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Do you take your shoes off when you enter your home? If not, I think you’re disgusting (sorry, not sorry, I’m Canadian)!
Jokes aside, there is a real cultural divide around whether you take your shoes off when entering a home. The practice varies internationally. It’s the norm in much of Asia, for example. In the United States, however, the practice varies. A 2018 YouGov poll found that only 31 percent of Americans “always” take off their shoes at home, but most (87 percent) do at least some of the time. Only half of Americans ask guests to take off their shoes, though. And who varies by geography and climate—Southerners are far less likely to ask guests to remove their shoes than people in the Northeast or Midwest.
But you’re not here to learn where people do and don’t take off shoes. You’re here to learn whether the research it’s gross to leave your shoes on inside your house.
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You’re tracking in poop germs
I don’t mean to alarm you, but animals poop outside. Constantly.
Now, you’re probably careful not to step in that poop, which is admirable. I’m proud of you. But even you can only avoid so much—there’s residue everywhere.
A 2023 study published in Indoor and Built Environment by researchers at Marymount Manhattan College quantified the enterococci and coliform fecal indicator bacteria on indoor spaces. Basically, they were trying to track how much bacteria known to originate in animal crap ends up inside via shoes.
“Carpets, particularly highly trafficked floor coverings at building entryways, serve as sinks of faecal pathogens,” the study concludes. The study didn’t connect this to any infections, though it does mention “the possibility of infection through interaction with floor spaces in homes or facilities.”
And this isn’t just one study. A 2016 systematic review published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology by researchers from the University of Houston and other institutions shows that shoes are a plausible source of infection in certain contexts.
It’s worth stating that none of these studies, or any study I could find, connects this to any actual infections. But I’m not exploring whether wearing shoes inside will make you sick—I’m exploring whether it’s gross. And, in my book, fecal pathogens are gross. Take your shoes off.
You’re tracking in poisons
I had to lead with poop, because that’s what most people are thinking of when they hear the word “gross.” But there’s a potentially more concerning issue, particularly if you have carpets: poisons.
A 1997 EPA report on lead contamination found that shoes are a common way the metal enters a home. The metal, which is extremely poisonous, can be tracked into a house on shoes, where it can settle into the carpets. But you can do something to stop this.
“Units whose residents removed shoes at the door had significantly lower blood-lead and carpet-lead levels,” the report states. “Removing shoes prior to entry and use of walk-off mats, have been found to significantly reduce the likelihood of lead contamination of carpets.”
More toxins can enter your home this way. A 2010 paper by researchers at the US Geological Survey found that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, a known carcinogen, can be tracked into homes from recently resurfaced parking lots. Shoes can also track things like pesticides or fertilizers from lawns, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Basically, the world is full of chemicals you probably don’t want in your home. Leaving your shoes on means tracking those chemicals into your carpet, which is pretty gross in my opinion.
And there’s more …
I could keep going. Anything on the ground outside can be brought into your home when you wear shoes inside. That matters during allergy season, according to the Cleveland Clinic, which cites Daniel Sullivan, MD.
“Tree, grass and weed pollen easily get on shoes, and when you walk around your house, the pollen can fly into the air, land on surfaces and aggravate your allergies,” he says.
Of course, not everyone likes going barefoot, or wearing only socks, indoors. In some countries, including Germany, it’s common to own separate indoor-only shoes. That way, you can get arch support while walking around your house without tracking germs and toxins into your carpet. Slippers are also nice.
