Wearing Outside Shoes in The House. Is It Ok?

blitzzbargain on 19/03/2022 - 00:40
Last edited 19/03/2022 - 01:01

Hi All,

I discussed this topic a while ago back in 2019. (https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/475408).
However, I think it is worth discussing here now again as there is a new report on ABC (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-17/should-you-wear-shoes…) that concluded below:

"Beyond the occasional stubbed toe, from an environmental health standpoint, there aren't many downsides to having a shoe-free house. Leaving your shoes at the entry mat also leaves potentially harmful pathogens there as well. We all know prevention is far better than treatment and taking shoes off at the door is a basic and easy prevention activity for many of us. Need shoes for foot support? Easy – just have some "indoor shoes" that never get worn outside."

So the conclusion of the report is by wearing outdoor shoes in the house, it can bring with you harmful substances such as antibiotic-resistant genes, disinfectant chemicals in the home environment, microplastics, perfluorinated chemicals and radioactive elements.

The question is "do you agree with the report?" if you are currently wearing shoes in the house, would you change your mind and habit?

What do you think?

Poll Options

  • 131
    Yes - I should leave your filth outside the door
  • 10
    No - I don't believe the report. No harm done
  • 18
    Don't care - I don't care about it. It is not important.
Home & Garden

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 19/03/2022 - 00:58
    +6

    that report sounds a little bit far fetched, but if you wear your outside shoes in the house, you are just tracking in all the crap from outside, who knows what you are stepping in without noticing, it's dirty and i don't understand people who do it, though some of my family do it… even though they were raised with parents who told them to take their shoes off when going inside

  • AustriaBargain on 19/03/2022 - 01:12
    +2

    If you wash your floors daily then is it really such a big deal.

    • [Deactivated] on 19/03/2022 - 06:37
      +1

      you wouldn't need to wash your floors daily if you didn't wear shoes inside, even then, it's still not as good as taking shoes off as some might get lax and take off shoes and walk barefoot / socks on the now dirty floor and spread it to areas you don't wash daily like couches or beds

      also, not everyone has wood floors

    • dust on 19/03/2022 - 09:09
      +9

      You wash your floors daily?

    • Kangal on 19/03/2022 - 10:46
      +1

      Yes it is a big deal.
      Let's say you get out of bed in the morning, have a shower, walk back to your room = feet dirty.
      You put on your clothes, leave for work, bring all that crap back inside.
      Then you wash the floor, never 100%, so some of that stuff from today and days past is still there.
      You're still walking about the house in your shoes, so you just dirtied the floors again, minutes after washing them. Or lets say you didn't.
      You still pop outside to the front or the back, and you still walking around in shoes. So your washed floors are again dirty. This would tick most people off, and let's say you said fvck it, I'm having a shower. Great, mind is cleared, not even thinking about the floors, you walk back to your bed = feet dirty.

  • leelemon on 19/03/2022 - 01:14
    +5

    Wearing outdoor shoes indoors is gross. Imagine stepping on spilt food and (sticky) drinks, spit, s**t, vomit - all that fun stuff - and then 'shuffling' a couple times on a mat that's also covered in those things, and then tracking that combo all over the house.
    Then, there is an even wilder breed of people who wear those same shoes while laying on their bed. Absolutely mad.

    • kyle on 19/03/2022 - 07:07
      +3

      I've accidentally stepped on spit while taking money out of ATM whilst barefoot.

  • Frumpy Pants on 19/03/2022 - 01:59

    Does this apply to clothing as well?

    • Nugs on 19/03/2022 - 06:04
      +11

      If you roll around on shop floor and dog sh!t
      .

  • Noire on 19/03/2022 - 02:04
    +1

    Solution waiting for robot vaccum like w10 or s7 maxv ultra add disinfectant to water tank and let it mop every 2 days.

    • FoxJump on 19/03/2022 - 08:49

      Mine's on every night mopping.

  • CrispyChrispy on 19/03/2022 - 03:11
    +10

    You step in public toilet/restrooms with your outside shoes, why would you ever want to wear them inside your house? Filthy.

