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Original poster

Shoes on or shoes off?

110 replies

Asheyr · 15/04/2024 11:05

I often hear how no shoes in the house is a stereotypically Asian thing.

We have had a lot of plumbers, builders and estate agents in and they have without fail all taken off their shoes unprompted. Even the Estate agent lads in their very early 20s.

Our pales floors are currently spotless as we are selling so that may encourage this.

We are no shoes mostly but occasionally allow shoes in the kitchen if we are going back out/doing a big bin job.

What about you?

OP posts:
NeedToBeStrongStepAway · 15/04/2024 17:47

Shoes off. I have a huge family as does dh and only one family members house has shoes on.

Justcallmebebes · 15/04/2024 17:43

Shoes off. Always. Wearing outdoors shoes inside is disgusting. I'd never heard of it until I came to live in the UK

PinotDragon · 15/04/2024 17:36

Shoes off here. Have a couple friends who don't when they visit; it doesn't bother me enough to ask them but I do feel a bit weird about it. Especially as they bring round their crawling baby.

kitchenhelprequired · 15/04/2024 13:50

Shoes off. Have lived in Asia but we've been a shoes off household since way before then.

VenusClapTrap · 15/04/2024 13:47

Shoes off, on the whole. Kitchen and utility are a grey area though; I often leave mine on in there if I’m in and out, especially if the weather is dry. In wet muddy weather though, I’m quite strict about everyone coming in through the utility room and peeling off all wet/muddy coats/footwear/bicycle spandex in there before entering the rest of the house.

I never ask guests to remove their shoes though. I leave it entirely up to them.

Peonies12 · 15/04/2024 13:43

I think you should always ask / offer to remove shoes. We have hard floors downstairs so I'm not so bothered about shoes off downstairs, but definitely upstairs.

TTPD · 15/04/2024 13:40

We generally take our shoes off. But I don't insist on it for people coming in briefly and not walking on the cream carpet - for example, this morning my PILs came to pick up DD2 as they help us with childcare on a Monday. They were here for less than 5 mins and came into the living room (hard floor with a dark rug) and I don't expect them to take their shoes off for that.
They'd have taken them off if they'd had to go upstairs though (cream carpet up the stairs and on the landing).

If you’re wearing shoes in someone else’s house you’re rude as fuck.

Well, not if you know they don't mind!

DiamondArtists · 15/04/2024 13:16

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Planesmistakenforstars · 15/04/2024 13:04

This gets asked all the time, and it's usually 50/50. I am in camp Shoes Off. I think it's incredibly rude not to offer to take your shoes off when going into someone's house.

imforeverblowingbuttons · 15/04/2024 12:12

We are mostly shoes off. Certainly for family/friends. We all have slippers.

If someone is doing a job shoes may be required although my preference would be they provide shoe covers.

Saying that I hate taking shoes off in others houses as I dislike walking bare foot or in socks.

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