My point is that there’s a big difference between coming inside with visually-clean shoes and “bringing piles of dirt and nastiness.” I observed during COVID “lockdown” when I and my husband didn’t leave our apartment at all because of his vulnerability, and there was absolutely no difference in the amount of grime I swept off our floors from the previous weeks. Nor has it increased now that we exit and re-enter. Neither my shoes nor his wheelchair tires are tracking in any measurable amount of additional dirt. What did make a difference was the Palisades Fire. We were on the eastern edge of the Warning Zone, upwind, and evacuated as a precaution, leaving our door and windows shut and HVAC off. We returned to find a thick layer of ash on our balcony and a thin dusting of ash throughout the indoors. So I maintain the outside gets in regardless. If you don’t choose to take off your shoes, wipe your feet.
My point is that there’s a big difference between coming inside with visually-clean shoes and “bringing piles of dirt and nastiness.” I observed during COVID “lockdown” when I and my husband didn’t leave our apartment at all because of his vulnerability, and there was absolutely no difference in the amount of grime I swept off our floors from the previous weeks. Nor has it increased now that we exit and re-enter. Neither my shoes nor his wheelchair tires are tracking in any measurable amount of additional dirt. What did make a difference was the Palisades Fire. We were on the eastern edge of the Warning Zone, upwind, and evacuated as a precaution, leaving our door and windows shut and HVAC off. We returned to find a thick layer of ash on our balcony and a thin dusting of ash throughout the indoors. So I maintain the outside gets in regardless. If you don’t choose to take off your shoes, wipe your feet.