Disintegrating Shoes

[LaReina]

Is it just me, but my shoes disintigrate like you would not believe it.

I used to think everything that happened to me was funny, and take pictures and send home to friends.. but... my shoes, are no laughing matter.

When I take heels out of the closet I now have a spare in the car. You know.. the JUST in case something happens back up pair of shoes.

Went to Siam Paragon last year for an event. Feeling pretty good, finally got to get dolled up. Arrived at the event, and bam, a strap from my criss-cross -strapped-to-the-knees heels came out.. took another step.. and bam.. there went another strap. By the time I made it to the entrance, I was bare foot (but not pregnant). To make matters worse, my shoe size is hard to come by in Thailand.

It is like glue used abroad is worthless. If it is not sewn, it comes undone. If it is rubber soled, it disintegrates..

The same with the rubber lining on our stereo speakers..disintegrated....

I would THINK, the quality of shoe making supplies used abroad would be international, or is this the result of some weird kind of rubber eating bacteria. Do others find the same problems with their shoes? Or (if you are one of the luckY) with the shoes you buy here in Thailand?

The shoes below are brand new hiking shoes.

Edited August 13, 2008 by LaReina

[eek]

Oh thats so weird(the rubber/boots). Maybe others have experienced similar, but I havent. Maybe there was something you stepped on that is eating at the rubber..but are you saying the boots were never worn? If so have NO idea! Could humidity in the air eat at/disintegrate the glue maybe?

I live in Chiang Mai so its usually its just flip-flops or simple sandals on my feet. Most are cheap so I dont expect them to last, but i think i get a least a year out of them. I even still have and wear my cheap rubber flip-flops i bought in Argentina around 4 year ago.

My variety of shoe wear here is limited, so probably not the best person to answer. But, havent yet had the same probs you mentioned. Hope you find out whats causing it!

[chiliwasabi]

Other than when I have walked inadvertently through hot coals or come into contact with industrial corrosives I have never seen anything like the photos you have posted.

Where have you been frequenting to have this kind of damage occur?

[Carib]

I agree with chiliwasabi, the only times i have seen something like this is when someone walked through a puddle of fuel or some other kind of solvent.

Maybe this is a combination of temperature, therefore the weakeners in the " rubber" maybe get eaten by the glue which is supposed to do a good job.

It is a reaction, don't think you have " rubberbugs".. or do you??

[angiud]

I had a pair of basket shoes I didn't use for a while. Last week I took from the box and the black rubber(?) sole was pulverized, same as the above photo.

[LaReina]

Unfortunately it was not something I stepped on, as the shoes are brand new. In addition, the rubber kind of bubbled up, so should have been smooth areas on the sole is bubbled.

Eek, come to think of it, my flip flops are fine.

[Naam]

Do others find the same problems with their shoes?

not the same problem but a similar one. it's my dog who chews them up

[tracker]

got a similar story. But i wasn't prepared: got to the gym and threw a pair of sneakers in which i didn't use for a long time, nikes. Even when putting them on, I didn't notice anything, but... every step in the gym, i left a trail of crumbling rubber. I only noticed after 25mtrs, so it was a long trail.

Shoes almost never used, but kept for a long time. I always thought that it is the difference between natural rubber and rubber made of oil. I might be wrong.

Needless to say, the shoes were worthless and i had to throw them away. Also, after this time, I never spend any more 1000 baht for shoes...

Most of my leather shoes taken from abroad are covered in with fungus, if you do not used them for 3 months or so. Now I seal them in plastic bags...

[cmsally]

I had a pair of Nike Air running shoes and the rubber started getting brittle and cracking but that was probably after about 4 yrs.

Got a fair bit of wear and tear.

Those hiking boots look like you have been trekking up an active volcano.

Seriously it must be bad quality rubber in the heat.

[justcruisin]

I had a pair of Nike Air running shoes and the rubber started getting brittle and cracking but that was probably after about 4 yrs.

Got a fair bit of wear and tear.

Those hiking boots look like you have been trekking up an active volcano.

Seriously it must be bad quality rubber in the heat.

I believe the problem is caused by some weird bacteria that eats into the rubber,I have had this happen a few times before and it seems the only way to prevent it is to wear the offending articles on a regular basis.

It seems to happen when the shoes are new,once worn a few times it is not too bad but can still occur.

At the time I was living in a fairly hot region with almost zero humidity.

