The Poopy Boots Test: One Thing That Tells You Everything About a Plumber

Think about where your plumber was right before your house.

Maybe he was plunging someone’s toilet full of “flushable” wipes. Maybe he was snaking a sewer line. Maybe he was in a basement with stuff on the floor you don’t even want to think about.

Now he’s standing on your rug.

I’m not a germ freak. But come on. Do you want poop from somebody else’s house on your carpet? I don’t.

It’s not just gross. Shoes really do carry stuff in.

A University of Arizona microbiologist tested the bottoms of people’s shoes and found coliform bacteria on 96% of them. E. coli showed up on 27%. When they walked those shoes across clean tile, 90 to 99% of the bacteria transferred onto the floor.

And that’s regular people’s shoes. Not a plumber’s work boots.

For a lot of families, it’s also about respect.

My wife is Asian. In a lot of Asian households, and plenty of others too, you don’t wear shoes inside. Period. Long Island has a lot of those families. Walking in with your boots on isn’t just messy. It’s rude.

Now, most plumbers don’t want to take their boots off, and honestly I get it. It’s a job site. There’s tools, water, sharp stuff. Sometimes you need real footwear.

So don’t take them off. Just cover them.

The fix is so easy it’s kind of embarrassing.

Shoe covers. A drop cloth. A tarp. Something.

Plumbers make good money. The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median at $63,800 a year. A box of shoe covers isn’t going to break anybody.

The good ones don’t even make you ask. They walk in, look at the floor, and say, “Want me to throw covers on?” That’s it. Two seconds.

The ones who stomp straight in? That tells you how they’re going to treat the rest of your house too.

What if they don’t offer?

Ask. It’s your house. It’s not awkward. It’s normal.

Something like, “Hey, do you have shoe covers? If not, can you put a tarp down?” A good plumber says sure. If he gets annoyed about it, now you know.

To be fair, it’s a two-way street.

Plumbers walk into some messy houses too. They deal with a lot. So be decent back. Clear a path, put the dog away, show them where the problem is.

Just check and ask. Both sides.

The Clean Boots Checklist

Here’s what a good plumber does before touching a single pipe:

• Asks about shoes, or puts covers on without being asked
• Explains the problem in plain English, not plumber-speak
• Tells you the price, or how the price works, before starting (and doesn’t change it because of your address)
• Puts a drop cloth down where they work, and cleans up after, so the floor looks like it did when they walked in

All four? You found a good one. Hang on to them.

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Plumbers (May 2025 pay data). Shoe bacteria study by Dr. Charles Gerba, University of Arizona, with The Rockport Company (2008).