Is Wearing Shoes Inside the Home Hygienic or Unhygienic?

When Pedja Trifunovich first visited his fiancée Sophia’s home, he was surprised. Upon entering through the front door, Sophia told him he needed to take off his shoes. “You walk inside the sleeping area with your shoes on… I thought, ‘How rude!'” he recalled. Sophia, who grew up in America, was equally taken aback by Pedja’s habit of keeping shoes on inside his Serbian home. “I thought, ‘Do you want your foot odor spread all over the house?’ I was wearing shoes,” she said. Their differing perspectives highlight a widespread cultural debate seen around the world. After they posted about this difference on social media, it generated significant discussion. A TikTok video showing Pedja wearing slippers indoors and Sophia wearing shoes went viral, sparking debates on which habit is more hygienic.

So, which is right? Does wearing shoes indoors actually pose health risks? To answer this, BBC World Service conducted tests in a microbiology laboratory. Whether you remove shoes or keep them on inside depends largely on the country or culture you were raised in. In most Middle Eastern, Asian, and Balkan countries, wearing shoes indoors is considered impolite. However, in some parts of Europe and America, asking guests to remove shoes is deemed rude. Japan enforces very strict rules about indoor shoes. Most Japanese homes have a separate entrance area called a “genkan,” where wearing shoes indoors is not allowed. If guests fail to remove shoes upon entering, they face strong admonishments, according to Dr. Fabio Giggi, senior lecturer at SOAS, University of London. “They are simply told directly, ‘Please take off your shoes,’” he explained. He added that the reason is not just hygiene but also philosophical. “Symbolically, the outside world is viewed as polluted, dangerous, and dirty. The indoor space is regarded as a clean and sacred area. Many religious rituals are also based on this concept of purity.”

In Brighton, UK, a couple sent their shoes to a microbiology lab for testing after a week of use. Dr. Sarah Pitt, a microbiologist at the University of Brighton, collected samples from the top and soles of the shoes and placed them on petri dishes to culture overnight. Under a microscope the next day, various types of bacteria were found, including Staphylococcus aureus, which can cause staph infections. According to Dr. Pitt, this bacteria can be dangerous even to healthy individuals. “If there is a cut on the skin and the bacteria enters, it can cause large blisters,” she explained. In people with weakened immune systems, this bacterium can also lead to pneumonia and bloodstream infections. They also found Staphylococcus epidermidis—a common skin bacterium that can cause serious infections in immunocompromised patients. Other studies have shown shoes can carry fecal bacteria like E. coli. Dr. Pitt noted, “Shoes worldwide may harbor different types of bacteria, worms, and parasites.”

The research shows that shoes easily bring external bacteria indoors. “These bacteria can survive inside the home for some time and spread infections to other family members,” Pitt said. Bacteria can survive for days or longer in warm carpets and may be reactivated by walking, potentially infecting people. For example, if you are playing on the carpet with a baby, bacteria under pressure points might become active again. This risk is especially high for babies and elderly people with weak immune systems. Although some microbial exposure supports immune development, we encounter many microbes daily in life. Dr. Pitt concluded that the best answer to this question is found in the petri dish: “Wearing shoes indoors is not only impolite but can pose a real health risk. Wherever you are, it is best to remove shoes inside the home.” If necessary to wear shoes indoors, using doormats and carpets that minimize contamination is important, and weekly cleaning helps control bacteria, dust, and dirt.

Now married, Sophia and Pedja are working to balance their differing habits. Sophia said, “I still prefer wearing shoes inside the home, but after coming to Serbia, I understood that slippers inside are essential.” At her home in America, she uses indoor-only slippers that she removes before going outside. “I have a strong preference for shoe weight on my feet because that’s how I was raised,” she said. Pedja has also adopted some of Sophia’s habits. “Sometimes, in a hurry, I enter without removing shoes,” he admitted. Sophia concluded, “We are not trying to become entirely Serbian or American; we want to move forward by adjusting our cultural identities.”