Why Do People Wear Shoes in the House? [4 Reasons]

Why do People wear shoes in the house? Is that their culture? Is it that they are worried that their feet will get dirty? Do they want to protect their feet if they’ve some infections? Whatever be the reason, the fact is that many people think that wearing shoes in your home is a good idea. It might seem like a trivial thing, but there are some reasons why several people wear shoes in their houses.

Most people assume that it is only Americans’ culture of wearing shoes in the shoes.

But it’s not limited now to only one region…

I think wearing shoes in your own house isn’t a bad habit as long as you don’t wear those shoes outside so that your home, whether it is carpeted or not, remains nice and clean. Some people like to wear shoes in the house because they want to protect their feet from dirt and the impact of the hard floor. On the other hand, wearing shoes in the house is also considered a cultural practice in some countries like America and other European countries.

Keep on reading this guide to find more answers related to wearing shoes in the house.

Why Should You not Wear Outdoor Shoes in the House?

The outdoor shoes carry many bacteria and other microorganisms embedded in the sole of your shoes. Research has been conducted to analyze the soles of outdoor shoes. The researchers found that different bacteria and viruses from the outdoor surfaces stick to the shoes, and they end up infecting your house floors when your shoes rub off the surfaces as you walk around the house.  Due to this reason, it’s a bad practice if Americans or people belonging to any region wear their work shoes in their houses.

Reasons to Wear Shoes in the House

If you’ve dedicated indoor shoes with a clean bottom, it’s fine if you walk around the house while wearing them.

Here are the following reasons for wearing shoes in the house:

1. Wearing Shoes In the House – A Cultural Practice

Wearing shoes in the homes is a culture in America and different European countries like the United Kingdom. British people and Americans wear their shoes at home. There might be a reason that their cities are clean, due to which they don’t care about taking off their shoes when entering their apartments.

Here’s what an American says about the reason for wearing shoes in the house.

But, I think it is still a bad practice. I do agree that shoes provide great comfortability due to the reasons I mentioned above. So, Americans, British or people belonging to whatever region, if they’ve separate shoes for walking indoors, it’s fine to wear the shoes in the house.

So, if your house has wooden floors and you wish to wear shoes in the house, make sure to buy comfortable shoes with a non-marking outsole that do not leave marks on the wooden floors of your home and damage them.

2. Protection of Feet from Infections

Several people wear shoes to protect themselves from dust and tiny insects such as spiders or ants that can harm them or make them sick due to diseases spread by those tiny insects. Those people think if they don’t wear their shoes while at home, they would be able to contract many different diseases that could lead them very sick for an extended period.

Walking barefoot in the house contribute can lead to many risks. Study shows that bacteria and fungus are found in the house dust when there’s dampness, and house floors not properly cleaned. Due to this risk, most people like to wear indoor sneakers in their house to protect themselves from infections.

Moreover, the tiny insects such as ants and spiders on your house floors also carry bacteria and fungus that can cause itching over your foot’s skin and can also infect your foot’s nails. Due to this reason, people avoid walking barefoot and prefer to wear shoes in their homes.

Here’s what a user said when I was searching to know other people’s thoughts regarding wearing the shoes in the house.

3. Protection of Feet from Impact

If your house is not carpeted and has hard floor tiles, it can exert a high impact on your feet if you walk barefooted around the house. Shoes play the role here as they provide comfort for our feet by absorbing the pressure of the surface and soften the impact of walking.

Here’s a response of one person on Reddit for the reason of wearing shoes in the house.

There’re two conditions when people like to wear shoes in the house:

• Very high foot arch
• Collapsed arches

A person’s foot has a natural arch responsible for absorbing shock due to its natural springy feature. But, if you have too high arches, the ball of foot region of your foot makes extreme contact with the hard floor tiles of your house if you stand or walk barefoot.  For this reason, such people prefer to wear shoes in the house to protect their feet from strong impact. You can check my article on shoes for the ball of foot pain. I’ve reviewed shoes with some simple designs that you can easily wear in the house.

People with flat feet have fallen arches due to which the feet make complete contact with the ground and bear the weight of the body. Specially, if you’re a heavy person, being a flat foot is a cherry on a top that makes it extremely difficult to walk barefooted around the house.

Since flat feet are not strong enough to absorb the shock, they pronate naturally to distribute the effect of your body weight. But, this condition can worsen when pronation occurs for a longer time, which can cause other problems like bunions and posture imbalances, which can put extra strain on your ankles. Due to this reason, you’ll find those people wearing shoes in the house that provide support and stability. You can check my guide on the shoes for flat feet to know about the best sneakers for such purposes.

Also, there are some people, who have diabetes, avoid walking barefoot indoors because they’ve blood circulation problems that weaken their nerves and vessels. Due to this, even a minor stubbing of their foot with a dining table in the house can cause several problems for them.

Here’s a user in a Reddit community that justifies the same reason for wearing shoes in the house.

4. Prevention from Slips and Falls

This reason is specially for older people. Research shows that over 52 percent of older people reported a fall with barefoot, slippers or socks without shoes. This is because older people have softer foot skin and weak senses, due to which they’re unable to maintain balances while standing or walking barefoot in the houses.

Dr Hannan, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, recommends wearing low-heeled and well-fitting shoes with slip-resistant outsoles in the homes to prevent yourself from falling.

Final Verdict about Wearing Shoes in the House

I hope you’ve got your confusion clear regarding wearing shoes in the house. It’s not limited to only Americans; people belonging to different regions have dedicated indoor shoes for several reasons, as I’ve mentioned above.