Shoes on around the house

Shoes on for me.
Ive always had multiple dogs and cats around and stepping in a pile of cold animal sick in just your socks is rather unpleasant (even worse if somebody had the squits and you dont find out til you are ankle deep!).

Having said that everybody I know is 'shoes on'. But none of them have carpet in downstairs areas so maybe thats the deciding factor?
Is it all about saving the shagpile!?

Why are you so angry?

People that feel strongly enough to believe it's a show of disrespect, have very little in their lives to worry about.

If someone wearing shoes is walking in their nice home and on their nice carpets...
BOO FUCKING HOO.
there's people not far from you right now starving, that are homeless, that have just been told they have cancer.

Grow the fuck up.

MIL likes us to take off our shoes. This despite one of her dog's favourite pastimes being to scoot its shitty arse across the rug. I have had to point out brown streaks and lumps of shit encrusted grass a few times. So that's one house I would dearly love to keep my shoes ON😬😬

I'm a shoes can stay on in the living area (hard floor I can steam mop) not in the carpeted bedroom.

What irritates me is that I don't like wearing shoes, and some friends are offended if I want to take them off when I go to their (carpeted) house.

A lot of it is cultural, isn't it? I grew up in a country where it's either snowing or raining outside and if everyone wore shoes indoors, we would have to mop daily or replace carpets every week. Everyone is taking their shoes off.
If you live in a flat, it makes sense to take shoes off. Wearing outdoor shoes indoors is just not comfortable. You can't sit on a sofa with your feet up etc.
If you live in a country cottage, it makes more sense to wear shoes as you are more likely to be in and out of your cellar, pantry, garage, garden, shed etc.
I generally prefer (insist) shoes off for people who live in the house but comfortable for workers and guests to keep their shoes on. They are not likely to pop round to my bedroom where I really want to be able to walk barefoot. However, if we were in Japan, India or Middle East, wearing shoes indoors would be seen as extremely disrespectful.
But to answer your question, people do feel very strongly about it. They are just not likely to bring it up in a real life.

I always ask if I go into someone's house if they would like me to take my shoes off.
I dont care in my house if people have shoes on or off. I clean the floors and don't eat off them.

I take my shoes off at the door out of habit but if I forgot something and walked through in them it would also be fine. Happy to take them off when at other peoples house. I’d feel very uncomfortable leaving them on if someone had a fairly new carpet

Generally I'm the same. Only I moved recently from London to Frome where it's more muddy. I'm more 'shoes off' than I was, but only if shoes are visibly muddy. The house has beige carpets-not my choice at all but currently we're in rented so have no say. Once we've bought we'll be back to hard floors and not so bothered!

My dog never removes her shoes though 😂

Don't most people wear slippers in their own homes anyway? I don't know anyone who doesn't.

Heating on and carpets here, but I wouldn't ask a guest to remove shoes anyway. Although, I would raise an eyebrow if you walked in with wet and muddy feet and make you feel guilty at making a mess of my carpet

I’m in Ireland and the only people who remove their shoes when in our house are my partner’s English daughters.

I was brought up in a shoes-off household, and to be honest, despite having friends of all different cultures and having lived in different places within the UK, I’ve never met anyone from a shoes-on household. I’ve met people who don’t absolutely always take their shoes off at the door, but never experienced anyone who sits and relaxes on the sofa/goes into the bedroom wearing their shoes. I’ve only heard about these people on mumsnet!

On a personal level, I can’t think of anything worse than walking on the pavement outside in towns/cities/villages where there are traces of animal muck, vomit, drugs, urine, various food and drink etc. and then just strolling all over my house where me and my family live! We clean our floors regularly but I can’t see how anyone can possibly do it often enough so that a trace from the bottom of your shoe doesn’t make its way onto other surface areas.

edit - I wouldn’t demand guests take shoes off, I would clean up specifically after them when they’d left. Also can’t think of anything worse than chilling in my dressing gown with shoes on!

Im a shoes off in my house person, now. But I didn't grow up with that rule. I'm pretty laid back about it though and unless somebody is tracking enormous amounts of mud or snow through the house I'm fairly happy to let them carry on and just clean the floor later. I have a dog so if I was too precious about the floor I'd have given myself a hernia by now. I would never ask a tradesperson etc to remove shoes or expect them to.

I used to live on a farm and the entire downstairs was tiled because I was in and out so much that I didn't always have time to take boots off. Pop in Tu grab horse tack, pop in to get medicine from the fridge for one of the animals, pop in to make sure the fire isn't about to go out before getting back outside etc. I would have lost hundreds of hours to taking shoes on and off if I had to stop each time. I didn't wear shoes upstairs though.

Shoes off wasn't something I grew up with but when I think of how much muck gets on shoes it's only logical Ty o take them off

Get slippers if your feet get cold

I hope the shoes off people are also not the no heating on and windows open even if it's below freezing outside people. My feet are cold with the heating on just now.

Welcome to Mumsnet OP! You're allowed to ask a question that's been asked before :)

We're a shoes on/don't care household.

My mum is shoes off upstairs where she has carpet. DP family all leave shoes on all over their homes.

I totally get that outdoors can be gross but I just don't connect that to any risk. I don't lie on the floor or eat off it (much).

I'm not from the UK and honestly don't remember it being a thing growing up but I live in London and always offer to take shoes off when visiting someone.

The only people I know IRL who care about shoes in the house are my parents - well, my dad. Everyone else is happy for you to just wipe your feet and come in.

Part of my job is going in/out of people's homes all day and I have only once been asked to remove my shoes.

I’d hate to sit with frozen feet. I’d rather not go.

We went to a friend's house at the weekend for dinner and took our slippers with us. This is normal in my circles. To be fair it was pissing down and we had very wet and muddy footwear, and it would have been rude and inconsiderate to walk into the house wearing our wet and muddy boots.

I just don't get why you'd risk tracking in mud, stones, grass and poo. But then I have always lived in carpeted houses.

I couldn't care less either way (and have lots of animals so floors are never going to be pristine).

This is an old MN chestnut, next only to "how often do you wash your towels?" and "do you take your kids with you when paying for petrol?"

It's a widely contentious issue, I would always offer to take shoes off if visiting someone's home, I don't make people do it at mine because I have wooden floors and sweep/clean them twice a day anyway.

I think people should be told in advance when you invite them.

It’s cold.

I’d hate to sit with frozen feet. I’d rather not go.

@ByGentleFatball You clearly live in a very dry and clean part of the country.

I don't ask guests to remove shoes, they just do because it is the done thing around here (edge of Pennines where it rains a lot).

What ever you normally do it is ALWAYS polite to ask the host whether they want you to remove your shoes. Quite frankly, I'm surprised that you don't already know that.

Carpets cost thousands to replace and get fitted and cost money and time to clean. Shoes also have millions of bacteria that you’re trekked in from outside. It is disrespectful to wear shoes in someone’s lovely house.