Do you wear your shoes inside the house? How about your kids? How often do you scold at your kids from bringing their shoes or slippers inside the house? How about if you have guests? Do you politely ask them to remove it or do you allow them to wear their shoes inside?
Depending on your level of cleanliness, some people generally allow their household members and guests to wear their shoes inside the house. But the big question is, do you? Or should you?
Honestly, it would be better to leave those shoes or your slippers outside the house for you, your household members, or your guests. Ideally, leave those shoes outside the shoes or have outside slippers.
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Key Points to Know:
#1 Your shoes can be potential carriers of E. Coli
What is e coli? According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a bacterium that is commonly found in the gut of humans and warm-blooded animals. Most strains of E. coli are harmless. Some strains however, such as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), can cause severe foodborne disease. It is transmitted to humans primarily through consumption of contaminated foods, such as raw or undercooked ground meat products, raw milk, and contaminated raw vegetables and sprouts.”
E. Coli may cause bacterial infections, including cholecystitis, bacteremia, cholangitis, urinary tract infection (UTI), diarrhea, neonatal meningitis and pneumonia.
Even if E. Coli is normally from contaminated foods, there had been researches that showed shoes worn outside are potential carriers of this bacteria E. Coli. This was proven by Charles Gerba, a University of Arizona microbiologist in his study that debuted in 2008. In this study, 10 people wore brand-new shoes for two weeks before being sampled off for bacteria. The result? The outside of the shoes averaged 421,000 units of bacteria, compared with 2,887 on the inside. This fecal bacteria appeared on 96% of the shoes. That fecal bacteria “indicates frequent contact with fecal material, which most likely originates from floors in public restrooms or contact with animal fecal material outdoors,” Gerba said for the study. The transfer rate bacteria from shoes to clean tiles was 90% to 99%.
So, it is like the shoes stepping on many poops during the day! Gross, huh? Well as gross as it may be, this is a very important message that we should all not dismiss. This brings us to the next point.
#2 Have a separate area for your shoes outside the house.
If you are not worried that your shoes will be stolen and you live in a pretty safe neighborhood and area, it will be wise to have an area outside your house to properly stack your shoes. This is so that you do not have to bring your shoes inside the house.
#3 Have separate indoor slippers.
So you do not need to bring your slippers or shoes inside the house, it will be good to have separate slippers inside. Place these in an area inside the house near the door. Remember those in the hotel type of slippers? You can have those comfy ones or any regular slippers to use inside the house.
Also have separate slippers for your guests. Politely tell your guests to leave their shoes outside and provide them with slippers inside the house to use.
#4 Wash your hands thoroughly after holding your shoes.
After taking off your shoes, wearing your ‘inside’ slippers, and going inside the house, then it is time to wash your hands. Thoroughly wash hands for at least 20 seconds to ensure bacteria and viruses are removed from your hands.
#5 Regular washing and cleaning of your shoes.
You may rub off your shoes outside on a mat. Note that this will not be enough to remove all the dirt or bacteria. Depending on the type of shoes, it will be good if you can regularly wash them, clean, and sanitize your shoes. Rubber shoes for example can be soaked on a disinfectant for a few hours or overnight if you want before washing them. Then dry them on a high sun heat as heat helps remove viruses and bacteria.
#6 Your carpets can be a breeding ground of bacteria.
Carpets are often overlooked at. Given that we sometimes forget to leave our shoes and slippers outside, our carpets become the next breeding ground of bacteria.
Imagine your shoes and slippers from outside with all the bacteria and you step on your carpet! Then your kids or any household member unknowingly lie or sit down on the carpet!
Given that shoes are potential carriers of E Coli, we should then always make it a point to ensure that our houses, especially our carpets, are clean too. For your carpet cleaning needs, trust Boas Cleaning Services. They can help you maintain your carpets in pristine and in good condition.