The soil around most homes is contaminated with lead, pesticides, lawn chemicals and toxic wood preservatives. In homes where people routinely remove their shoes upon entering, the levels of these in house dust are far lower than in homes where people do not routinely remove shoes. Carpeting holds up to a hundred times the amount of dust as bare flooring and the lead levels in carpet dust may exceed levels requiring clean-up at Superfund sites.
Toxins trapped in home carpets pose a particular hazard to crawling toddlers.
Municipal water supplies and wells can also be contaminated by industrial chemicals dumped into soil. Activated charcoal removes most of these pollutants from tap water. Because many of the pollutants are volatile and evaporate upon heating, contaminating the air your children breathe, filter the water used for cooking as well as for drinking. It also makes sense to use a charcoal filter on your shower head. Many effective alternatives to chemical pesticides exist.