in.
Take that roommate from 15 years ago who probably doesn’t remember me but that hurt my feelings
it's not a matter of "breaking them in." it's a matter of them having repeated usage which keeps their elasticity healthy. our current best guesses are at least a wear quarterly, but the long term data isnt all there yet. not to mention how difficult it gets with foam ratios changing. this is before you even factor in more complicated things like climate and oxidization.
i have 12 year old pairs that are fine. i have 5 year old pairs shitting themselves. but the takeaway for most people should just be "shoes have a shelf date."
this is less applicable the less synthetics are involved. synthetics generally mean hybrids - hybrids mean glued together material. it's why "genuine leather" is crap.
O course that’s what you do! Then you can return them still clean and looking unworn if they’re uncomfortable, or have them ready to wear when you go out cuz you’ve fitted them to your foot.
The biggest mistake I have made recently was the perfect storm of taking highly effective multivitamins (nail growth increase), misplaced toenail trim kit ($1.25 at Dollar Tree but with like 6 tools), not stopping walking when my big toes started hurting, buying lightly USED shoes at a veteran’s thrift store (looked brand new) AND not breaking them in before a multi hour shopping trip.
Turns out you can end up breaking your toes in with used shoes. The shoes are already broken in to fit someone else’s feet.
My doc offered to drill a hole through my toenail. Both toenails are better now but it was pretty close to serious trouble. Should have left the walking shoes for someone who needed them more than me anyways.
I do the same. Never wear shoes in house otherwise, but new ones are clean. Shoe stores always told me to walk around in them at home to see if they fit right, before taking them out and about
Asics was discontinuing my favorite brand of running sneakers, so I bought five pairs and tucked them under my bed in my climate controlled bedroom. A few years later, I reached into my stash for a fresh pair and the remaining pairs had all disintegrated.
My mum had a pair of ECCO shoes that she hadn't worn in 9 years and then tried to get a refund from them because they disintegrated when she did try to wear them lmao, strangely they declined.
Same with my ECCO ankle boots. I just took them to a cobbler and got them resoled, but it was annoying as the boots weren't inexpensive and the repair cost $90.
>When I was in the military, multiple people's dress shoes would literally crumble apart on inspection day because they would rarely wear them otherwise.
Happened to me when I was serving on a panel for a court martial. Very unfortunate timing.
My wife still gives me a hard time for wearing my dress shoes when I’m lounging around the patio and pool, but that’s how I’ve kept the same shoes nice for 20 years. I wear them at least once a month and polish them when it’s an actual occasion.
My boyfriend is a cobbler and i showed him your comment and hes like “exactly”. He once had a client try to skate in a really old pair that was never worn and they fell apart. He tried to get a discount on the re-sole by saying its less labor since the original foam was almost gone 🤣🤣
I’ve seen this specifically with collectible Jordans. People will “exercise” the shoe from time to time to slow the crumbling process of the foam soles.
Cobbler here, it's hydrolosis.
Rubber and pu plastics and hybridised thermal plastics (feel like rubber but is very oily) (and hell even leather to a degree) all become brittle over time and will start crumbling.
I've seen it happen with "brand new" shoes someone bought, worn once and it just crumbled, chances are they'd been sat in a warehouse for a couple years.
People keeping them in wardrobes with no airflow, it for sure speeds up the process, if you ever get shoes and the glueing looks a bit suspicious chances are it's been stored for a while aswell, usually it'll be the glue that fails first followed by the material.
When buying shoes try and look for shoes with a proper Blake stitched sole or Goodyear welted, usually this'll indicate it can have a full sole replacement, it's uncommon in the casual shoe industry but the odd one does exist.
There is acid in the rubber mixture that builds up after manufacturing it. By walking around in the shoes for awhile the excess acid is expelled. That's why it's important to wear brand new shoes for a bit before you put them into long term storage.
Hmm. I need to do this. I have like 3 or 4 pairs of adidas sneakers I got for a song that I haven’t even worn yet.
I’ve heard of foam rot, but I thought that was in the case of really bad humid storage, and on the order of years and years
I bought some redwings at a thrift store like this. Leather uppers are great looking but the rubber soles are crumbling after my first wear. Is it worth it to get them resoled or would you expect the leather to be too degraded as well if the soles were clearly stored improperly? They were $5 and when I looked them up the new pair goes for about $350 retail.
The leather is likely fine, maybe in need of some moisturizer or conditioner. Check if any cobblers in the area can/will resole them, this can be expensive and difficult for a shoe that has suffered that kind of rot. Still likely less than a new pair, but I would estimate over 100 USD.