    • dust on 19/03/2022 - 09:10
      +1

      Esp if you have carpet inside your house!

    • Kangal on 19/03/2022 - 10:47

      It's a fetish?

    • payless69 on 19/03/2022 - 11:04

      I pee over my shoes. No all dogs have given up taking them. So I can leave them outside and still find them there and intact.

  • morse on 19/03/2022 - 03:29

    We have a shoe rack at the front door and take off our shoes when we get home.

    However… realistically we live very much indoor/outdoor so we are regularly going from the outdoor eating area or backyard and back into the house often bare foot or in thongs that then might be left near one of the many doors so lots of little bits of dirt and leaves come into the house. We have a robot vacuum that helps, but I also don’t think it’s actually a problem. I think a lot of Australians live indoor/outdoor like this, whatever health risk there is from dirt coming in would have to be countered from the health benefits of spending time outside with family, eating a meal, throwing a ball around with the kid etc.

  • tsunamisurfer on 19/03/2022 - 04:27
    +4

    Wearing outside shoes in the house is absolutely disgusting.

    Outside you will step on pee, poo, chemicals like weed killer, spit, and other things.

    You don't need a study to know this.

  • Euphemistic on 19/03/2022 - 06:54
    +3

    It’s a cultural thing.

    I don’t know where everyone is walking that they step in all sorts of things all the time. Pretty sure most of the places I walk aren’t covered in urine, feaces, vomit etc. sure, I find it occasionally, but mostly I avoid stepping in it by watching where I go.

    Yes, there is dirt on shoes but it’s not really that bad. Yes, we do predominantly remove shoes indoors and no outdoors shoes on carpet but wandering around barefoot at home inside and outside means tracking stuff in and out too,

    Might be dirty on the ground outside, but we don’t lick the floor or eat food off it either.

  • kyle on 19/03/2022 - 07:04
    +3

    No shoe removal required as I go barefoot outside.

    • Kangal on 19/03/2022 - 10:48
      +2

      Sounds like an investor

      • kyle on 19/03/2022 - 13:39
        +1

        I'm calling myself the sophisticated bogan

  • poboy on 19/03/2022 - 07:55
    +1

    I'm not too concerned. On the occasion I step in dog poo, I normally call the police (lights and sirens) on the house I'm outside. I don't wear shoes, so the residual is retained until my next shower, forcing me to briefly live outside.

  • GoldenDragon888 on 19/03/2022 - 08:26
    +1

    No…..!!!

  • try2bhelpful on 19/03/2022 - 09:08
    +2

    The other day I stepped on some paint that had been dropped on the footpath. I didn’t realise I’d done it and it ended up on my pants legs as well. I take my shoes off before I come into the house, otherwise this would’ve been tracked across the floorboards as well. (Managed to get the paint off my pants with isopropyl alcohol and a toothbrush).

  • Ghost47 on 19/03/2022 - 09:09

    Wearing shoes inside is a white person thing and they actually do it lmao. I thought it was just a thing in movies and TV shows but it’s not. I think it’s disgusting.

    • try2bhelpful on 19/03/2022 - 09:10
      +2

      Hey, I’m a white person and I don’t wear my shoes inside. However, I do it because I find it more comfortable.

      • try2bhelpful on 19/03/2022 - 11:07
        +2

        I got downvoted for this. So does someone object to the fact I'm white or that I like to be comfortable?

        • GoldenDragon888 on 19/03/2022 - 18:01

          Calm down Randy, this ain't America.

          • try2bhelpful on 19/03/2022 - 18:39

            @GoldenDragon888: I’d just like to know what they are objecting to.

            I know it isn’t America because my letter box hasn’t been set alight.

            • GoldenDragon888 on 19/03/2022 - 19:19

              @try2bhelpful: Sorry I was just trying to make a reference to Randy and his rant about St Patricks day being the last white holiday you can be proud of.

