If I had to put a number to how many times I’ve heard this phrase over the years, I’d have to guess a couple of hundred. I’m not a fan of wearing shoes at home either, as I have to wear them all day long, and I find removing them once I get home much more relaxing.
Here’s a fun fact though: When arriving for a carpet cleaning appointment, I can rarely tell the difference between a household that removes their shoes at the door and one that doesn’t.
To Wear, Or Not To Wear? It All Leads to Wear.
To state the obvious, yes… by not wearing footwear with “tread”, you are less likely to create “wear patterns” in hallways and other areas that get walked on most often. Our feet are not designed to give us traction on the ground beneath us, unlike our shoes.
“They never wear their shoes in the house”
An issue that our bare feet create instead is a build up of “natural oils” from our skin coming off onto our carpeting. This happens especially in hallways, and other areas that see more foot traffic (pun intended). This leads to attracting pet oils, dry soil, and residues from cleaning products or soaps (especially just outside of a bathroom or kitchen area).
Many people also use lotions and other moisturizers on their feet, and who can blame them? Unfortunately, these products will quickly stick to carpeting as well as furniture.
No matter what causes an oily residue on a carpet, the result is the same… a carpet that becomes visibly “dirty” sooner than it should.
As carpet cleaners, we have no choice but to use “carpet safe” degreasing chemicals in order to strip these oils from your carpeting. While this is not a huge issue for us, it bears mentioning that these are the same chemicals that are necessary for us to use when cleaning restaurants, which see much more foot traffic than most homes typically do.
Be Comfortable In Your Own Home.
As I said earlier, my shoes come off more often than not. It’s not a RULE though (in fact, I’m wearing them now). I like to keep my home as stress-free as possible, and one of the ways that I do this is by accepting that maintenance has to happen. My hard flooring will need swept, cleaned, and mopped.
My lawn will need mowed.
My carpets and rugs will need cleaned.
There’s no right or wrong answer, because in your home, YOUR opinion is what matters.
There Are A Couple Of Exceptions.
In pet friendly homes especially, we definitely do not recommend going barefoot. Dogs, once doing their business outside, return into your home with soil on their paws… and who knows what else. Cats on the other hand use a litter box, and tend to pretty much hang out wherever they please right afterwards. In either case, bacteria from our four legged friends “doing their business” can now easily come into contact with your bare feet without you even realizing it.
Anti-Microbial Treatments Help
Adding an anti-microbial treatment after we clean is an option if this all sounds like too much to bear, but having your carpets cleaned on a regular basis is the best way to handle this from ever becoming a serious issue.
If you aren’t a pet owner but plan on moving into a new home where you will not be wearing shoes, we recommend that you have the carpets professionally steam cleaned followed with an anti-microbial treatment. This will certainly set your mind at ease when it comes to feeling the previous owner’s… who knows what on your bare feet.
Compromise?
If you are trying to protect your carpet by not wearing shoes, we would suggest using house slippers or socks instead of bare feet. I’ve met many customers over the years that do just that, and the results are… well, they’re happy, and comfortable in their own home. At the end of the day, that’s all Sabyl Tech wants to see anyway.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to call Sabyl Tech Cleaning Services at 309-716-5912
