Stuck Boot: Help for Over an Hour of Struggling

[Moonbear]

No, no, no. The bucket of ice water is shrinking the boot material, and not delivering enough cold to your skin to help. What material are these boots made of anyway? (sorry if you already covered that).

Cold water would help if it could go inside the boot, but outside I don't think it will help. My advice would be to pour in the talcum powder and elevate for 15 minutes, then try again.

Quiz question -- how many posters does it take to help woolie remove his boot?

I agree with this, that the cold water is more likely to shrink the boot before it unswells your foot.

You stabbed yourself with the ruler? That wasn't quite the advice I had in mind, but maybe the blood will make your foot more slippery.

Oh, and yes, talcum powder! Especially if your foot is all sweaty, it'll absorb moisture and add slipperiness. And, then you can just wipe it out later (or leave it in...won't hurt to have some powder inside the boot at all...might be good to sprinkle some in each time you wear them to avoid this in the future).

 

[chemisttree]

Its not too late to try the scotch. I really don't see how making the boot wetter, colder and stiffer is going to help. Time to reverse course and apply heat.

Stop sticking things into das boot!

 

[berkeman]

Its not too late to try the scotch.

I have a feeling that this one piece of advice is the only thing woolie has followed so far!

 

[Moonbear]

Its not too late to try the scotch.

I didn't see that suggestion. Yep, head to the local pub, take a few swigs of scotch, then ask the strongest looking fellows in the place to grab hold and pull until either the boot or your foot comes off. Don't forget to bring a different pair of shoes for the walk home, or you'll have to return again for them to pull the boots back off...

 

[turbo]

No, no, no. The bucket of ice water is shrinking the boot material, and not delivering enough cold to your skin to help. What material are these boots made of anyway?

Most leathers will not shrink appreciably in the cold, while your feet certainly will if they are cold enough. I used to ski-race in HS and worked as a ski-patrol member on a VERY cold mountain in northern Maine (frequently -20 to -30 F when we got to work), back in the day when lace-up leather ski boots were the norm (OK, I'm old!) and on cold days, I'd have to re-tension the laces periodically to keep the boots snug and avoid injury. We didn't have electric boot warmers, then, but there were plenty of chairs around the huge double-hearth stone fireplace in the lodge.

 

[wolram]

Hey, sorry I didn't think of this before. Pour a bunch of baby/talcum powder down into the boot. It won't hurt the boot like ice water would. In addition to elevating for a while, this will probably turn the trick. You have been elevating all this time, right?

Thanks berkeman, i have some french chalk so i put some of that down my boot, and i am now on the fl ore with my leg in the air, typing is real difficult from this position.

 

[turbo]

OK, we might have to dispatch a squad of the sisters to get you out of this fix. (Not Evo! You'd end up with lacerations, chemical burns, dislocations, and who knows what else!)

 

[Moonbear]

OK, we might have to dispatch a squad of the sisters to get you out of this fix. (Not Evo! You'd end up with lacerations, chemical burns, dislocations, and who knows what else!)

As soon as MIH gets out of her class with Mr. Perfume, and we call Tsu back in from all her yardwork, we'll get the supersonic RV revved up and on the way. We'll just tie that boot to the bumper of the RV. Or, maybe we can just attach it to the ceiling and hang him from the boot...eventually the swelling will go down and he'll just slide right out...right?

 

[wolram]

I have a feeling that this one piece of advice is the only thing woolie has followed so far!

Not a drop has passed my lips for six weeks now

I have to go to bed soon, so the stanley knife may be my only solution, my poor £55 boots

 

[chemisttree]

Are you wearing thick woolen socks? If so, you should pull on them tightly while trying to take off the boot with your other foot (not barefoot). The sock could be bunching up down around your ankle.

 

[turbo]

Or, maybe we can just attach it to the ceiling and hang him from the boot...eventually the swelling will go down and he'll just slide right out...right?

Yeah! That's the ticket! (and much less messy than ripping a foot off.)

 

[Evo]

I have to go to bed soon, so the stanley knife may be my only solution, my poor £55 boots

Cutting your foot off is not a good idea.

Does your foot feel numb?

I still say leeches are the way to go.

