Shea Simmons
In many cultures, taking your shoes off before entering a home is the norm. If someone asks, you should definitely do it. But for those who didn’t grow up removing their shoes at the door, should you be?
As it turns out, if you weren’t listening to other cultures about shoe removal, you should have been.
The cultural reasons for shoe removal vary but many center around cleanliness. For example, in some Asian cultures, meals are eaten seated on the floor, and sleeping is also done closer to the ground. The necessitates a clean environment because yes, your shoes are tracking in gross stuff from the outdoors.
In a 2015 study, researchers found that shoes can track outside microbes into your floor and deposit them onto your floor. While this might not sound so terrible, think of toddlers picking things up off a floor and putting it into their mouths, or consider walking barefoot over a microbe-filled floor and then putting your feet onto your couch. Not so great now, right?
If you’re thinking that your shoes can’t track in stuff that’s that bad, you’re on the wrong track. A University of Arizona study showed that high amounts of bacteria can be found on shoes. In testing shoes that were worn over a three-month period, researchers found bacteria like E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae.
The next time you’re traipsing through your house with shoes on, you might want to take them off, buy a shoe rack for the front door, and change your house rules.
