While many of us are guilty of wearing shoes inside the house, you might think twice if you were familiar with the potentially hazardous germs that they carry.
Did you know that research has shown that your choice of shoes are the first thing people subconsciously notice about you? For some, the allure of an extensive sneaker collection invokes a sense of wealth, while for others, their preference lies in owning a high heel for every occasion.
Regardless of your choice of shoes, in many cultures around the world, removing shoes before entering homes is very much the norm. In most of Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East, shoes are never worn inside homes and it can be seen as a sign of disrespect for guests to enter a host’s home without leaving them at the door.
Here in Australia, we tend not to be as strict on this practice and wearing shoes inside the house is often unavoidable for busy households, especially those with kids. When you’re running late for work and have forgotten your lunch, doing the dash back inside in your shoes is often the better choice when compared to showing up behind schedule – but what is this practice really doing to our health?
Why Wearing Shoes Inside The House Is Bad For Us
Indoor air quality is one of the major concerns that many businesses, schools, hotels and clinics face, as it directly affects the health, wellbeing and productivity of those that use the buildings linked to these industries.
In residential settings, more people are investing in air purifiers and other tools to improve the air quality of our homes – but what if we told you that wearing shoes inside the house could potentially erase all of these efforts?
A group of environmental chemists who study what kinds of contaminants people are exposed to in their own homes weighed in on the great shoe debate and the verdict is in: wearing shoes inside the house will not only mess up your carpet, but it can also mess up your health.
As one-third of the matter building up inside your home comes from outside – much of it being tracked in on the soles of our shoes – the dust and dirt you bring indoors can carry a wide range of microbiological pathogens, many of which are organisms that are actually drug resistant.
In addition to potential cancer-causing toxins from asphalt road residue and endocrine-disrupting lawn chemicals, wearing shoes inside the house that have been out and about in the great outdoors is not considered wise from a health perspective.
Ultimately, shoes are our primary mode of transport for accessing and exploring the outside world. While they usually serve their purpose, their owners often forget about their exposure to mud, dog poop, sand, gravel, debris from parks and all the other filthy places that our shoes end up in the course of a day, and bring all of that back indoors with them.
Of course, not all dust and dirt have the potential to be this catastrophic, but do you know the difference on a visual scale? What about all of the pathogens that you can’t actually see? Thus, the safest option is to just leave your sneakers outside, or as close to the door as possible.
Even for those who are able to stay on top of the dust and dirt that the outside world brings inside our homes, there still comes a time where busy mums and dads need to find the balance between making the most of their time and having a clean house. To get the best of both worlds, investing in a reliable house cleaner to take care of the bigger tasks can be worth their weight in gold – but where do you find one?
Ditch The Chemicals And Stay Clean With Goodwings
We all know that good help can be hard to find, particularly when it comes to finding a reliable housekeeper that you can trust. Offering four to six hour cleaning packages, just a handful of the services on offer with the Cleaning Angels at Goodwings include bed linen changes, washing, and topping up everyday household goods like washing powder, shampoos, toilet paper and much more.
Given the fact that eco-friendly cleaning agents have been demonstrated to be just as effective at tackling various chores as traditional cleaning products, the weekly or fortnightly packages on offer through Goodwings enable Queenslanders to continue on with a healthy lifestyle without sacrificing the cleanliness of their homes.
To find out more about the services on offer with us at Goodwings, get in touch to discuss how we can provide your household with world class cleaning solutions.
