Can you get the coronavirus from wearing your shoes indoors? Your health and your shoes will thank you for reading this.
If you’re reading this, chances are that you probably stressed out like the rest of us about this current pandemic.
From stay-at-home orders to practicing social distancing, life as we know it will forever be changed.
For example, will we ever be able to wear our shoes inside of our homes without having to worry about contracting the coronavirus (COVID-19) or any other future viruses?
Today, we’re going to answer some questions about the virus and what you can do to protect your sneakers and health from COVID-19.
How Long Does Coronavirus Live on Shoes?
The short answer – longer than anyone one of us wants.
Recently, BBC wrote an article that covers how long the Coronavirus lasts on surfaces.
They say, “Some studies on other coronaviruses, including Sars and Mers, found they can survive on metal, glass and plastic for as long as nine days, unless they are properly disinfected. Some can even hang around for up to 28 days in low temperatures.”
It’s no wonder that as Covid-19 has spread, so have our fear of surfaces.
So, how long does the Coronavirus last on shoes?
According to the New York Post, it can survive on shoes for up to 5 days. Additionally, the CDC has confirmed that COVID-19 does indeed travel on shoes.
Can I Get The Coronavirus From my Shoes?
Yes, it is indeed possible.
Respiratory viruses are commonly spread via small droplets that are expelled from coughing or sneezing.
Did you know that when we cough, we can spew out up to 3,000 respiratory droplets? Even worse, when we sneeze we can spew out up to 40,000 droplets.
Thus, spreading the virus.
Now, insert you stepping on these droplets while you’re at the grocery store and bringing those shoes right into your precious home.
How to Decontaminate and Protect Your Shoes
Luckily there are some things you can do properly clean your shoes and measures you can take to protect your home and your health from the virus.
1 – Dedicated Outdoor Shoes
We highly suggest having a pair of dedicated outdoor and indoor shoes.
Why?
So that you do not bring in any contaminated surfaces into your home that you might unknowingly touch and pass around. Especially if you live in highly populated areas such as San Francisco, LA or New York City.
2- Machine Wash Shoes
The Huffington Post says, “Soles are typically made of non-porous materials, such as rubber, leather and PVC compounds, and can carry high levels of bacteria, according to a study published by Charles Gerba, a microbiologist and professor at the University of Arizona.”
In order to rid your shoes of this, it’s best to machine wash your shoes.
What sort of detergent should you use? We suggest to not use a detergent made for clothing. Instead, use a sneaker laundry detergent.
Like these sneaker laundry detergent pods from our friends over at Reshoevn8er.
This sneaker laundry detergent offers a special formula that has been designed to clean, condition, and remove locked-in order to provide the deepest clean possible.
The laundry pods are made with a special formula to clean and refresh your shoes in the washing machine. The laundry detergent pods offer a more seamless process and Reshoevn8er’s signature laundry kit sets itself apart from other shoe care products due to its effective deep cleaning capabilities.
3 – Protect Outdoor Shoes
Our research does indicate that shoes can be a huge source of contamination. Especially if you do go outside in more populated areas.
If someone sneezes, that respiratory droplet can stick onto your shoes, which had us thinking. Wouldn’t it be great if we could protect our shoes?
If you want to take extra precautions, we’d suggest arming your outdoor shoes by using a shoe protectant spray. There are plenty of shoe protectants on the market, but we’d highly suggest using this one from Reshoevn8er.
Want An Even Deeper Shoe Clean?
If you’re like us, we want to protect our shoes and health.
We value our kicks, so we want to ensure that we are properly caring for them. You don’t want to just rely on soap and water.
We recently published a story about The Best Shoe Cleaner for 2020 that highlights our favorite shoe cleaner that we’ve become highly obsessed about.
Be safe. Be healthy.
-The Team At MAN’edged Magazine