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COVID-19 has us all running scared. And, after a recent study found that when bacteria are walked into your home via your shoes, 90% of it finds its way onto clean common surfaces like coffee tables and kitchen counters.
Here are five tips to keep COVID-19 from hitching a ride on your shoes from the frozen food aisle to your living room, courtesy of Sneaker LAB.
- Keep your shoes clean
The good news is that the virus is no match for a good clean. Some more good news is that probiotic cleaners are 90% better at actively decreasing the presence of unwanted pathogens compared to conventional, chemical-based cleaners.
Try Sneaker LAB’s Sneaker Cleaner, a probiotic shoe cleaner.
- Leave your shoes in a single space (near your door, preferably)
It’s time we start leaving our shoes at the door. Doing this keeps the virus from going past a certain point in your home, especially for people who routinely need to shop for groceries, visit pharmacies, or commute through communal spaces.
Children who play on the floor, dogs that climb on couches, dropping laundry or a cloth while cleaning, these all present opportunities for COVID-19 to spread from floor to hand.
Instead, incorporate a shoe rack into your home.
- Shoe dryness is a big deal
Moist environments are a hotbed for virus and bacteria growth, so keeping them dry is a good way to keep them from being vectors for transferal. A sunny, dry place is a great short-term solution if the weather plays along, while you could also keep a hairdryer handy near your front door if it doesn’t. Let’s face it, we’re not running around in the rain these days, but a home workout in your backyard or living room can lead to some pretty nasty and damp shoes that carry odours and create happy hunting grounds for unwanted microbial guests.
- Worn out shoes are a no-go
Shoes that are worn out, worn through, or cracked present a novel challenge. Research suggests that unwanted pathogens are 140 times more likely to live on the outside of your shoes than on the inside. What a structurally compromised shoe will do is invite all those nasties inside and into your socks through cracks and hole in your shoes.
Avoiding it altogether by wearing crack and hole-free shoes is first prize, while shoe glue can provide temporary relief for those with soles coming undone and unstuck.
- Dirty socks belong in the wash, not your shoes
We’ve established that dirty shoes are risky business and leaving your socks in them simply adds to the problem. Socks are typically the buffer between foot sweat and your shoes but leaving those soggy guys in there defeats the purpose of keeping your shoes clean and disease free.
Allowing that moist environment to go unchecked creates a preferable environment for viruses and bacteria to grow, and by the time you’ve remembered to pick your socks up out of your shoes the next day, you could be picking up something completely avoidable.
Take control of your shoe care
Shoe care is no longer about having the freshest pair of sneakers or ensuring your dress shoes are also functional mirrors. It’s now a matter of public and personal safety and something you can have complete control over.
