Medical professionals warned Americans against stopping wearing their outside shoes inside their homes, due to the serious health risks.
Wearing footwear outside exposes them to harmful bacteria like e-coli, capable of causing life-threatening kidney failure. Dr. Kunal Sood highlighted this concern in a video shared on his TikTok channel:
Do you wear shoes inside your house? Well, a study was done by the University of Arizona, which more than 96% of shoes had bacteria which is more than was found on the floor and hands.
These included harmful bacteria such as E.coli, which can cause both stomach and urinary tract infections in addition to bacteria.
The doctor added: Shoes can also transmit hormone-disrupting chemicals such as pesticides and even fecal matter from restrooms.
Additionally, Dr. Sood advises that to prevent this, you should not wear shoes inside. However, if someone does, make sure to clean your floors.
Before, Dena O'Neill, a home cleaning and organizing guru influencer on Instagram, gave advice to her followers that they should NEVER wear shoes in the house. She also conducted a revealing experiment about the consequences of wearing shoes indoors.
In her Instagram reel, Dena first swabbed the bottom of her shoe and then the floor of the mudroom, the only area in her home where shoes were actually worn.
Next, she transferred the swabs onto Petri dishes and left them 'undisturbed for a week in a dark closet.
O'Neill was confused when the results showed a gag-inducing number of bacteria spores flourishing in both plastic dishes. While she couldn't identify the exact type of bacteria growing in those dishes, she was certain it wasn't the beneficial kind.
Due to our shoes encountering outdoor areas, such as parks with animal waste, public restrooms, and shared floors with hard surfaces where others walk with their outdoor shoes. So, it's no wonder these spores find their way into our homes.
Then, she also advised viewers that they should never wear shoes in the house or could invest in a pair of slip-ons solely for indoor use.
“Here’s the thing, if you’re wearing these shoes through your house, you have to clean your floors WAY MORE OFTEN. That takes way longer than taking off the shoes,”
