Remove Shoes Before Entering

550 Words3 Pages
Asians believe that being barefoot is helpful to keeping a healthy lifestyle. Being barefoot allows the pressure points to be stimulated beneficial to some people with foot ailments. Removing one’s shoes is a symbolic gesture of “leaving the outer world behind.” In many cultures, it is customary to remove one’s shoes before entering a home for many reasons. In America, however, most people do not follow this widely accepted and expected when entering a home. To help do away with the world view of the “ugly American,” Americans should take on this practice of removing their shoes before entering a home. Most people enjoy having clean homes, and by removing shoes, the cleaning process would not be as taxing because there would be less to clean. Simply wiping one’s shoes on a doormat reduces the amount of contaminates entering the house, as Dern states, “The professional cleaning industry estimates that we track 85% of the dirt in our homes in from the outside on our shoes or paws of pets” (n.p.). Taking shoes off before entering a house can save time and money, because less cleaning means fewer investments in cleaning products. Furthermore, it will lower the chances of scratches on wooden floors and discoloration of carpet floors. People spend hundreds of dollars to steam clean carpets, but by following this practice will be able to spend that money elsewhere and use their time more efficiently. Many people do not realize that removing shoes before entering a house can keep those within the home safe from outdoor pesticides and pollutants that can contaminate carpets and floors. Adopting this practice will help reduce allergens that shoes carry from outside, as Breyer states, “An EPA study, reported in Environmental Science & Technology provided the first proof that pesticides can be tracked into residences on shoes” (n.p.). Those who are significantly affected by
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