Microbes and germs around us everywhere, and perhaps the Corona pandemic was a motivation for many to take care of the most accurate details of disinfection and sterilization in all that we are exposed to daily from tools, clothes and food, even daily habits became a matter to be reckoned with, after it was washing hands usually only takes 5 to 10 Seconds, we have to wait and commit to washing them between 20 and 30 seconds to make sure they are safe from viruses and germs.
It seems that we have become experts enough to review some of the daily habits related to hygiene and sterilization, and the most prominent thing that housewives circulated in women's groups on social media is the current controversy about taking off shoes before entering homes, this habit may seem simple and automatic for the people of the house, but the most difficult question : Should guests be required to take off their shoes at the door of the house to protect everyone from diseases and viruses?
Leila Karimpour, an internal medicine doctor at Providence St. John's Hospital, says that shoes and clothing can carry pathogens, and if the germs come in contact with your shoes, they can follow you wherever you go, meaning you take them with you indoors.
A 2015 study conducted on analyzing the microbial environment of people's shoes after walking in different locations, and the researchers concluded that microbes - such as bacteria and viruses - end up on the shoe, and travel with it where it is. Note that coronaviruses (such as the Corona Virus Group) remain on stainless steel surfaces (stainless steel) for up to 72 hours, cartoon surfaces for 24 hours, and on copper for 4 hours.
Home hygiene routine
These microorganisms gather on the outside of the shoe; A study conducted by the University of Arizona's microbiologists revealed that the outer surface of the shoes carries bacteria 140 times more inside.
Therefore it is advised to put in place a special system to keep the house clean and reduce the spread of germs by taking off shoes, and this should include washing hands directly; If removing the shoe requires using your hands to remove it.
Karimpour generally recommends that "your living space should be as clean as possible, so you should not walk in the mud and then bring it to your home, nor will you want to go to a place that can be crowded, where you can catch pathogens and return them to your family, especially If you have young children at home playing on the floor, or someone is HIV-positive. "
But when it comes to reducing the spread of coronavirus or any other disease, hand-washing is the most important, especially if you go to a crowded place like a grocery store or you have been in contact with a sick person, you may have pathogenic germs on your shoes, but this will not It necessarily makes you sick unless you touch your shoe and then your face.
Clean shoes from germs
Washing shoes with soap and water is a good way to clean them from microbes and germs. This should be followed by good and careful washing of hands, and this method appears useful in removing stains and dirt, but washing the shoes with soap and warm water, or a diluted laundry bleach (chlorine), then left in the air to dry ; It remains the ideal method for sterilizing shoes, but at the same time it may cause discoloration or damage to some shoes; So you should only use this method inside your shoes, or from the outside if your shoes are white.
You should also make sure to follow the shoe manufacturer's instructions in the case of cleaning in the washing machine, and washing your shoes in the washing machine can be effective if it is made of common materials such as cotton or nylon, but some materials - such as natural or tanned leather - should not go into the washing machine.
What about the guests
Is it bad to ask guests to take off their shoes in your house? According to etiquette experts, you have the right to ask guests to take off their shoes at the door of the house, and to provide a clean alternative to wear during the period of their visit, taking care to leave those shoes on a piece of carpets (rubber or a suitable towel) immersed in dilute chlorine or sprayed with alcohol spray to kill the microbes, Some suggest placing a simple plate that requires the guest to take off the shoe before entering the house in a gentle manner, away from requesting it directly.
"The guest should practice the customs and culture of the place where he is always, and it is perfectly acceptable to ask guests to take off their shoes, but if you ask a guest to take off his shoes, you must inform him in advance, or provide a pair of home shoes to wear it," says etiquette expert Mika Meyer.
As for Patricia Napier Fitzpatrick, founder of the Etiquette School in New York, she says, "There is one exception to this rule, which is if you hold a party at home, where guests wear suits and dresses, the rule of not wearing shoes is inappropriate on those occasions, and you have to prepare the place to receive many Of guests, cleaning floors and carpets immediately upon leaving. "