What to Do If You Step in Dog Poop: Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Shoes

It happens to everyone eventually. But the real problem is not the smell or the embarrassment. Dog waste can carry bacteria and parasite eggs, and your shoes are a direct transport line into your car, your home, and the floors your kids crawl on. Here is how to handle it properly.

Step 1: Remove the bulk outside

Do not walk it inside to deal with later. Scrape as much as possible off on grass, a curb edge, or with a stick or disposable tool. For treaded soles, an old toothbrush, a wooden skewer, or a hose with a strong jet works on the grooves. Do this outdoors, away from walkways.

Step 2: Wash with soap and water

Soap, water, and scrubbing do most of the work. Use dish soap and an old brush on the sole, rinse thoroughly, and repeat until the tread is visibly clean. For fabric shoes, many can go through the washing machine after the bulk is removed; check the care label first.

Step 3: Disinfect the sole

After cleaning, disinfect hard rubber soles with a diluted household bleach solution or a standard disinfectant spray, and let it sit on the surface for several minutes before rinsing. Note that disinfectants work on cleaned surfaces; they are not a substitute for removing the waste first.

Step 4: Wash your hands

You just handled contaminated shoes. Per CDC guidance for handling pet waste, wash with soap and water for at least 20 seconds afterward.

Keep it out of the house entirely

Consider a shoes-off rule indoors. Contaminated soles are one of the main ways outdoor bacteria travel onto home floors, and a doormat alone does not solve it.

Prevention is a neighborhood effort

Every stepped-in pile is a pile someone did not pick up. If part of the reason people skip pickup is that they hate the process, making it effortless helps. A no-contact tool like the CleanScooper removes the main excuse. For the yard side of the problem, see how often you should clean dog poop out of your yard.