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Should you take your shoes off at home?

Taking off shoes inside the home is also a common practice observed in Asian and Middle Eastern countries and households. But if you regularly take them off mainly because you're worried about harmful bacteria from the outside getting inside and making you sick, you can probably relax.
Taking off shoes inside the home is also a common practice observed in Asian and Middle Eastern countries and households. But if you regularly take them off mainly because you're worried about harmful bacteria from the outside getting inside and making you sick, you can probably relax. Taking off shoes inside the home is also a common practice observed in Asian and Middle Eastern countries and households. But if you regularly take them off mainly because you're worried about harmful bacteria from the outside getting inside and making you sick, you can probably relax.

By The New York Times 6 min read

Maybe you kick off your shoes at home because you don’t want to track dirt across clean carpets or floors, or maybe it’s just a relief to shed them.

Taking off shoes inside the home is also a common practice observed in Asian and Middle Eastern countries and households. But if you regularly take them off mainly because you’re worried about harmful bacteria from the outside getting inside and making you sick, you can probably relax.

Those concerns are overblown, according to experts, who added that more pressing health risks are often overlooked.

What’s on your soles?

Charles P. Gerba, a professor and microbiologist at the University of Arizona, studied how many and which kinds of bacteria linger on the bottom of shoes.