To expect visitors to take their shoes off?

We wipe our feet on the door mat (that is what it is designed for) then put on our slippers.
I would not ask guests to remove their shoes.
I would think it impolite.

I always ask at other people's homes if they would like me to remove my shoes.

I do have a friend who always arrives in heels and continues to wear them on my parquet floor but insists on shoes off at hers. I usually go home covered in cat hair!

I am often amazed at how dirty some people's feet are when they take off their shoes, dirty toenails, verrucas and the smell!

My old neighbour was a chiropodist she always insisted that guests wore their shoes in her house!

Ultimately, your house your rules on what is considered appropriate and polite in your home.

I see this both ways. It’s rude to ask guests to remove their shoes, especially if there isn’t a dedicated place to sit to do it, because there’s the possibility it will make them uncomfortable. Diabetics are told not to walk around in bare feet or socks and we’re not going to catch their foot disease if their feet are covered.

It’s also (slightly less) rude not to offer to take shoes off as a guest because of the dirt and some people’s customs.

This is why carpets should be an upstairs thing only and people who want permanently clean floors should just clean them a lot.

Some professions who visit homes are not allowed to take shoes off for health and safely and risk assessments.

I would never require anyone to take their shoes off. I also don't object if they do. Whatever makes guests comfortable is fine by me. I do find it a bit weird when hosts hover over you while you take your shoes off like you're absolutely filthy and must be monitored for compliance with The Rules though.

I do a load of home visits with work and always just copy the people in the house.
If they are wearing shoes inside I leave mine on, if they are barefoot or in socks I take mine off. Usually people who expect you take off your shoes pause while your coming in to allow you time to take them off so its obvious without them asking.

The only times I mind taking them off is when the floor is cluttered to the point where you cannot walk on the floor but have to step on things. It makes me a bit nervous that I don't know what I'm going to step in. Or when you are invited to take off your shoes then led into the garden, that has happened a few times and seems pointless as then I have to walk my 'outsidey' socks back through their house.

I'm in 2 minds.
I get why you would ask, we generally have ours off at home but I visit houses regularly for my job and never offer to take my shoes off (I'm a GP) need them on in case I need to make a quick exit (yes I have been backed into the corner of a room on a visit) and also you don't know what's on the floor...some homes are disgusting.

It's very rude to ask visitors to remove their shoes. No one I know does this. It's weird.

We allow people to wear shoes downstairs on the wooden flooring. We don't allow shoes upstairs on carpet. I do find it a bit gross to have dirt dragged over carpets.

Had a man take his shoes off once and spent an hour gagging wondering if I could ask him to put them on again....

We are a shoes off house. You take them off at the door and you carry them in. I've lived lots of places (outside the UK) where this is just the norm and I can't get around wearing shoes indoors. Also, we live on a farm, so you have to walk through mud and potentially animal shit to even get to the door. It's obvious you shouldn't bring that into the house. With people coming to do work on the house though, I do make an exception because they can be doing work where protecting their feet is important. I just clean the floor after (even though it pains me to have to do it). Everyone else though is instructed to remove shoes.

always shoes off. i live in a culture where it would be the worst thing in the world to go in someone's home with your shoes on. I also have a toddler who is rolling round the floor as we speak- wouldn't want someone's dirty shoes on it.

I hate houses where they insist you take your shoes off. I have a long history of plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendonitis, and my Achilles tendons are unusually short. Walking around or standing barefoot for a while is often enough to cause pain.

I'm very thorough at wiping my feet though!

When I go to other peoples houses I take note of whether they take shoes off or not and always off the to. Just manners

We have easy to clean wooden floors. We take our shoes off on arrival, but would not insist that a visitor does that, although I'm grateful when they do. Hate going to no-shoe houses where they offer you slippers, though. I have no idea how clean those slippers are, who wore them before me, and how many warts and verrucas they had. Yuck. Happy to wash my feet if the homeowner wants, completely happy to be barefoot, but definitely won't be wearing any dodgy slippers, thank you!

We have a no shoes rule in our house. I do ask visitors to take them off. But if someone is just coming in to the hall and kitchen/diner for a short time, I might make an exception, as we have tiled floors downstairs that I can wipe afterwards. We used to have a hairdresser who came to the house and cut our hair in the kitchen, she kept her shoes on. But I mopped the floor after she'd gone, since it got covered in hair.

In our Indian households we always remove shoes and most guests would do the same. We accept that if someone who does not understand our customers arrives and does not remove shoes that this is fine, but generally we would always remove.

I absolutely agree.

I take my shoes off at the door although I don't ask guests to (some choose to). I always just ask and do whatever the host prefers, genuinely doesn't bother me either way.

Different social norms. In laws demand everyone takes them off. My parents don't really care because they have dogs and spend most of their time outdoors in wellies which they obviously switch to shoes when they come in.

It's nice having clean carpets but a bit weird expecting guests to hobble about removing shoes for short visits. Also find it weird at events where people have made an effort with their outfit and then leave their clean smart shoes by the door and sit around in tights and holey socks. Also a massive pain if you are going in and out of the garden.

Not removing muddy shoes is rude though.

I don’t wear shoes in my own home. My guests can do whatever makes them comfortable. I’ll take shoes off if I visit people and that’s their preference.

I can't understand pet owners asking guests to take their shoes off... surely your dog/cat is a lot more unhygienic? (Although I did recently see a dog wearing little overshoes ).
If you expect guests to remove their shoes then you should make it clear to them ... I visited a new friend at her home recently and she sent a very politely worded email making it clear her's was a 'shoes off household so we could bring our own slippers - or at least make sure we were wearing presentable socks.

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Yanbu particularly if the downstairs has carpet then to me it’s pretty standard to take shoes off.

I do home visits as a lone worker and would not take my shoes off as pp mentioned in case of the need for a quick escape. However nice the people or the home may seem, you just never know what might happen.
I think it's fine to ask guests who presumably know you well and feel comfortable to remove their shoes (and can say no and choose not to come if that's an issue) but not people who are working.
Having workers round is surely not that common an occurrence, that giving your floors an extra hoover/mop after they have left is such a huge inconvenience?

I don't care if it makes guests uncomfortable, it's my bloody house!!! Your disgusting shoes make me uncomfortable!!
(I don't really like people tbh 😆)

YABU. If you saw the state of my trotters you'd be begging me to put my shoes back on!