no shoes in the house?

When I first bought my home in 2006 my cousin made a great suggestion, make sure people leave their shoes at the door. "Why?", I asked. Wouldn't people feel uncomfortable walking around your house in their socks or bare foot? That couldn't possibly be ok for adults could it? Actually, yes! That could be the right move for your house.

In 2016, researchers at the University of Arizona found nine different species of bacteria on the shoes of randomly selected participants. In a period of two weeks, they found 440,000 units of bacteria on a single pair of shoes. (Today, 2019). Furthermore, this bacteria was transferred to clean surfaces in your home and around your family. Now, this is not to say that your shoes are the only germ producing materials that help spread diseases. Your clothes have germs, your coats, and any other products that you take outside with you. 

Therefore, the goal is not so much to eliminate outside germs, but to help reduce them as much as possible. Leaving your outside shoes, coats, and even clothes by the door, in the laundry, or mud room may not create a complete sterile, laborotorial type environment for your home, but it can help reduce the amount of harmful germs that invade your home.

E Coli and fecal matter can float around in the air, and can be transferred to clean flesh and internally. Although, we cannot stop microorganisms from floating around and invading our bodies we can try to reduce the number as much as possible. Subsequently, will removing your shoes ensure that you will never get sick in your house? Maybe not, however, taking off your shoes and outer wear and leaving them by the door will reduce the spread of those germs around your home, and you can focus on the fun invaders that are already there :-)