Sudden Unexpected Shoe Failure

There have been a few threads about disintegrating shoes so this is an ongoing problem!

Ziplok

There may well have been a post about this last year, but the OP perhaps doesn’t know that, being new to GN judging by the username. There’s really no need for snippy remarks.

Cindersdad isn't new but he might have missed the thread.

I didn't think the remarks were snippy, rather that, as it's been discussed previously, there might be answers on the other thread too.

However, TinSoldier seems to have sussed it - thank you.
I always threw those silicone gel sachets away, I won't in future.

Purplepixie

I have never had that happens since the 1960’s when my high heels were always snapping off. Maybe drink was involved.

I leapt off a bus once in the 1960s and left the high heel of one shoe behind, trapped on the platform of the bus.
No drink involved as it was the start of an evening out!

My gallant boyfriend at the time raced after the bus and retrieved it for me although I had to spend an evening hobbling around the town. 🙂

TinSoldier that is interesting. Thanks

There may well have been a post about this last year, but the OP perhaps doesn’t know that, being new to GN judging by the username. There’s really no need for snippy remarks.

I have a much loved and used pair of Hotter Mystery Boots. Hotter have discontinued them. The soles on mine split. I repaired them with GearAid Aquaseal which, after a year, seems to be holding. It wouldn't work on badly crumbling PU but might just save some which are starting to go. I wonder if I caught mine just in time. I keep them by the radiator now or in a sunny spot.

The soles of my lovely knee length leather Clark's boots split right across.

They weren't very old and the leather and zips were still perfect. The local cobbler did his best to mend them but it didn't last and I had to bin them.

I had my favourite pair of hotter boots disintegrate!
I was taking a weekend away and I thought I had something stuck to the sole of my boot. On checking at the train station I discovered the heels of both boots were just falling to pieces!
I just had to get on the train and buy a new pair in Inverness, from hotter, I’m a loyal customer.
I had had the boots for several years but I wore them infrequently. I keep my shoes on a rack in the cupboard that houses the boiler so it’s definitely not damp. I had always wondered if they were too dry.
I’ve learned, I now wear my boots daily for the winter months, I have four pairs I wear in rotation. If they fall apart I will at least “have had the wear” of them.

I wear Pavers/Sketchers shoes and they never seem to wear out or fall to bits. This is good of course, but I can get awfully tired of them and have no excuse to buy new ones.

Yes, it’s hydrolisis which breaks down the polymer chains in polyurethane soles. That's why boxed shoes come with a sachet of silica gel inside.

I use interior dehumidifiers. I buy LIVIVO brand via Amazon but others are available.

Pop one inside wardrobes or wherever you keep your shoes and keep an eye on how much water is collected. You might be surprised at just how much.

aggie

My lovely Ecco sandals and Ecco boots did something similar , the soles crumbled as i was out walking
It is something to do with a rubber substitute used

There was a problem with Ecco footwear. My walking sandals cost about £65 some years ago. The soles literally crumbled as I wore them. Big chunks falling out. Took them back to the shop and he gave me an instant refund and said there was a fault with the materials used so no problem.

This happened with a pair of Clark’s back in the 80’s. We’d just threaded The Needles on the IOW (another topical subject) when dh said “what’s that mouldy old sandwich you are treading on?” Yes a disintegrated sole. I had to hobble from the boat to the car park 😂

I was about to say that happened to a pair of my shoes a couple of years ago but then I had that deja vu feeling. I’ve found the other thread and Marydoll posted an interesting google explanation of the cause.
www.gransnet.com/forums/style_and_beauty/1308282-Disintegrating-shoes-Pt-II

My husband had this happen to two different pairs of Eccos one was a shoe, one was a walking type boot.
I think it's probably a rubber substitute degrading as someone said above - the shoes were hardly worn.

The softer, more cushioned, soles used in trainers, walking and fashion shoes are more likely to be a polyurethane mixture now. What used to be leather soles have been replaced by this product.

Storing them, not wearing them, for perhaps a couple of years or less can lead to the water that this product absorbs breaking down the entire sole ….. leaving a ‘smashed sponge cake’ sole when you put them to good use again.

Last summer I wore a pair of ‘Camper’ flats with leather uppers on a sea front walk to lunch. Perfect condition but not worn for maybe 2 years? As we left the restaurant, I felt something sticking to my shoe - it was the remains of one sole. We took to the beach for our walk home where the 2nd shoe became just an upper after 10 minutes. If both shoes and soles aren’t leather now, I know I need to wear them a lot and not leave them in a cupboard to plan their own demise 🫣.

I’d sorted shoes out to donate, but thought I’d wear a pair of Russell & Bromley heeled court shoes for one last time. Just as well I didn’t wear them outside, as not only did the upper part company with the sole, but the upper split across the front. I think they hadn’t been worn for so long that the leather had dried out and perished.

That's what happened to the Hotters I sold on ebay as immaculate.
The lady who bought them sent them back, and the bag was full of crumbs and dust!
I thought perhaps a mouse had got its teeth into them.

Nearly all of my shoes have fallen apart as described. The worst offenders were M&S sandals where the sole just crumbled.

For no apparent reason I went flying on my way to the local shop. Friend was with me, there were no wet leaves or anything else to account for it.

Only some time later I found that the heel part of the sole had come off, and underneath was much more slippery. I’d got them sale-reduced, but these were relatively expensive Marc Jacobs loafers.

I think this has been talked about before (I'm not complaining!) and we found it seemed to be Hotter shoes it had happened to.

DB wide fit expensive shoes. A few years old and scarcely worn. I hobbled home

How odd. The only time I’ve known anything like this was when both the soles of my trainers came adrift by Ayers Rock. Obviously not made for that sort of heat.

My lovely Ecco sandals and Ecco boots did something similar , the soles crumbled as i was out walking
It is something to do with a rubber substitute used

I have never had that happens since the 1960’s when my high heels were always snapping off. Maybe drink was involved.