Go Shoe-Free for a Cleaner, Healthier Home

Your shoes touch some very dirty surfaces, including public bathroom floors, waste on parking lots, mud and more. You might think that most of the filth would be scraped and worn off while walking around, but even shoes that look relatively clean can carry some truly nasty germs.

Your dirty shoes track those germs, allergens and more inside your home. Doing something as simple as going shoe-free keeps your home cleaner and healthier. Here’s how.

1. Shoes Bring in Hidden Germs and Toxins

Bacteria, viruses and other illness-causing germs cling to the bottom of shoes. This isn’t dangerous to you or anyone else in your home until you touch the bottom of the shoes or any of the surfaces that your dirty shoes touch.

When your shoes track germs and toxins throughout your home, pets and children are directly exposed to them. In addition, if you spend time on the floor, such as when doing yoga, cleaning, playing with the kids or anything else, you are exposed, too.

2. Less Dirt Means Less Cleaning

In addition to the microscopic bacteria and viruses on the bottom of shoes, visible dirt and other debris are problematic. This dirt doesn’t just stay in the entryway. Instead, it is tracked throughout the house anywhere your shoes go.

By simply taking the shoes off at the door, you prevent so much dirt from entering and spreading throughout your house. This lets you save time and energy cleaning.

3. Protect Your Floors and Carpets

While the most obvious impact of dirt on your flooring is cleanliness, there are other factors to think about. The small grains of dirt and other tracked-in particles act as abrasives on your hard flooring. Over time, walking on a dirty floor will damage the wear layer and result in the premature need to replace the floor.

Carpeting may hide the dirt better than hard flooring, but the dirt is much harder to extract. Even with routine vacuuming, the dirt will increasingly discolor the floor and give your home a funky smell. You’ll get more life out of any type of floor when you leave your shoes at the door.

4. Improve Indoor Air Quality

The many toxins and allergens that walk through your front door on the bottom of your shoes don’t just say on the floor. Many of these elements become airborne and circulate throughout the space.

When this happens, you and your loved ones inhale them. Respiratory issues related to poor indoor air quality are concerns. An easy way to improve indoor air quality at home is to adopt a no-shoes policy.

5. Safer for Children and Pets

While you and other adults in the home may not spend a lot of time on the floor, younger kids and pets practically live on the floor. They crawl, sit, scoot and play, often for hours a day.

Their exposure level to the toxins, allergens and germs on the floor is significant. Your home environment will be much healthier and safer for them when shoes aren’t brought into the home.

6. Your Cleaning Team Will Thank You

Using a cleaning service makes housecleaning much less of a chore for you, but somebody still has to do the work.

Your cleaning team is faced with a much tougher task when the floor is covered with messes, stains and germs. Cleaning the floors might take longer and could even require special treatments.

FAQs

Are indoor slippers okay?

Indoor slippers are great to wear around the house. They provide padding under your feet and keep your toes warm. However, you should never wear your slippers outdoors, even to grab the newspaper or get something out of your car. Put on your outdoor shoes anytime you walk out the door.

What if guests forget to remove shoes?

Guests don’t always know the rules in your house. Even those who visit regularly may not be in the habit of removing shoes indoors. You can simply say something like, “You can leave your shoes here by the door.” This statement is a friendly, easy reminder.

How can I encourage everyone to follow the rule?

The most important step you can take to encourage others to follow your no-shoes policy is to lead by example. Provide gentle reminders as needed. In addition, create a space near the exterior doors to store and organize shoes.

Simple steps like adopting a no-shoes policy at home can help you maintain a cleaner, healthier living space. Even so, your home will still require routine cleaning. Whether you’re challenged to keep your residence or a short-term rental clean, the Cleanzen team can help. To learn more about routine and short-term rental (Airbnb) cleaning and to book your first service, contact us today.