 

[wolram]

Cutting your foot off is not a good idea.

Does your foot feel numb?

I still say leeches are the way to go.

My foot feel like a million degrees wet and sticky.

 

[Moonbear]

I have to go to bed soon, so the stanley knife may be my only solution, my poor £55 boots

If you might have to resort to destroying them anyway, if they're leather, give it a try soaking them in warm water first (not hot...don't want to add to the foot swelling problem). It just might help soften the leather and make it pliable enough to stretch and get them off...then dry them on a boot tree so they don't shrink back down. They'll be water-damaged, but that's not as bad as cutting them off.

 

[wolram]

Yeah! That's the ticket! (and much less messy than ripping a foot off.)

I could try tying a rope over the out house rafter and around my boot, trouble is i am knackered.

 

[Lisa!]

That will ruin my boots, they are only a few months old, and £55 would pay for the new advance retard unit i need.

Well so forget about taking it off now! Take them off whenever you'd feel they worked enough regarded to the price.

 

[wolram]

Well so forget about taking it off now! Take them off whenever you'd feel they worked enough regarded to the price.

Thanks Lisa, nice to hear from you by the way, however i do need to wash my feet some time, i just need to find a way to stop the permeabilization.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Good lord, Wolly! What have you done? I guess there's no choice but to amputate. We have to save the boot.

 

[berkeman]

trouble is i am knackered.

I thought you just said you weren't drinking! Well which is it young feller?

 

[wolram]

Thanks for the help every one, i got my boot off by jambing it in a door, it looks like the pin has moved and puctured the skin, i did nearly pass out, what a baby, and now i have to find a way to clean the insides of my boot.

 

[Evo]

Thanks for the help every one, i got my boot off by jambing it in a door, it looks like the pin has moved and puctured the skin, i did nearly pass out, what a baby, and now i have to find a way to clean the insides of my boot.

When was your last tetanus shot?

 

[berkeman]

Woo-hoo!

Anybody got a running count on my quiz question, BTW?

 

[Moonbear]

Thanks for the help every one, i got my boot off by jambing it in a door, it looks like the pin has moved and puctured the skin, i did nearly pass out, what a baby, and now i have to find a way to clean the insides of my boot.

Well, that's your problem...you're not supposed to pin boots on.

Glad you finally got it off, sorry to hear you've damaged yourself in the process, but at least with the boot off, you can mend your wounds.

Um...if you have hydrogen peroxide around, that's good for cleaning up blood stains. First clean out what you can the usual way, then swab it out with the peroxide to remove any residue (it'll bubble up just like if you put it on a cut). Actually, if you have hydrogen peroxide around, you should see to treating your foot with it first, then only clean the boot with it if you have some left. Your foot is more important than the boot, even if this thread doesn't quite give that impression.

 

[wolram]

I thought you just said you weren't drinking! Well which is it young feller?

Try chasing your tail for some time, i guarantee you will get knackered

 

[wolram]

When was your last tetanus shot?

People like me do not get tetenus.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Try chasing your tail for some time, i guarantee you will get knackered

I wish you people would learn how to speak English, like we do in America!

 

[berkeman]

People like me do not get tetenus.

Translation -- "People like me do not get shots."

 

[wolram]

Translation -- "People like me do not get shots."

Well i feel a bit ill, and have been dirty dick, but i will be ok tomorrow.

 

[berkeman]

Try chasing your tail for some time, i guarantee you will get knackered

Well i feel a bit ill, and have been dirty dick, but i will be ok tomorrow.

You Brits sure talk funny. Where's my online translator...

 

[Mk]

Anybody got a running count on my quiz question, BTW?

13! Right?

i have been dirty dick, but i will be ok tomorrow.

Um, right.

 

[DaveC426913]

I went for a test ride on the bike, and now i can not get my right boot off,
i have struggled till i am red in the face, it is as if the boot has shrunk, it is over an hour since my ride and i feel silly walking around with one boot on.

You never cease to entertain.

I read the title of thread and thought... how bizarre. Now who would write a bizarre post like this? Waitaminnit, this sounds like one of ...

Of course. It's wolram. Had to be.

 

[berkeman]

13! Right?

Oops, with DaveC now, that would be 14.