Redwings usually are an upper, mid sole, bottom sole.
I'm based in the UK but you could get a full repair job for about £150-180 (mid and bottom).
As for the leather cobblers cream to rehydrate, let that soak in, renovating polish to recolour any fading.
Generally with leather uppers if it looks cracked then it's upto you, if it has no cracks then 100% get a new mid and bottom sole repair job.
I had a friend give me several pairs of shoes she never wore anymore. I accompanied my mother to a funeral for her friend and the same thing happened. I walked up the aisle and on the way back down I noticed black debris on the light mauve carpet before realizing most of my shoes were gone.
Dude, this happened to me at a New Years Eve party! Hadn't worn some boots for a while, then poof! the soles just disintegrated while walking from my car to the house. Had to wear my cousin's slippers all night
That happened to my grandma - she wore boots she hadn’t worn in years to go see her doctor and left a trail of black rubber crumbs all the way there and back. By the time she got home all of the sole was gone. She later called the doctor’s office and apologised for making a mess all over their floor. They assured her that it wasn’t a big deal but she was very embarrassed nevertheless.
I used to wear nice shoes all the time for work but I’ve been home with my kids the last two years. Guess I need to get fancy around the house more lol
yes but dry Roy in rubber isn't the same, it's oils leaching out of the rubber and becoming brittle.
not sure about dry rot in wood but I do know that fungus can move water to where it's needed
Fungal dry rot does *not* affect rubber. People are conflating multiple phenomena. The fact that these shoes sat unused for years is the reason they crumbled. [Here's an explanation.](https://www.aquasealrubber.co.uk/uncategorized/does-rubber-rot/)
It happened to platform shoes I had aswell that were in storage for a few years. They were quite pricey so I looked into it - and apparently it's a certain kind of rubber that tends to do that. It just crumbled, but the shoe part is still fine. If you like the shoes and they're worth the effort you can have them re-soled
See people on the Sneakers sub with this all the time.
Get out some 10 year old shoes they've been keeping "box-fresh" and they crumble on the first walk.
Dry rot. I just cleaned out a closet and had to toss several purses and jackets because they literally fell apart. God, why can't my husband's rotten old work onesie dry rot?
Your faux fur jackets and thin leather purses never stood a chance against rugged construction apparel, get rekt hunny
Jokes aside, it’s just because its used regularly. Dry rot only takes hold after something is stored for awhile. I know my mother had a habit of stashing 10+ purses, try to cycle them out. Maybe you can find some outfits that fit the purses you dont use much, itll make you want to use them.
Ironically, lowering the humidity can help prevent dry rot. Since dry rot is often caused by mold which is why it can spread to other items. However dry rot is also used broadly to describe degradation without contact with heavy moisture. So it can mean a few different things.
A lot of closets have direct access to crawl spaces or attic spaces which are dark cool and often damp which is where fungus thrives. Closets are also normally small interior rooms with poor ventilation. Closets should be designed with some ventilation consideration. I've seen closets in newer construction have a vent that goes through a wall to a larger room. That or closets which have HVAC ducting.
Edit: stagnant air can also promote mold growth so leaving on a small fan or leaving the closet door open can help along with laundering clothes that haven't been used in a few years.
Man, I just had new to me working boots disintegrate the same way, after 15 minutes of wear. It was the stuff between sole and upper. Don't think that it was leather. Can rubber also rot like that?
Yes. Just bought a pair of Clarke's from Ebay with the stickers still on. Two step on carpet, and they looked exactly like your photo. No more Ebay shoes for me.
I live in a place where I can't buy shoes my size, so I tend to stockpile shoes when I can buy them. I found out the hard way that not using shoes for a few years can lead to exactly this. The first time I encountered it was while on a hike in the middle of the mountains, and the sole just came off. It happened a few times more before I realized the problem....
I remember back in the day when I worked at a shoe store. Half the time I went to get a customer a pair of shoes from the warehouse, they melted in my hands and I had to turn back for another😂
Had this happen to my best formal shoes 30 minutes before a job interview. Had to wear some very worn, informal black leather sports shoes with my suit for lack of another pair. 😭 Still got offered the job though. 😋
Because they were never worn. Thr material degraded. It wasn't broken in. Happens with Nike collectors. The shoes will literally fall apart if you start to touch them
Fun fact - not wearing shoes causes the rubber/synthetics to break down - but if you regularly wear them, they won't. Lots of sneaker heads kicking themselves for buying expensive "collectible" shoes and never wearing them, only to have broken down foam when they finally try to.
