You can wear your shoes in your house, But Not In My House.
I have had chances to live in multiple countries, South Korea (most of my life), the USA, Japan and the UK (for now). And in none of the countries, I haven’t kept my shoes on at home. Wearing shoes on indoor is not acceptable in my perspective. Even in America, where the people are climbing up on their couches and beds with the shoes on, I used to stop my guests in front of the door and ask for shoes off.
Do you think it’s rude? I don’t think so.
I do respect the way other people live whether they keep the shoe-on habit or not, but when in Rome, do as the Romans do, please.
Moreover, it’s mainly about hygiene issue, especially when we have struggled with the highly contagious virus at the moment.
I believe that street shoes bring in the dirt, germs, and all kinds of unidentified (yucky) liquid that we don’t want our family to be exposed to.
And here are several studies that can support my shoe-off policy.
“If you wear shoes for more than a month, 93 per cent will have faecal bacteria on the bottom of them.” _ Charles Gerba, professor at the University of Arizona / TODAY Home
“Just because it looks physically clean doesn’t necessarily mean it’s sterile. When you walk on surfaces, you walk on microbes that wind up on your shoes. The opposite is also true: What’s on your shoes winds up rubbing off on the surfaces you walk on.” _ Meghan A. May, PhD / Self
“We found 26.4 per cent of shoes carry a bacteria called Clostridium difficile, also known as ‘C. diff’ which can cause symptoms ranging from diarrhoea to fatal infection.” _ Researchers from the University of Houston / PMC
“Shoes act as a vector, picking up dirt, dust, mould spores, chemicals, bacteria, and viruses wherever we go.”_ Infection preventionist at UCHealth
Lastly, here’s one small study, conducted in China in 2019, has found evidence that the coronavirus can be delivered on shoes. However, the chances would be little to be a major way that the virus is transmitted.
“If coronavirus droplets are on the bottom of your shoes, even if they are viable, they would only be able to cause an infection in you if you were to touch that surface directly and then touch your face.”
Well, I’m wearing indoor slipper in my house. So don’t be afraid to visit me, thinking you might, uncomfortably, expose your bare foot to others. I have ten sets of disposable indoor slippers ready for you.