[TGIR]

We've had this happen with several golf grips.....

I brought a club into the house from our storage room (indoor) and a couple of weeks later I noticed the black rubber was just disintegrating. Later the same thing happened to my wife's putter which is kept in our car. I noticed today that the rubber grip on my putter is showing strange signs of abrasion/wear.

The best answer I saw so far is some kind of bacteria/rubber eating microbe.....although we haven't seen anything similar on shoes or anything here.

[donna]

i have had that happen to me too. mainly with black soles (if that makes any sense at all). its only happened on shoes that i have not worn for some time. first time it happened ot me, i put the shoes on and they left a trail of black crumbs behind me before the entire sole fell off.

this happens from expensive colorado shoes to cheapies.

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi

I did not have that happen to me with shoes, but with other (black!) rubber things - specifically wrist-watch bands (Casio!) and electronic devices that contain rubber - be it the cable mantles (Nokia data-suite cable, handheld CB microphone cable, they look ok but if you bend them they just fall apart in a lot of small pieces) or parts of casing (again a Casio G-Shock - genuine one, the rubber around the actual case completely disintegrated).

At the same time i notice strong signs of corrosion on electric contacts (headphone jacks, other type of "jack" connections on computers, stereos, TV's etc) as well as screws on devices such as my digital camera - never seen a drop of water but all screws look like it was stored in sea water for a few years. Also the locks on both my motorbike helmets rust like nothing i've ever seen before, and so does a majority of my tools, although always stored dry in a tool box under my bed.

I can only imagine the air here in Bangkok being EXTREMELY aggressive in one way or another.

Best regards.....

Thanh

[donna]

the wrist watch strap disintegrating could possibly be due to mosquito repellent?

[desi]

I would THINK, the quality of shoe making supplies used abroad would be international, or is this the result of some weird kind of rubber eating bacteria. Do others find the same problems with their shoes? Or (if you are one of the luckY) with the shoes you buy here in Thailand?

The shoes below are brand new hiking shoes.

I had the same thing happen to me when I first moved to SE Asia. I put a box of shoes in the spare room. A year later when I went to travel to the UK, I grabbed a pair of heels and got on the plane. By the time of my arrival, they'd disintegrated. I walked off in the socks you get on a long haul...

I moved into my present accommodation about a year ago. Stuck my shoes into the shoe closet of the master bedroom. Once again, I went to grab a pair to get on a plane to the UK. The rubber soles were sticking to the bottom of the shelf...

Heat + humidity = shoe rot

Be careful with your photos too... a friend in Borneo ended up flying hers back home to Australia (after she pried the individual photos apart). I haven't had problems with my photos, but they are mostly in the living room which is the coolest part of the house (fingers crossed).

[Thanh-BKK]

the wrist watch strap disintegrating could possibly be due to mosquito repellent?

Hi

Rather unlikely in my case - because the last time i used mosquito repellent was like 25 years ago when i was a kid I am not using ANYthing on my skin (unlike my boyfriend who competes with women in terms of creams and stuff), the only thing touching my skin is water and shower gels (and detergent when washing clothes, but i'm not wearing watches when doing that).

No, the watches that disintegrate (i've got a number of Casios, a small collection that i brought from Germany) are un-used, sitting safely in a closed box. Still they disintegrate, please see attached picture of that G-Shock (where, strangely, the band itself is still ok, but the case protection is falling apart). That G-Shock was bought in Thailand by the way, it is a genuine one.

I am now wearing only metal watches (Seiko Automatics).

Best regards......

Thanh

Edited August 17, 2008 by Thanh-BKK

[Beachbunny]

Putting anything leather in a non breathable plastic bag is inviting mold, especially that white mold. It's better to wrap them in an old towel or sheet and store some place relatively dry.

My husband & I both bought new shoes before leaving the states. Upon wearing them here, the soles just disintegrated. For me was at a funeral of all things.

However, I'm not sure it's totally the heat and humidity. As we were always fans of Clarks shoes, we have bought several pairs, but we had the same problem in the states as here. The soles just start disintegrating. In the states they replaced the shoes for us, but the soles on those replacements have done the same thing....so no more Clarks for us.

My husband took two or three pairs of sneakers to Chiang Mai on our last trip. The first pair the sole fell off walking in the flower market. He went back to the car to put on the second pair. Didn't even walk two steps and they were gone. Ended up tying on the soles of the least affected pair. On those the whole sole fell off so he could at least get them re-glued and then sewn on.