              • try2bhelpful on 20/03/2022 - 11:22

                @GoldenDragon888: Sorry, hadn’t heard the Randy sketch. I was being a touch facetious with my question and my original comment.

  • The tiger on 19/03/2022 - 09:29
    +2

    If someone’s shoes unknowingly have kissed dog’s shit before entering your house, I don’t think you like it. Tradies’ shoes are real messy and dirty . Most will wear their shoes inside in one ‘s ; however there are exceptional ones who are polite enough to take off their shoes .

    • Kangal on 19/03/2022 - 10:50

      Not the same thing.
      A tradie or plumber coming into your house with shoes, it's part of their PPE and their managers and insurance demands these things.

    • toomuchdogfur on 19/03/2022 - 11:35

      I maintain shoes off, but I don't enforce it for tradies because PPE. They also could be saving you from nasty foot odours (no hate - it's just what happens during a hard day's work).

      Plus if I have tradies in, whatever they're doing is going to make a mess to clean up anyway!

  • skid on 19/03/2022 - 09:30
    +2

    I have indoor shoes but let guests wear shoes inside.

  • brendanm on 19/03/2022 - 09:32
    +3

    If you need a report to help you decide whether you allow shoes on inside your house, there are bigger issues.

  • Kongzi on 19/03/2022 - 10:18

    Hell no

  • pharkurnell on 19/03/2022 - 11:26
    +3

    , I think it is worth discussing here now again

    no its not

    • toomuchdogfur on 19/03/2022 - 11:39

      Divisive subjects are magnets for discussion, asinine as they are.

      My group of friends (who I've known for decades) once somehow stumbled into "folding vs scrunching". Quickly found out that:

      • Folders think scrunchers are the devil
      • Scrunchers think folders are being OCD
      • Everyone there thought everyone else did the same thing they did

      Useless subject, but still entertaining!

      • try2bhelpful on 19/03/2022 - 11:46

        Folders vs scrunchers would be a step too far for me. I, really, don't know what my friends do in that case.

        However, you probably need to add in the "bidet" option now.

  • Savas on 19/03/2022 - 12:42
    +1

    i wear my shoes inside. the cleaning lady always says my bedroom is clean.

  • onetwothreefour on 19/03/2022 - 12:58
    +1

    Generally we don't wear shoes inside but if I already have them on and need to go back inside because I forgot something I'm not going to take them off only to put them back on again in 10 seconds.

    Also for those saying it's disgusting, unless you sleep on or eat off the floor why do you need it to be so clean? I have cats and dogs who don't clean their feet before coming inside, I'd be forever cleaning the floor.

  • Jugganautx on 19/03/2022 - 13:09
    +1

    No wonder all of you people are getting covid when you don't have an immune system from being germ freaks.

  • parisienne on 19/03/2022 - 20:15

    If my work shoes ever saw even just the edge of my inside floors,I would burn the house down ….no way those or any other shoes are coming inside.

  • lainey13 on 21/03/2022 - 16:20
    +2

    Personally I can't ever allow that sort of filth on my floors. I also don't understand how people can continually encase their feet in shoes for every waking hour. Your feet need to breathe! I just can't imagine having my feet enclosed for that long.

  • Tiredman on 22/03/2022 - 11:12
    +1

    Grew up leaving shoes outside. Personally, i squirm when i see friends wearing their outside shoes, stepping around home carpets and jumping into bed. Especially after stepping around public toilets, stepping on all sorts of shit on the street outside. We do clean our floors every day and it's good to have a clean home.

    Downvote away.

  • Wade on 23/03/2022 - 21:03

    Common thing I’ve found in Asian households, but from my experience incredibly uncommon in natural born (Caucasian) Australians. So much so, that it’s almost offensive to ask someone to take off their shoes (mind you, obviously if they’re muddy etc people offer).

    I have never experienced anyone asking me to take off shoes in Australia in my life apart from Asian families, or mixed (like friends with a Japanese partner with a genkan built etc).

    I’ve lived in Japan, and been back a dozen times etc, and I personally take off my shoes but would never ask someone to here. It’s just not done. It’s weird.

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