Finally! A report that confirms what Asian mothers have known all along: it’s cleaner to take off your shoes when entering the house. My husband grew up keeping his shoes under his bed and putting them on first thing in the morning, as part of getting dressed. Enter any Asian home, and you will find a mess of shoes near the front door, or perhaps stowed away in a coat closet near the entrance. Perhaps there will be a basket of slippers nearby, too.
I’ve always thought it feels strange to wear shoes inside the home — shoes! they touch the sidewalk (and who knows what else?) — especially with carpeting, which never really gets completely clean, in my opinion. Granted, it can be a bummer to show up at a party wearing cute heels that complement your outfit, and then having to step out of them upon arrival. But it’s a small price to pay for cleanliness. And anything to avoid cleaning is a good thing!
The findings are quoted in this post by actress Laura Dern at Healthy Child Healthy World.
The professional cleaning industry estimates that we track 85% of the dirt in our homes in from the outside on our shoes or paws of pets. In a recent warning about lead exposure, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) specifically recommends that shoes remain outside the house. According to a report called The Door Mat Study, lead-contaminated soil from the outside causes almost all the lead dust inside homes. It notes that wiping shoes on a mat and removing them at the door cuts lead dust by 60 percent. The study explains that limiting the amount of dust and track-in may also help reduce exposure to lawn and garden pesticides, wood smoke and industrial toxins, mutagens, dust mites, and allergens.
I love that she also acknowledges that people in many cultures routinely remove their shoes at the door. You can read the full post Leave Dirt at the Door: How Taking Off Your Shoes Can Improve Your Health.
What about you? Shoes on? Or Shoes off?
Yay for the Asians!!!! Haha. Shoes off, definitely. You really don’t want what’s outside being tracked into your home…though my dogs have yet to learn to wipe their feet ;). I mean, there are entrance mat requirements for high performance commercial buildings (that’s my field of work) to ensure good IAQ, why shouldn’t we abide by that at home? Wipe feet. Take off shoes. And socks too. It’s just more comfy. By the way, most of our shoes are in a closest because we hate not being able to open the front door.
What’s IAQ? Inside Air Quality? I’m glad research is confirming these practices. And I’m glad you stopped by, Lisa!
Haha – I am going to print this out for all my friends who refuse to remove their shoes!
Yes, please spread the word, Aisha ;)
I can totally relate to this post! I find it strange, too, when people wear shoes in the house. Don’t they know those shoes are so germy?
When you met your husband, did he find it strange to take his shoes off in the home?
I grew up taking my shoes off at the door and putting slippers on. Imagine my surprise as I got older when I found out that not everyone did this.I am not sure why anyone would want to wear shoes in the house. I have my own family now and we do the shoes off slippers thing at the door. I think it’s much more the norm now to take off your shoes, just about everyone I know does it. I certainly make sure they do it at our house.
I have noticed recently that there are more people, Asian or not, who take off their shoes inside the house. I always appreciate when people ask if they should remove their shoes when they come over. Thanks for stopping by, Lianne!
I’m one of those odd Americans who grew up wearing my shoes inside the house. Then in my early 20s I moved to Japan and learned about the Asian custom of shoe removal. It took me years to get used to it and I occasionally, I still leave them on. But overall, it just feels strange to me now.
Oddly enough, I and my family, rarely get sick. And I was just discussing this with another mom whose family also takes off shoes at the door. We were both wondering why it was that we never get sick when all around us, toddler and preschool kids and families are sick, but we never seem to catch it. Maybe that’s why! :)
Martha, you’re not odd– in America, at least! Glad to hear your family stays healthy. I feel like telling my kids to change their clothes when they come home from school, knowing they’ve just been cooped up in a classroom with 30 other kids– some of whom are bound to be sick.
Loved this study! Arabs also don’t wear shoes at home and you usually always find a variety of slippers you can slip on at the door of someone’s home.
As an American, I grew up taking my shoes off at the door, so have always been grossed out by shoes in the house. Strangely enough, it is my Arab husband who frequently keeps his shoes on when he comes home sometimes! My kids are trained to take them off at the door!
That’s interesting to note that Arabs have similar traditions. And it’s refreshing to hear to when Americans that don’t come from an Eastern culture also take off their shoes in the house ;)
Shoes OFF!!!! I totally believe in the shoes off concept. I couldn’t imagine my babies crawling on the floor and putting their hands in their mouths in a home that wears their shoes inside their homes. Yuck! I was pretty much militant when my kids were younger. Now that they are older we still don’t wear shoes inside the house but when I have parties I don’t have the “no shoes” rules because it is a pain for them to put their shoes back on when they go out into my back yard.
It is pretty funny reading some of your reader’s responses because my Irish-American husband grew up wearing shoes as soon as he wakes up, including putting his shoes up on the couch. All that ended when we began living together. I have to say, it takes training.
Oh yes, the crawling days! I was adamant about no shoes when my little ones were on the floor and putting everything they could find in their mouths. Like you, I do find I have to be more lenient about shoes when there are lots of guests over, I let it slide. But inside, I’m sort of cringing…
We’ve just moved into a new place, and the carpets had just been done. I had wanted everyone to leave their shoes at the door, but no-one seems to want to follow our rule. I’ve even got a very large shoe rack at the entrance of our home. It is all so very frustrating. Sigh!
~Virginia
Same here –grew in a small town (now big city) in southern Ontario. Seemed like we were the only ones that didn’t wear shoes in the house.
How could we anyway? There were 6 children running around.
All of us carry those habits when we had our own homes.
When my 11 yo had his birthday party this past summer, my then 5 yo used a black Sharpie marker to write signs that said, “Please take off your shoes”. Then he stopped any offenders and silently pointed to the signs. One of my friends has plantar fasciitis and can’t walk barefoot without excruciating pain. My son showed no mercy.
I think you need a doormat that says No Mercy