Oh lord I looked at my bike shoes on Saturday, don’t know how I put my feet in them today. They’ve been sweated into for two years or more with just talcum powder chucked in in the summer.
I’ll be taking out the insoles and sticking them in the washing machine with my running shoes, but I should probably bin them.
I don’t think there is a great solution. I keep my shoes outdoors, not just to air them out, but also so that they don’t stink up our shoe closet. I think the best solution is to have more than one pair so that you can give each more time to dry and to air out.
I haven’t tried shoe driers, but I did use antibacterial powder (I guess zinc powder). That works, but you have to apply it regularly and it is kinda messy.