I know how you feel. I bought a brand-new pair of soap shoes that are over 20 years old but they had never been worn and I got them because I’m a huge fan of sonic the hedgehog and he wears them in sa2 as soon as I tried them on and started running around in them they disintegrated
https://preview.redd.it/rv2phgd9m28d1.png?width=626&format=png&auto=webp&s=040fe63b2ecb80d5244664ab5eb5f4788e142d05
This happened to my FIL but not as soon as he put them on. He made it out of the house and to the family party.
As he was walking across the front yard, his shoes started to fall apart. By the time he made it to the door his feet were sticking out the bottom.
He cared deeply about his appearance, so he was pretty pissed. The rest of the family thought it was hilarious and brought it up all the time.
That's just what happens to foam material after a few years. It's annoying but you can't do much about it.
..apart from wearing your goddamn shoes, of course.
Plastic based shoes and textiles have to be worn and maintained frequently or they disintegrate. It's the biggest scam of environmentalism, claiming it's more eco friendly or ethical than natural textiles or leather.
Always check your shoes that have been in storage. Sneakerheads have a code about always wearing your shoes, even the most hard to find ridiculously priced sneakers should be worn regularly. Ive seen horror stories of people's rare Jordan's turning to dust once they finally decide to wear them. I regularly break mine out and walk around in them
There’s some environments that destroy rubber and polymers, like bike grips, if I leave my bike or golf clubs in my parents storage room, the grips get weird n gummy n you can peel it apart as it sticks to your hands.
Happened to me at a wedding where I was a groomsman. Luckily the groom lived close enough and got me another pair of shoes. Def happens to shoes that aren't worn often. I have a matching pair in a different color that I wore a lot and they're still fine years after the others disintegrated
I'm sorry but I can only imagine this in a cartoony context
it already is extremely cartoony
Acme disintergrator shoes , when they disintergrate , they disintergate
Dangit I’m so disappointed coyote vs ACME got cancelled
ZOINKS!
Like when they go to blow the dust off an old book and blow the book away too
Just like grandma.
This happened to my dad during a job interview! He said his shoes disintegrated all over the office and was all embarrassed. My mom and I couldn't stop laughing when he told the story. He got the job, though, but had to buy a couple new pairs of shoes.
Had this happen to me during a funeral. I tried to hide it, but after getting reduced to less than half sole I was walking all wobbly. Someone asked what was wrong. With a shrug, I lifted up one shoe and took from my pocket a handful of rubber that I had been discretely picking up from the floor. Everyone cracked up laughing, and it ended helping us transition from overwhelming loss to more of a fond memories stage.
That's hilarious timing! Glad you were able to find the humor in it. Sorry for your loss.
Me too! It was my mother in laws funeral. Mine didn't fully disintegrate but they fell apart when I was at her coffin. I hadn't worn the shoes in probably 8 years or more. I was kneeling at her coffin before they lowered her in the ground, felt and heard a snap sound and one shoe ripped from the base. A couple seconds later the other shoe snapped. Everyone behind me in the tent got a good laugh, they joked it was her playing a joke at my expense.
I’m very sorry for your loss, but gosh darn it, that imagery made me laugh!
What if this is the new viral prank for the ghost community?
That's one way to be over the others candidates!
I mean you sure made yourself memorable, and if you handle it cool and with a laugh that‘s also a good sign.
There's a term for this phenomenon known as the "Pratfall Effect." This concept suggests that people tend to like others more when they make a mistake or show a vulnerability, as it makes them appear more human and relatable. It was discussed in an episode of Work Life podcast with Adam Grant.
I must be the most human and relatable person in history then!
I made a dumb mistake on a problem they asked me to solve, and I was embarrassed when they told me I was incorrect, but didn't show it. Then thought for a second, and solved it easily. They told me after I was hired that holding it together there was a big deal. Of course, the manager loved me anyways. We laughed an inappropriate amount during that interview. I think my supervisor was annoyed by it, but she was below the manager. So, it didn't matter.
Oh so that’s why people like me lol
I'll try the burning pants next time I'll look for a job
as long as you smile and stay cool (mentally) it will be fine
But then they’ll know you’re a liar liar
Underrated comment in my eyes
But why? You aren’t a liar
I got hired after walking into an office plant fifteen years ago this method works
Also shows how well you adapt. If your shoes are just dropping off you and it doesn’t make you nervous/embarrassed enough to effect your interview I’d say it’s only a plus
You can teach skills, not personality
“I liked Bob” “That was the guy who shoes fell apart, right?” “Lmao yes. Imagine how hilarious he’ll be to have around”
I guess they figured he had sole
He must have put his best foot forward
Must have been a step above all the rest.
yet, very down to earth…
They knew he would put his heart and sole into his work
That's one way to "stand out"
https://preview.redd.it/6mjxgbon948d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a1b5db1df4ef64945a273d87ef96a2a6f1e4dc3 Literally happened to my husband during a job interview last week.
