Don’t ever bring this item of clothing into your home again
While demanding guests to take their shoes off at the door seems strict, it is worth it if you want a clean home.
The UK and US have a relaxed approach to shoes on the carpet, but the Japanese etiquette of taking them off right away is the correct way to go – even science approves it.
Our shoes are coated in dirt. After wearing a new pair of shoes for two weeks, microbiologist Dr Charles Gerba from University of Arizona found 440,000 units of bacteria on the soles, according to the Independent. His team discovered nine different species of bacteria on the shoes of people randomly selected for their study.
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Among the microorganisms that were detected were: Escherichia coli (responsible for infections, meningitis and diarrhoea), Klebsiella pneumonia (responsible for pneumonia and bloodstream and wound infections).
“The common occurrence (96 per cent) of coliform and E. coli on the outside of the shoes indicates frequent contact with fecal material, which most likely originates from floors in public restrooms or contact with animal fecal matter,” Gerba said in a statement to CIRI Science. “Our study also indicated that bacteria can be tracked by shoes over a long distance into your home or personal space after the shoes were contaminated with bacteria.”
The scientists discovered that viruses thrive better on shoes than on toilets. Simply washing the shoes with detergent was proved to eradicate faecal bacteria and reduce all bacteria by 90% and even more.
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