tree4,
The primary reason booties begin to smell is because they don't get dried thorougly. Here is what to do.
1. Clean the interior of the boots with a wet suit shampoo that contains nonoxynol-9. This is a proven anti-fungalcide. Many soaps and detergents contain it. The one I buy is called, "500psi Wetsuit/BC Wash & Conditioner" (
http://www.scuba.com/scuba-gear-166/030 ... ioner.html). When you use it all the time and dry your booties completely all the time, you'll have no fungus growth and, therefore, no odor. If the booties stink a lot, then mix this stuff in real high concentration directly in the boot. Slosh it around a good while. Then drain, rinse, and go to step 2 below. By the way, where I live I can only surf using a suit and booites. I use this stuff on my suit, boots, and hat every time I finish surfing.
2. Dry the booties thoroughly every time after use/cleaning. I use a convection dryer from a hunting supply outfitter (
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... tid=149329). My light weight booties dry in 5 hours. My heavy booties dry in 8 hours. Since I have been using these dryers, i have never had wet booties on the following morning. My booties don't ever smell either. Another way to dry them is to turn them inside out.