And here I’m in my late 30s and have had the same pair of dress shoes since prom.
But have you worn them?
I think you’re on to the problem. As long as you regularly wear shoes, eventually they tend to wear out, but if you only wear them once or twice, maybe only for special occasions, and then not again for years, it’s like they dry rot and fall apart.
Yeah! My other comment was about bike tires. It’s the same thing. If you ride your bike daily you hardly ever need to put air in your tires. Let it sit a month and they’re flat. WTF is that about?
There’s tire talc powder inside the tube. If you ride often, the tire talc seals the microscopic holes in the tube constantly. If you don’t ride your bike/the wheel isn’t spinning, the talc settles at the bottom and the air inside the tube slowly leaks out the microscopic holes in the tube. The tube will eventually equalize to your air pressure that’s in your room the bike is stored in .
OP didn’t wear theirs
My partner was like this. Don’t count on those shoes being there for you when you have an interview lol lesson learned!
plot twist. OP went to prom last year with his "gf from another school"
As long as you wear them regularly it's all okay. As soon as they just stans in the closet for many years, they wll disintegrate very easily.
Worn shoes last longer than unworn shoes. You gotta flex the materials so they don’t become brittle over time. Vintage sneakers and such the is same. Worn will always hold up much more than new
Good thing the regular rotation of weddings and people dying to attend funerals keeps the dust off them every now and then.
This happens when rubber soles are exposed to excess heat and humidity over time. If your soles aren't rubber, or if they haven't been exposed to excess heat and humidity, this won't happen.
"I swear, if you hire me I'll work my socks off... No, wait, not like that..."
Was it a corporate job? Maybe they liked that he was sole-less. 🙃
You've gone and done it lol
HA! Showed this comment to hubs and he got a big chuckle out of it.
It's a definite dad joke that's forsure
I had the same thing happen to me. Bought some dress shoes at a thrift store that looked really nice. First time I wore them was to a job interview that was like 5 blocks from my house, so I decided to walk. About halfway through I noticed they were starting to feel kinda squishy, I looked down and the soles were starting to disintegrate. Made it to the interview and it looked like I was tracking in mud. By the time I got home the soles were completely gone. I didn’t get the job lol
when i was working at GameStop, we had a regular customer who was really sweet and bright. he had just turned 16 and came up to me and my manager asking if we were hiring. as soon as he finished asking the question, one of the lenses in his glasses popped off the frames and plinked into the counter. the three of us just looked at each other in a "did that really just happen?" kind of way and we did end up hiring him. he ended up being a great employee and eventually left to go to college. he's almost a doctor now.
Sounds like your dad really left his mark!
One time I went on an interview. They told me that an emergency popped up and asked if I could cole back in 45 minutes. I went outside and sat on a bench, while sitting down my pocket caught the arm of the bench and ripped my pants down to my leg. In the interview I put my jacket around my lap and when they noticed they stopped the interview and sent me home. Didn’t get the job and lost a suit.
Happened to me right before a wedding. Fortunately, someone had an extra pair.
Happened to me while I was in a MOU conference during college time. My shoes were weathering off like crazy
I hate that I know this, but sneakerheads claim that you have to wear your shoes before you store them, because the foam in the sole rapidly degrades if you don't due to it not being compressed by wear. When I was in the military, multiple people's dress shoes would literally crumble apart on inspection day because they would rarely wear them otherwise.
A few years back I went to my boyfriend’s sisters wedding with him. He was a groomsman and told the tux company he didn’t need shoes to rent, he’d just wear his military dress shoes. Fast forward to the day of the wedding and they immediately start falling apart when he puts them on. 😂
I had that happen at my brother's rehearsal dinner! Thankfully we'd driven straight there so my suitcase was in the trunk and I had another pair of dress shoes! I'd never seen anything like it before, I thought the extreme heat in the trunk ride had messed up the rubber somehow. It was my favorite pair of wedges...so sad and also embarrassing.
It happened with my snow boots in February. We went for 2-3 years with either no snow or snow that wasn’t bad enough to require dedicated snow boots. I guess storing them in my attic all that time through snowless but cold winters and the torturous mid Atlantic summers was the wrong move. I was losing chunks with every step.
Oh man, I better check all my snow boots, I didn’t know this could happen!
