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Did you think that people take off their shoes when they walk into a home just to keep the carpet clean?
I think that’s probably the first reason that pops into most of our heads when we think of why we shouldn’t wear shoes inside the house.
However, there are a few MUCH MORE serious reasons as to why keeping shoes clear of the area you live is extremely important.
Here are five things you need to know when it comes to shoes in the house, why it’s bad, and what you should be doing.
1. There are at least NINE different forms of bacteria found on the bottom of shoes.
The University of Arizona’s College of Public Health found this number during a research and determined that the nine types of bacteria on the shoes can cause infections in stomachs, eyes, and lungs. The test also checked to see if the bacteria transfer to tile on floors in people’s homes. Bad news, the results show 70 percent of the time it did. Have carpet? The study showed that’s even worse than tile.
2. The soles of shoes are dirtier than a toilet seat.
University of Arizona also found out this answer. “Toilet seats generally have 1,000 bacteria or less, and these are in the millions so there’s a lot more bacteria here,” said Jonathan Sexton, a research assistant for the College of Public Health in an interview with ABC News.
3. Your children are more at risk from the germs.
Think about it, who plays on that bacteria-filled floor? Your two-year-old spends more time on the floor than not… and they aren’t even the ones getting it dirty by wearing shoes!
“Your child can be exposed to every single bacteria that you picked up on your shoe [...] all the bacteria from the park, the store, everywhere you went that day.” Sexton said to ABC.
4. It can cause diarrhea, colon inflammation, and other serious health issues.
The University of Houston was researching the cleanliness of shoes when they found that 39 percent in their study contain a bacteria called Clostridium difficile, or, C.diff. This bacteria on the shoes is very threatening to public health because it is resistant to many antibiotics. If exposed the bacteria, a person could be infected with multiple medical conditions including bad diarrhea. If not treated quickly, or if the issue doesn’t respond to antibiotics, the issue can progress to colon inflammation and other serious health issues.
5. New shoes are just as bad.
Sometimes you cut yourself a break for not taking your new pair of shoes off, because how dirty could they actually be? Well, after testing shoes that had only been worn for two weeks, microbiologist Charles Gerba found that the pair contained 440,000 units of bacteria. That’s not even the worse part. 27 percent of the bacteria was deadly E Coli.
So, it’s probably time to mop the floor, get the carpet shampooed and start a new house rule!
The best thing you can do is make a shoe rack OUTSIDE the front door. But, if you don’t want to try that option, consider a shoe bin inside the front door that will keep the area from getting cluttered and bacteria from spreading.
