You may be tracking disease-causing germs into your home if you regularly keep your shoes on inside. Research found that the outside of your shoes can be a carrier for viruses and bacteria, including E. coli.
Although this level of contamination is a low health threat for most healthy adults, you can reduce the unnecessary spread of germs in your living space by:
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Taking off your shoes at the door
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Washing your hands immediately if you removed your shoes with your hands
- Cleaning your shoes according to the manufacturer’s instructions
In general, regardless if it’s your home or someone else’s place, it’s important to remove shoes if there are young children crawling on floors or people in the home whose immune systems are compromised. When in doubt, ask the host if you should take off your shoes.
Photo by Andrew Tanglao on Unsplash