What your shoes bring inside

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Wearing outdoor shoes indoors can track far more than visible dirt across your floors. Soles pick up bacteria, pesticides, allergens, dust, and other contaminants from sidewalks, public spaces, and streets, then carry them into the areas where you cook, relax, and children or pets may play. Taking shoes off at the door is a simple habit that can reduce the amount of outdoor grime entering the home and help keep indoor spaces cleaner.

Source

Rashid, T et al. “Shoe soles as a potential vector for pathogen transmission: a systematic review.” Journal of applied microbiology vol. 121,5 (2016): 1223-1231. doi:10.1111/jam.13250

Additional Reading

https://time.com/article/2026/09/14/why-you-should-never-wear-shoes-in-the-house/

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/03/wearing-shoes-indoors-bad-science

https://shopping.yahoo.com/home-garden/home-decor/articles/12-reasons-why-embrace-no-113015708.html