Why you should probably rethink wearing your shoes inside the house

• Wearing shoes in the house is just plain gross, according to environmental scientist Prof Mark Taylor.

• Prof Taylor tells CapeTalk that a third of the matter building up inside your home is from outside, often brought in via dirty shoe bottoms.

A team of environmental chemists has argued that you shouldn’t wear your outside shoes inside the house.

Australian scientist Professor Mark Taylor says research has shown that about a third of the matter building up inside your home is from outside.

Taylor says many of the contaminants are brought inside the home via filthy shoe bottoms.

Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean to say it’s not on your shoes.

Prof Mark Taylor, Chief environmental scientist  – Environment Protection Authority Victoria

The professor has co-authored an article on The Conversation about why you should always “de-shoe” at the door.

He says people are contaminating their homes with all sorts of gross particles, including dog faeces, bird faeces, human faeces and urine.

More concerningly, shoe bottoms can sometimes carry antibiotic-resistant genes that make bacteria resistant to antibiotics.

He says our shoes are also exposed to a range of harmful substances such as microplastics, pesticides, chemicals and potentially toxic metals.

The research that we’ve done has demonstrated that contaminants will come in from outside… such as trace metals, contaminants such as lead, arsenic, zinc, copper, and cadmium, for example.

Prof Mark Taylor, Chief environmental scientist  – Environment Protection Authority Victoria

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Instead of dragging these contaminants across your carpets and living room floor, Taylor says it’s best to leave your filth outside the door.

You can have a shoe-free household or some dedicated “indoor shoes” that never get worn outside.

Maybe also reconsider that 5-second-rule, he jests.

One of the most gross things that people should be concerned about is faeces… It will get on your shoes and in the soles of the shoe and you will then tramp it onto your house. It’s really quite disgusting.

Prof Mark Taylor, Chief environmental scientist  – Environment Protection Authority Victoria

The solution to this is very simple: Leave your shoes off outside, it’s free, everybody can do it. It means you don’t have to clean your house as frequently and you don’t bring in the outside to the inside.

Prof Mark Taylor, Chief environmental scientist  – Environment Protection Authority Victoria

This article first appeared on CapeTalk : Why you should probably rethink wearing your shoes inside the house