It seems the spongy black soles just do not hold up very long anywhere, but especially here.

Beachbunny

[bobbin]

However, I'm not sure it's totally the heat and humidity. As we were always fans of Clarks shoes, we have bought several pairs, but we had the same problem in the states as here. The soles just start disintegrating. In the states they replaced the shoes for us, but the soles on those replacements have done the same thing....so no more Clarks for us.

It seems the spongy black soles just do not hold up very long anywhere, but especially here.

Beachbunny

I just found this thread after following the related thread in the General forum.

I have had the same experience with TWO pairs of really nice Clarks shoes. One pair I managed to have re-soled with Vibram soles. The only downside to this is that the Vibram soles are much stiffer so the shoes aren't quite as comfortable as before. The other pair are water-proof and the stitching is hidden (part of the water-proofing) so although I haven't gone looking for a shoe repair shop yet ( the shop that repaired the previous pair is no longer there), I'm not very confident they are repairable in the same way. I will try that though before tossing them.

I have even considered emailing Clarks to express my displeasure but figured they would not follow-up even though Clarks are available here in Thailand. May just do that now and include the link to this thread.

[DaoDao]

Reading this thread makes me wonder whether or not to bring my boots back to Thailand...their Black leather with wooden heel and leather sole...

I wouldnt wear them much only when visiting BKK, anyone any experience with this?? Dont want them to get mold or eaten by any kind of bug, untill now never had any problems with clothes or anything, keeping them relativly dry in a dark/dry closet but dont know for shoes only wear rubber flipflops and untill now [touch wood] they never been chewed on by anything...

Don;t know about leather though!

[LaReina]

Dao: Leather and wood in shoes have been okay for me. Just the rubber type stuff..

And to add to what Thanh said about cables.. my Nokia cell phone charger cables (actually all black coiled up cables) also fell apart, exposing the wires.

If you are only visiting and then taking them back home in a couple of months, I should think you would be okay. Storing them here is the problem.

[eek]

Yesterday a thread on the same topic in general section was posted: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Thailand-Des...66#entry2208966

[JetsetBkk]

i have had that happen to me too. mainly with black soles (if that makes any sense at all). its only happened on shoes that i have not worn for some time. first time it happened ot me, i put the shoes on and they left a trail of black crumbs behind me before the entire sole fell off.

this happens from expensive colorado shoes to cheapies.

Me too - black crumbs everywhere. Had to chuck them out.

[a2396]

Is it just me, but my shoes disintigrate like you would not believe it.

I used to think everything that happened to me was funny, and take pictures and send home to friends.. but... my shoes, are no laughing matter.

When I take heels out of the closet I now have a spare in the car. You know.. the JUST in case something happens back up pair of shoes.

Went to Siam Paragon last year for an event. Feeling pretty good, finally got to get dolled up. Arrived at the event, and bam, a strap from my criss-cross -strapped-to-the-knees heels came out.. took another step.. and bam.. there went another strap. By the time I made it to the entrance, I was bare foot (but not pregnant). To make matters worse, my shoe size is hard to come by in Thailand.

It is like glue used abroad is worthless. If it is not sewn, it comes undone. If it is rubber soled, it disintegrates..

The same with the rubber lining on our stereo speakers..disintegrated....

I would THINK, the quality of shoe making supplies used abroad would be international, or is this the result of some weird kind of rubber eating bacteria. Do others find the same problems with their shoes? Or (if you are one of the luckY) with the shoes you buy here in Thailand?

The shoes below are brand new hiking shoes.

I think this has something to do with the type of rubber composition. I have some expensive French shoes, also with rubber soles. Some have held up OK, but one pair I have lools like your hiking boots. My favorites for outdoor stomping are my German army boots, which are mostly leather with a rubber bottom sole & heel overlay. They are 20 years old & look like new. I have bought two types of shoes in SE Asia - Birkenstock & Clarks. Both have "squishy" outer soles, and so far have not disinigrated. I have had them about 18 months.

[gk10002000]

I have had similar problems with rubber sandals. Two common things happen. The rubber does decompose. Being an engineer, it is an obvious substance problem. Probably cheap tire re-use and bad formulation. The other thing that happens is the glue just goes away and doesn't last long at all. I have bought two pairs of these things. By the third week they are about done. that has sufficed for the length of the trip, but the quality is pretty bad.