Dirty Shoes
Posted by Andrea
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit in me. (Psalm 51:10)
Yesterday morning, as I was dressing the girls, I tuned in to Good Morning America just as Robin Roberts was introducing a story about the many different germs found on the soles of shoes. My first thought was that the topic was far from newsworthy. (Just think about where you’ve walked today. I doubt any of us would be surprised to learn that the soles of our shoes are filthy!) I was just about to turn the radio off when Robin reeled me in. She noted that these germs could be tracked into our house, spread throughout its many rooms, and possibly make my children sick.
Having swallowed the news bait, I immediately switched to “Mommy Mode” and now found the story much more newsworthy. I spent the next several minutes listening to gross statistics that caused me to regret not picking up more containers of the bleach that were on sale this week.
- Toilet seats are cleaner than the soles of our shoes.
- Bacteria are able to survive longer on the soles of shoes than in other places because it is fed by new debris we pick up as we walk around.
- Nine out of the ten shoe tests performed by Good Morning American tested positive for coliform, a bacteria that comes from human and animal waster.
- Children under the age of two are most vulnerable since they put their hands into their mouths an average of 80 times an hour.
These types of stories nearly always send me into a silly, paranoid cleaning frenzy. Yesterday, I vacuumed an extra time and mopped the floors sooner than my cleaning schedule notes. In addition, everyone’s shoes were surrendered at the door. Though my efforts probably made little difference in the germ count, they did ease my mind just a bit.
After all that extra housework, I was pretty tired. Perhaps later, I’ll soak my feet and give myself a good pedicure so my feet will look pretty if I’m asked to leave my shoes at someone else’s door.
Photo: Courtesy of jazzylolo
Tags: dirty shoes, Good Morning America
So what? No more letting Andrew eat my shoes? Lol…. I can’t imagine the germs. Yuck!
hahah, I happened to tune into the same bulletin on Tues. morning and felt so good because I have been doing this for years! I have been made fun of/or thought to be “one of those people.” Where is the bleach on sale??
Thanks
Sorry to be the one to break the news Steph! No more shoe snacking for Andrew..LOL! I was exceptionally grossed out because one of Sugar Plum’s new habits is removing her sandals while in the van and sucking on them! Ewwwww! Only the good Lord above knows what ickiness she has ingested! Thank God He takes care of us!
Monica, before I heard this story, I thought the folks who ask you to remove your shoes in their homes were just being fanatical germophobes! Now I see that you all had the right idea all along!
Clorox Anywhere Disinfecting Spray is on sale at CVS (2 for $5). I may need to go back and get more before the sale ends on Friday. Bleach was also on sale at Shop Rite last week. It may still be. Sometimes the sales carry over but are unadvertised.
Well, I do have a friend who says,
“That’s what stomach acid is for!”