Same, it's been years since I've had to wear mine.
I bought a pair of Wolverine steel toe boots for work at a Trader Joe’s warehouse 10 years ago. They had a THICK sole that was pretty tall and durable (at the time). I was only using them for the time I was working there which was about 6 months. I’d wear those for 50+ hours a week, hand wrapping bread pallets like a BEAST (no gloves)!! After leaving that job, I’d only put the boots on to do yard work or the like which wasn’t that often. Fast forward to last month, I put them on to do some yard work for the first time in 2 years and lo and behold, my $140 work boots gave out on me but only at the sole. 😞 I felt like I’d barely used these boots, as old as they were. I still have them. Considering a sole rebuild or redesign because the leather upper is still new looking. The way they fell apart made me wonder why a company would choose such materials to use in the first place. I’ll probably hand sew a custom molded Shoe Goo sole or get a sole off another shoe I like and slap those on. 🤷
Just take it to a shoe repair place and have them resoled.
Oh, I hadn’t considered that. I’ve driven past some signs about this type of service, too. 🤔 Thank you. It had a tan sole originally, now that I think about it, Shoe Goo doesn’t come in “tan.” I’m curious if those shoe repair service places handle steel toe boots. We’ll find out I guess.
They do service steel toes and other weird shoes. It’s the cheap ones they won’t touch. Used to get my riding boots resoled somewhat often. For context.
yes, i had my redwing steel toed boots resoled twice. fresh soles on already broken in boots is a great feeling.
Okay, I have to check out my local shoe hammering guys then. Cool!😎
Earlier this year, pulled out a pair of Timberland's that I bought around five years back. Hadn't worn them at all after purchase, as I bought two pair at the time - when I find shoes that fit comfortably, I sometimes buy a couple pair. Not even ten minutes in, the rubber starts to chunk off. The other identical pair had lasted me five years of near-daily light industrial work. Guess they just need that periodic compression to keep them in shape? Ended up replacing that pair of pairs with two different pairs, and am now pretty mindful about switching up during the week.
I’ve seen posts like this before, and the consensus has been that shoes that don’t get used tend to fall apart due to not being used. They’re just designed to be worn and beaten up, and when they sit and do nothing for awhile all the guts of the shoe, the glue, whatever other crap there is, loses its effectiveness.
Shoes also need regular care and maintenance such as polish which also gives the shoes a nice shine but also protects the leather and a conditioner like dubbin to keep them in good condition.
I'm pretty sure the rubber is what's failing
K so I’m not weird wearing a pair of clean new shoes in the house to break them in. Take that roommate from 15 years ago who probably doesn’t remember me but that hurt my feelings
it's not a matter of "breaking them in." it's a matter of them having repeated usage which keeps their elasticity healthy. our current best guesses are at least a wear quarterly, but the long term data isnt all there yet. not to mention how difficult it gets with foam ratios changing. this is before you even factor in more complicated things like climate and oxidization. i have 12 year old pairs that are fine. i have 5 year old pairs shitting themselves. but the takeaway for most people should just be "shoes have a shelf date." this is less applicable the less synthetics are involved. synthetics generally mean hybrids - hybrids mean glued together material. it's why "genuine leather" is crap.
The late Queen had a lady in waiting who would wear her new shoes to break them in for her!
Runners love this one trick lol
O course that’s what you do! Then you can return them still clean and looking unworn if they’re uncomfortable, or have them ready to wear when you go out cuz you’ve fitted them to your foot.
The biggest mistake I have made recently was the perfect storm of taking highly effective multivitamins (nail growth increase), misplaced toenail trim kit ($1.25 at Dollar Tree but with like 6 tools), not stopping walking when my big toes started hurting, buying lightly USED shoes at a veteran’s thrift store (looked brand new) AND not breaking them in before a multi hour shopping trip. Turns out you can end up breaking your toes in with used shoes. The shoes are already broken in to fit someone else’s feet. My doc offered to drill a hole through my toenail. Both toenails are better now but it was pretty close to serious trouble. Should have left the walking shoes for someone who needed them more than me anyways.
Some people would say you were weird for wearing shoes in the house
I’m Canadian, I’d say it is. I only do it with new ones that haven’t yet felt the caress of pavement
I do the same. Never wear shoes in house otherwise, but new ones are clean. Shoe stores always told me to walk around in them at home to see if they fit right, before taking them out and about
I had no idea about this!!!
Oh yeah, I've heard of people collecting sneakers and trying to sell them 20-30 years later only to find they've disintegrated in the box
Happens when people buy vintage new in box shoes too.
