Question from Lisa
Dear Debra,
When I’m walking on city side walks or parking lots, I often encounter litter that seems like it could be of a toxic nature. Sometimes I don’t see the items until I step on them with my shoes. I’m wondering if such things such as a cracked cigarette lighter/lighter fluid or old, corroded, weather exposed double A batteries would warrant replacing the shoes.
I don’t want to continue tracking any potential toxins around, especially in my home.
Thank you.
Debra’s Answer
We do pick up a lot of toxic chemicals on the soles of our shoes and bring them indoors, so even if you are careful to only choose nontoxic products to use in your home, you are still bringing toxic chemicals inside with your shoes. Chemicals can include asphalt, pesticides and herbicides from lawns and gardens and sidewalks, and any number of other chemicals that may be present where you walk.
When you walk around your home with toxic chemicals on the soles of your shoes, they come off on the floor. Then when you walk barefoot around your home, they can be absorbed through the soles of your feet. You can also inhale these chemicals as they outgass. If you have children playing on the floor, the toxic chemicals can get on their hands and into their mouths. Children, and especially infants, are even more susceptable to the dangers of toxic chemicals and carcinogens than adults.
I don’t think you need to replace your shoes, however. Shoes protect our feet from hazards encountered when we walk. And a new pair of shoes will only get more pollutants on them.
The solution is to leave your shoes at the door, and put them on and take them off as you leave and enter the house. Have a rack set up next to the door you enter most frequently, where you can leave your shoes when you enter the house. Have slippers or socks ready to put on if you don’t want to go barefoot. By doing this, you will keep the outdoor pollutants on your shoes and keep them from being tracked around the house.
And remember to make provisions for guests and have slippers or socks available for them too.
