Squeaky shoes are actually very common—for a couple of reasons, says Cleary. If you’re stepping into the shoe barefoot and haven’t quite broken in the pair, your shoes will squeak against your foot. “I have had this happen so many times,” Cleary, who runs the site shoeareyou.com, says. “The remedy is to wear tights or socks with the heels—if possible—until they are a bit more stretched out. Or, if the shoes are leather, the best thing to do is break them in to fit the exact size of your foot.” Cleary believes the best method for dealing with leather shoes is spritzing them—inside and out—with water (room temperature works best) until damp, and wearing them until they’re dry. This will help the shoes perfectly form to your feet. And because the main problem with leather shoes is molding them to fit your feet, the squeak should go away with this trick. She also has a solution for people troubled by noisy synthetic shoes. “You may be able to spot pad the inside of the shoe if you can identify where the squeak comes from,” Cleary says, recommending products like Foot Petals Strappy Strips or drugstore Moleskin foam. Use these products on the interior part of the shoe where the squeak appears to be coming from.