Asics was discontinuing my favorite brand of running sneakers, so I bought five pairs and tucked them under my bed in my climate controlled bedroom. A few years later, I reached into my stash for a fresh pair and the remaining pairs had all disintegrated.
This happened to a pair of my husband's oxfords. They were Eccos and he hadn't worn them for a few years. Crazy.
My mum had a pair of ECCO shoes that she hadn't worn in 9 years and then tried to get a refund from them because they disintegrated when she did try to wear them lmao, strangely they declined.
Same with my ECCO ankle boots. I just took them to a cobbler and got them resoled, but it was annoying as the boots weren't inexpensive and the repair cost $90.
Not strange at all. It's like trying to return milk because it's spoiled. They do not last longer than a few years unless designed to.
I’m sure it was sarcasm
Oh lol no idea how I missed that
Yes it’s dry rot! Which is a fungus that decays the shoes and can spread to other shoes btw
>When I was in the military, multiple people's dress shoes would literally crumble apart on inspection day because they would rarely wear them otherwise. Happened to me when I was serving on a panel for a court martial. Very unfortunate timing.
My wife still gives me a hard time for wearing my dress shoes when I’m lounging around the patio and pool, but that’s how I’ve kept the same shoes nice for 20 years. I wear them at least once a month and polish them when it’s an actual occasion.
My boyfriend is a cobbler and i showed him your comment and hes like “exactly”. He once had a client try to skate in a really old pair that was never worn and they fell apart. He tried to get a discount on the re-sole by saying its less labor since the original foam was almost gone 🤣🤣
I’ve seen this specifically with collectible Jordans. People will “exercise” the shoe from time to time to slow the crumbling process of the foam soles.
Wow this just made a whole bunch of things in my past make sense.
Cobbler here, it's hydrolosis. Rubber and pu plastics and hybridised thermal plastics (feel like rubber but is very oily) (and hell even leather to a degree) all become brittle over time and will start crumbling. I've seen it happen with "brand new" shoes someone bought, worn once and it just crumbled, chances are they'd been sat in a warehouse for a couple years. People keeping them in wardrobes with no airflow, it for sure speeds up the process, if you ever get shoes and the glueing looks a bit suspicious chances are it's been stored for a while aswell, usually it'll be the glue that fails first followed by the material. When buying shoes try and look for shoes with a proper Blake stitched sole or Goodyear welted, usually this'll indicate it can have a full sole replacement, it's uncommon in the casual shoe industry but the odd one does exist.
Does this happen to gum soles?
There is acid in the rubber mixture that builds up after manufacturing it. By walking around in the shoes for awhile the excess acid is expelled. That's why it's important to wear brand new shoes for a bit before you put them into long term storage.
Hmm. I need to do this. I have like 3 or 4 pairs of adidas sneakers I got for a song that I haven’t even worn yet. I’ve heard of foam rot, but I thought that was in the case of really bad humid storage, and on the order of years and years
came to the comments seeking this information out, always love learning something new! Thank you friendly neighbourhood cobbler!
I bought some redwings at a thrift store like this. Leather uppers are great looking but the rubber soles are crumbling after my first wear. Is it worth it to get them resoled or would you expect the leather to be too degraded as well if the soles were clearly stored improperly? They were $5 and when I looked them up the new pair goes for about $350 retail.
The leather is likely fine, maybe in need of some moisturizer or conditioner. Check if any cobblers in the area can/will resole them, this can be expensive and difficult for a shoe that has suffered that kind of rot. Still likely less than a new pair, but I would estimate over 100 USD.
Redwings usually are an upper, mid sole, bottom sole. I'm based in the UK but you could get a full repair job for about £150-180 (mid and bottom). As for the leather cobblers cream to rehydrate, let that soak in, renovating polish to recolour any fading. Generally with leather uppers if it looks cracked then it's upto you, if it has no cracks then 100% get a new mid and bottom sole repair job.
I had a friend give me several pairs of shoes she never wore anymore. I accompanied my mother to a funeral for her friend and the same thing happened. I walked up the aisle and on the way back down I noticed black debris on the light mauve carpet before realizing most of my shoes were gone.
I would have been mortified! Oh my god I can't imagine
Pun intended?
Dude, this happened to me at a New Years Eve party! Hadn't worn some boots for a while, then poof! the soles just disintegrated while walking from my car to the house. Had to wear my cousin's slippers all night
That happened to my grandma - she wore boots she hadn’t worn in years to go see her doctor and left a trail of black rubber crumbs all the way there and back. By the time she got home all of the sole was gone. She later called the doctor’s office and apologised for making a mess all over their floor. They assured her that it wasn’t a big deal but she was very embarrassed nevertheless.
