To think it's really rude to keep your shoes on when you visit someone's home

No, exactly the opposite - it's rude to remove your shoes! I don't want to look at someone's manky socks.... or manky feet!
Floors are meant to be walked on and prioritising your pristine carpet over your guests' comfort is the height of bad manners.

If you went to visit The King at Buckingham Palace, would you remove your shoes? Of course you wouldn't. I rest my case.

For the people who are shoes on - so you just lounge around your own house with your shoes on? Do you put shoes on first thing in the morning? I don’t know anyone who keeps shoes on in the house it just seems so not comfortable to me. I’m just imagining mumsnetters standing cooking in their kitchens with their shoes on 😂

I’ve never had anyone not take their shoes off and I’ve lived in multiple places including 2 continents. I think keeping them on is quite unusual these days

No, it's really rude and low class to ask guests to remove their shoes. HTH

Ooo it’s been ages since we had one of these!

I would never ask guests to take shoes off. Would hate to make anyone feel uncomfortable.

Oh my god yes, 100%. We're a very strict shoes off house. We have lots of hard floors so easy to clean... but the outside is dirty!! I'm in no way that bothered about cleaning, but surely shoes trampling in mud and walking all over dog wee and poo should stay by the door!

My in laws have been coming to our house for 11 years and still refuse to take their shoes off. It drives me crazy every time. My husband has some cousins who are shoes off, apparently they manage absolutely fine when they go to their house with taking shoes off 🙄

I live in a London borough and quite honestly the pavements are vile. Dog poo, paan spit and regular spit. Litter , food debris after food waste caddy collection. Just disgusting

Weirdly after starting a thread on one of the most overdone topics @Pavementworrier hasn't even bothered to return

I want to know where this place is that pedestrians can't venture out without stepping in dog poo. I literally can't remember ever having done that in my life, overwhelming dog owners pick up their poop now

The problem is that if you don’t know and are wearing thin or fancy tights, one’s feet are freezing and that does reduce enjoyment especially when it’s hard floors

In real life I don’t know any homes which are shoes-on. My parents often wear shoes inside but they don’t make others do so 😆 that would be odd. 100% of my friends and acquaintances are shoes-off households. Everyone just takes their shoes off automatically when they arrive, it’s not even thought of. Same when I was growing up 🤷‍♀️ yes, uk.

You’re missing the point. When mumsnetters step foot outside their house, the streets are always covered in dog shit, dogs come out of nowhere and steal their picnic sandwiches, they have to spend the day fighting off dogs that are jumping up them.

Some real obsessive opinions on both sides of this.

Who is walking through dog shit all the time, then trampling it over someone else's cream carpets?

But, conversely, who gives a shit if someone walks on their carpets in sweaty bare feet?

We have wooden floors downstairs, over which anyone is welcome to walk in their shoes or not. We clean them when they are dirty and generally try and avoid walking through dog shit on the pavements.

We have carpets upstairs (and an upstairs living room). Unless you are wearing muddy wellington boots, I'm not going to police what you wear up there either.

Can't believe most people aren't just a bit more chill about it all.

I have a phobia of feet. I don't even like touching my own feet. I do, of course, to wash them, but in my brain, everyone has dirty toe cheese and fungal infections, except me.

Toe cheese?

I'm genuinely worried about your hygiene considering this sort of stuff even comes to your mind. Do you not wash your feet regularly?

We have clear floors and rugs and I wouldn't want anyone's filthy shoes on them. Glad that people I know in real life are able to follow some basic hygiene, wear clean socks and take shoes off at other people houses.

This.

Whichever side of the argument you fall on, YABVVVVVVVVVVVU to start the 11th billionty thread on exactly the same subject that gets done to death on a twice weekly basis.

(YABU, btw).

In a shoe-on house, your feet are protected by your shoes, so you don't have to touch the foot germs, but yes, I agree, carpets are vile. I don't understand why people still have them.

I'm allergic to dust, so by extension, I am allergic to carpets because they hold dust. No matter how clean a carpet appears, if I am in a carpeted house for too long, I will need my allergy inhaler. If I sit close to your carpet, i.e., on a short stool, I will start to itch, and my eyes will start to stream.

The boyfriend of my DD godmother always used to ask if I want him to take his shoes off and I would tell him don’t worry about your shoes, we have two children and two dogs, you need protective clothing to come in, .

Wouldn’t shoes-on houses be the worst of both worlds then?

Shoes on people also walk around with shoes off at times.

Carpets are yucky regardless, you just have to not think about it!

People should at least be able to move to a seat to remove their shoes, rather than be expected to awkwardly flamingo off shoes, risking falling over, or expected to sit on the ground to do so, which is not safe for everyone. I've had to sit on stairs a few times to deal with the shoes because there was no other place for me to safely remove the boots I was wearing.

Safety is more important, and if it's really important for the flooring or whatever and the house layout does not give space for any seating as many British homes that open into narrow corridors don't, have shoe covers available as an alternative.

People like you make those floors dirty with their shoes. Lol.

Yanbu, it is rude to walk into a clean house with shoes on. If you’re not sure, ask at the door.

I’ve relaxed about it, but it used to add extra work having to vacuum and mop floors whilst pregnant or with young kids because peope brought in pine needles and mud.

However, I draw the line at people with dirty floors asking others to take shoes of. In-laws have begun this despite having a massive smelly dog who’s never washed. Their cream carpets haven’t been cream the whole time I’ve known them. Not sure what they’re trying to preserve exactly by having shoes off.

I dont know any shoes off homes anymore for all visitors, its just not a thing IME. The only time shoes off is a thing is when i go to friends/family and vice versa to get comfy e.g. put feet up on sofa.

Anyone wanting me to take my shoes off just needs to ask (id quietly find it really rude but whatever, theyre probably not my type of person anyway so unlikely ill be in their home much).

Anyone who doesnt know im ok with them taking their shoes off in my house gets very firmly told to leave them on if they go to remove them. Yuck.

If you’re a no shoes house fine with me.
We have some friends who are “no shoes”

We’re a “shoes on” household, however…
Those friends prefer to go shoeless at ours.

But, I wouldn’t ask to wear to shoes at theirs.
My mum is funny about it, and would ask.

Exactly.

Also, I don't want to put my feet on your floor if you've had people walking around barefoot or in socks, shedding their dead skin cells and fungal spores everywhere, especially as vacuums never truly get all of it out.

Carpets are inherently dirty due to being unable to be cleaned properly, but in shoeless houses, they must be absolutely disgusting. Do they not stink of foot sweat?

You need to ask. I always keep mine on unless asked. I don't tread in dog poo.