Opinion: why is it clean in American houses, although everyone walks with their shoes on
'29.10.2020'
Source: Modern housekeeping
For people who first come to America, it is often a revelation that some Americans, coming from the street, do not take off their shoes at home. For a Russian person who is used to taking off his shoes when entering a house or apartment, this is a little strange, he writes Modern gardening.
Oh, this mentality!
I must say right away that the situation has changed somewhat now. More and more Americans are choosing to swap out their outdoor shoes for indoor shoes (like slippers). However, there are still those who deny this habit.
What is the reason for this? First of all, with the notorious mentality. Residents of the United States (especially the southern states) do not like slippers and prefer to walk around the house in the same sneakers or shoes that they wear on the street.
Many Americans do not see a problem in wearing the same shoes at home as on the street. This may be due to the fact that they are not special fans of hiking.
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Most of them get their own car early, and therefore all movement is tied to it. There are not so many pedestrians (the only exceptions are large cities like New York). And since the feet are in contact exclusively with car mats, many of them do not see the need to change shoes at home.
Another important factor is the love of Americans for floor coverings that are cleaned with washing vacuum cleaners. When such a floor covering becomes unusable, it is simply replaced and the old one is disposed of. Carpets are usually only covered in bedrooms.
The yard and streets are kept in order
If you watch any American film, you will notice that there are a lot of districts and towns in the United States where residents live only in private houses. High-rise buildings are usually found only in metropolitan areas.
The private territory of a private house allows Americans to maintain the entire area adjacent to the house in order. The owners take care of the cleanliness of the yard, paths, adjacent parts of the street.
Sitting at home 24/7, of course, is hard, you want to go out into the yard and get some fresh air. And to change shoes for this every time is simply too lazy.
But not only private territories are kept in order. The streets and roads are also carefully kept in order. Again, everything is relative here. Large cities like New York are naturally very dirty, and therefore the townspeople here prefer to take off their shoes when they return home.
In small towns, most residents have a developed sense of patriotism, they try to follow the traditions and foundations of their country, and therefore, on a voluntary basis, maintain the cleanliness of the environment in which their children will live.
Weather features
The climate of the United States also plays an important role in the issue of wearing shoes at home. If in Russia autumn and winter are always mud, slush, a mixture of reagents, salt and animal excrement, which are not cleaned by their careless owners, then in the USA things are a little different. They use wood chips, which perfectly absorb moisture, and after decomposition, it turns into plant food.
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The lack of public transport in small cities is also important, because for Russians, a trip, for example, by bus during rush hour in winter, when everyone is carrying dirt from the street to the salon, is another test for high-quality and clean shoes.
In the US, most people prefer to use private transportation, which helps to keep their shoes relatively clean and dry even in bad weather.
Once again, I would like to note: everything that has been said is relative. Now in the United States, there are often people who prefer to take off their street shoes at the entrance and put on their home shoes. This may be due to the interpenetration of cultures or basic hygiene (especially in a pandemic).
