Do you take off your shoes at home? BBC weighs in on the hygiene debate

Amid an ongoing debate over whether to remove shoes indoors, the BBC has weighed in on the hygiene concerns surrounding the practice.

BBC World addressed the controversy in a piece published June 17 titled "Is it unhygienic to wear shoes inside your home?"

While removing shoes at the entrance before entering a home is standard practice in South Korea, people in the United States, the United Kingdom and many other countries generally keep their shoes on indoors.

The BBC featured the story of a Serbian husband, Peja Tripunovic, who grew up taking his shoes off at home, and his American wife, Sofia, who did not.

"I grew up in a home where shoes were taken off," Peja said, adding that many people find it disgusting, asking, "How can you wear shoes inside the house?"

Sofia said the custom struck her as odd. "It felt like someone was saying, 'Do you want to smell my feet?'" she said.

The University of Brighton analyzed microbes on the soles of shoes and warned of the hygiene risks they pose.

Researchers swabbed the tops and soles of shoes, cultured the samples for 24 hours and examined the results. The research detected several bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus.

Professor Sarah Pitt, who led the research, said the findings were alarming. "Staphylococcus aureus was found, and it can be very dangerous even for healthy people," she said. "If you scratch a wound and this bacteria gets in, it can cause large boils and infected abscesses."

She also warned that the bacteria could cause serious infections such as pneumonia or bloodstream infections in people with weakened immune systems. "The bacteria we found can survive for quite a long time — perhaps several days — and infect other people in the home," she said, adding that warm, sheltered environments such as carpets are particularly conducive to their survival.

She added that the range of bacteria encountered could vary around the world. "There could also be fungi and parasites," she said, stressing that people should remove their shoes upon entering a building, wherever they are in the world.

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