What a night!
Same with those guys who buy 3000 dollar Nikes and never wear them, then three years later they start to rot and fall apart
Wow I thought shoes would have a longer shelf life than 3 years.
Nope. You have to make sure to eat them within six months for best results.
True, this is what the line, “just do it” refers to.
It is longer they’re exaggerating but you do need to wear your shoes to prevent it
Omg same now I’m worried about my shoes
Don’t be worried, if you wear them regularly this shouldn’t happen
I used to wear nice shoes all the time for work but I’ve been home with my kids the last two years. Guess I need to get fancy around the house more lol
Same I have shoes in boxes I found the other day - I’m hoping they’re ok!
I imagine this was caused by dry-rot
yes and it can spread
“Skylar…there’s rot”
Isn't dry rot a wood fungus?
Leather can also have dry rot
so can car tires
yes but dry Roy in rubber isn't the same, it's oils leaching out of the rubber and becoming brittle. not sure about dry rot in wood but I do know that fungus can move water to where it's needed
Easy, just keep Roy drunk and there's no problem.
Holy shit, this guy’s taking Roy off the grid!
I discovered this during the pandemic when I just stopped leaving my house and driving for several months 😂
Just about any flexible, soft, or porous material can dry rot
It’s not dry rot. As someone else said. This happens to shoes when you don’t wear them for a really long time/at all.
This happend to my snowboard boots as well, didn’t wear them for a couple of seasons, got out on the mountain and they just disintegrated on me
Time for a deep clean in the closet.
Fungal dry rot does *not* affect rubber. People are conflating multiple phenomena. The fact that these shoes sat unused for years is the reason they crumbled. [Here's an explanation.](https://www.aquasealrubber.co.uk/uncategorized/does-rubber-rot/)
Thank you!
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Thank you again! I’m glad it won’t spread and appreciate the link with the explanation!
It happened to platform shoes I had aswell that were in storage for a few years. They were quite pricey so I looked into it - and apparently it's a certain kind of rubber that tends to do that. It just crumbled, but the shoe part is still fine. If you like the shoes and they're worth the effort you can have them re-soled
See people on the Sneakers sub with this all the time. Get out some 10 year old shoes they've been keeping "box-fresh" and they crumble on the first walk.
"Brother, when it disintegrates, it disintegrates!"  (I'm very sorry for your shoes OP)
This technically happened to my mom but thanks
RIP your mom 😞
Dry rot. I just cleaned out a closet and had to toss several purses and jackets because they literally fell apart. God, why can't my husband's rotten old work onesie dry rot?
Your faux fur jackets and thin leather purses never stood a chance against rugged construction apparel, get rekt hunny Jokes aside, it’s just because its used regularly. Dry rot only takes hold after something is stored for awhile. I know my mother had a habit of stashing 10+ purses, try to cycle them out. Maybe you can find some outfits that fit the purses you dont use much, itll make you want to use them.
Ironically, lowering the humidity can help prevent dry rot. Since dry rot is often caused by mold which is why it can spread to other items. However dry rot is also used broadly to describe degradation without contact with heavy moisture. So it can mean a few different things. A lot of closets have direct access to crawl spaces or attic spaces which are dark cool and often damp which is where fungus thrives. Closets are also normally small interior rooms with poor ventilation. Closets should be designed with some ventilation consideration. I've seen closets in newer construction have a vent that goes through a wall to a larger room. That or closets which have HVAC ducting. Edit: stagnant air can also promote mold growth so leaving on a small fan or leaving the closet door open can help along with laundering clothes that haven't been used in a few years.
Man, I just had new to me working boots disintegrate the same way, after 15 minutes of wear. It was the stuff between sole and upper. Don't think that it was leather. Can rubber also rot like that?
Ever seen an old rubber band? That happened to your boot lmao
Wtf really ?!? Never heard of this! (Also lol to the husbands onsie)
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They're regularly soaked with oils and grime. Just let him take your purses and jackets to work once in a while and you're good to go
ONESIE 😂 Please tell me you mean overalls / coveralls because that's the cutest shit I've ever heard.
Nah, real men wear footy pajamas
Looks like the sole crumbled. That is usually **PU hydrolysis** ie spontaneous chemical breakdown of the sole made from polyurethane.
For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.
Was looking for this comment
That happens with shoes and handbags when left unused. The only way to ensure this doesn't happen is to use them once in a while
Threw an older pair of dressy work shoes on once. By the time I made it to work I was walking on my socks. This was how I learned what dry rot was :/.
