Really? I'm glad they work for you. I've got a set of race-blades and during a downpour, it's about 2-minutes before me socks are soaked. Of course where I live, it RAINS. I'd like to find better fenders but the full coverage ones won't work with my disc brakes. I have a disc cyclocross-type bike with plenty of clearance for knobbies and fenders, although I run 700x23's.

About the shoes, I keep newspaper at home and at work. When I get home from a rain ride, I hose everything down including my legs and shoes to get all the grit off. Then, I towel off, step inside and stuff the shoes full of newspaper and they're dry by morning. I use the same pair daily and don't have any hygiene issues. I use foot powder at work after the shower.

Some shoe covers will help shield the shoes but they don't go over tennies too well. The first thing I would do if I were in your "shoes" is get some cycling specific shoes. I have a pair of Specialized street/bike shoes that don't look like cycling shoes at all. They're pretty toasty, though and I have to use a MTB shoe in the summer but they're great in the fall and spring.