sentttiiie_11 41F
1455 posts
2/29/2016 4:22 am
Why Asian People Never Wear Shoes in The House

he old traditional homes in Asia were raised about 2 feet off the ground for ventilation and staying above the cold damp earth. It was customary to remove your slippers in the entry which was at ground level and one would step up into the home in their socks. This custom of removing your shoes before entering a home, is still practiced in Asian homes throughout the world.

In newly constructed homes in Asia, regardless whether a single family home or high rise, the entrance is usually lower than the rest of the home. You step up into the house or flat. This practical design allows for any type of weather, such that alldirty and wet gear can be left in the entrance and does not need to be brought into the home, hence the house stays clean. This has a physical and psychological purpose: the motion of stepping up to a different level, allows one to be aware that they are entering someone’s private space.
Originally, the Japanese home had wood hallways with tatami or woven straw mats as flooring for the rooms. The ancient Koreans had under floor heating stones to heat their wooden floors. That’s the original radiant heat!!! What one must remember is that the Asian lifestyle at that time was mainly centered around the floor. The tables were low and they sat on the floor to eat, sleep and do all their activities. That’s why it was so important to have clean and warm floors. That tradition remains today.

Another point is that Asians believe it is good health practice to be barefoot. The Chinese have been practicing foot reflexology for over 5,000 years. Being barefoot allows your pressure points to be stimulated. When confined in shoes all day, your feet do not have the chance to breathe, stretch and feel. If you do not practice removing your shoes in your home, please give it a try and see how you feel. You may like it!
Approximately 421,000 different types of bacteria can be found on shoes, according to a 2008 study by the University of Arizona. Of the shoes examined in the study, 96% of them were found to have coliforms, a bacterial indicator of the level of sanitation of foods and water that is also universally found in feces of humans and warm-blooded animals.

In addition, 27% of the shoes were found to have E. coli along with seven different kinds of bacterias. Among them are Klebsiella pneumoniae, a bacteria that causes urinary tract infections, and Serratia ficaria, a bacteria that causes respiratory infections.


beyondfantasy3 113M
4740 posts
2/29/2016 3:45 pm

Very good, I know when I was in Thailand and HKG, one of my favorite things to do was to get frequent foot massages. ( I wish they had it here as available as it is in Asian locations).
I don't like my shoes on in the home. When I was younger, I always kept my tennis shoes on, but as years passed, now when I come home the first thing I want to do is take off my shoes.
I don't leave them outside, nor take them off before I enter.

I do like the idea of the up step to enter, I think all homes should have such, but here my home is pretty much level, with maybe 6" up from the porch, I should have been made higher, but with "cement slab homes" its not so, generally.
I had an two older home once, each with two steps to get on the porch, and maybe 6' from the porch to the house. The house was not a on a slab but had piers for and vents around the house so air could flow under the house. also work on plumbing could easily be done from under the house.


beyondfantasy3 113M
4740 posts
2/29/2016 3:47 pm

If one is older and diabetic, the doctor recommends to wear some type of footwear, to avoid cuts or such, because diabetic nerve damage to the feet can make one cut it and not immediately know it.