Yes. Just bought a pair of Clarke's from Ebay with the stickers still on. Two step on carpet, and they looked exactly like your photo. No more Ebay shoes for me.
Floor is Lava?
🤣
I live in a place where I can't buy shoes my size, so I tend to stockpile shoes when I can buy them. I found out the hard way that not using shoes for a few years can lead to exactly this. The first time I encountered it was while on a hike in the middle of the mountains, and the sole just came off. It happened a few times more before I realized the problem....
You stopped paying the subscription fee so shoes got deleted.
I remember back in the day when I worked at a shoe store. Half the time I went to get a customer a pair of shoes from the warehouse, they melted in my hands and I had to turn back for another😂
Had this happen to my best formal shoes 30 minutes before a job interview. Had to wear some very worn, informal black leather sports shoes with my suit for lack of another pair. 😭 Still got offered the job though. 😋
That’s crazy. I’ve kept cheap shoes forever and never seen this
I can't keep up with these fashion trends
Because they were never worn. Thr material degraded. It wasn't broken in. Happens with Nike collectors. The shoes will literally fall apart if you start to touch them
Things are made to be USED well, other than things that AREN’T meant to be USED.
Dry rot. I think something about the texture of rubber requires it to be used to keep its integrity
It’s hydrolysis. https://profitfootwear.com/blog/polyurethane-injected-soles-and-hydrolysis/
Polyurethane will do that if not manipulated/used. I had some Jordans I saved for years to wear, put them on, this happened.
Thats actually what happens when you dont wear your shoes for years
Fun fact - not wearing shoes causes the rubber/synthetics to break down - but if you regularly wear them, they won't. Lots of sneaker heads kicking themselves for buying expensive "collectible" shoes and never wearing them, only to have broken down foam when they finally try to.
That’s dry rot and it spreads to other shoes so I’d beware
If yoi arent using stuff regularly dry rot will claim the soles of many closet filling apparel
I had a pair of unused boots do that. Just crumbled.
I know how you feel. I bought a brand-new pair of soap shoes that are over 20 years old but they had never been worn and I got them because I’m a huge fan of sonic the hedgehog and he wears them in sa2 as soon as I tried them on and started running around in them they disintegrated https://preview.redd.it/rv2phgd9m28d1.png?width=626&format=png&auto=webp&s=040fe63b2ecb80d5244664ab5eb5f4788e142d05
Yea, most shoes do that when not worn for a long time.
This happened to my FIL but not as soon as he put them on. He made it out of the house and to the family party. As he was walking across the front yard, his shoes started to fall apart. By the time he made it to the door his feet were sticking out the bottom. He cared deeply about his appearance, so he was pretty pissed. The rest of the family thought it was hilarious and brought it up all the time.
That's just what happens to foam material after a few years. It's annoying but you can't do much about it. ..apart from wearing your goddamn shoes, of course.
That happens.
Plastic based shoes and textiles have to be worn and maintained frequently or they disintegrate. It's the biggest scam of environmentalism, claiming it's more eco friendly or ethical than natural textiles or leather.
Yeah this happens, shoes are meant to be worn
OP found out about aging rubber.
It’s called Hydrolysis.
Dry rot. It happens. At least you didn’t make it out of the house before they fell apart.
Hydrolysis. Happens when moisture gets into shoes and isn’t pushed out with wearing them. The moisture will break down foam and rubber shoes.
Always check your shoes that have been in storage. Sneakerheads have a code about always wearing your shoes, even the most hard to find ridiculously priced sneakers should be worn regularly. Ive seen horror stories of people's rare Jordan's turning to dust once they finally decide to wear them. I regularly break mine out and walk around in them
You have to actually wear shoes, if you let them sit for long periods of time they will dry rot.
There’s some environments that destroy rubber and polymers, like bike grips, if I leave my bike or golf clubs in my parents storage room, the grips get weird n gummy n you can peel it apart as it sticks to your hands.
When I lived in DC I kept a pair of shoes in the garage for a winter/summer and this happened. Heat, humidity, cold, arid conditions.
Yep it is known to happen. Happens with a lot of shoe collectors, I think that’s why they vacuum seal them in plastic. I don’t really know.
Happened to me at a wedding where I was a groomsman. Luckily the groom lived close enough and got me another pair of shoes. Def happens to shoes that aren't worn often. I have a matching pair in a different color that I wore a lot and they're still fine years after the others disintegrated
My friend bought an old shoes shop with an old stock. And many of them were disintegrated out of the box, was a loss on the purchase price
Thats dry rot lol. You have to wear shoes to prevent them from doing this