AIBU to ask in-laws to remove shoes?

I think this is probably the answer - shoe covers and a chair.

I think a lot of elderly people don’t want to remove their shoes as they can’t do it standing, or because it’s difficult for them to walk with bare feet.

Or have indoor shoes for them and a chair.

Im quite relaxed about shoes downstairs as we have hard floors. I prefer people don’t wear them upstairs.

My Mum used to be awful for just walking upstairs with actually muddy shoes on, as though it didn’t matter at all. Apparently she had a “thing” about cold feet.

Out of interest, (apologies op if this dereils your thread)

I use a wheelchair.

those of you who have shoes off homes, would you insist on the wheels being cleaned before I came in? Or nothing? Or another solution of your choice?

Gently, Taking off your shoes indoors can significantly help prevent respiratory issues by limiting your exposure to outdoor allergens and harmful bacteria. It prevents these contaminants from being transferred to carpets and furniture, where they can become airborne and aggravate your airways.

Studies, including research from the University of Arizona, have found that the bottoms of shoes harbour hundreds of thousands of bacteria, including pathogens that cause pneumonia and respiratory infections

Keep shoe covers and a chair by the front door. Some people can’t walk barefoot as they will be in pain from arthritis or such like. Some older people can’t easily balance to put shoes back on again.

Hand them both some hotel type slippers at the door.

Following my back surgery if someone asks me to take my shoes off in their home I am happy to comply but have to tell them that, after my back surgery, they will have to do it for me! Mostly they decline and let me in!

Shoes do have crap and stuff on them for sure, but we cannot defend ourselves from contact with small amounts of bugs. I have to smile when someone with a dog asks me to take my shoes off in their home while their germy pooch with its germy paws and unwiped anus is jumping up at me, licking its genitals, trotting around their carpet and parking its shitty bum on their sofa!!

What if their feet smell. Best they keep them on..
Some older people also have trouble bending down and putting their shoes on and off. Do you provide a chair by the front door and possibly a shoe horn to help.
It's not as simple as you say.
Shoes in and off several times a day can be hard for some.
Will you check there feet and socks for smells?😝🤔

I think a lot of people are focusing on not catching respiratory bugs from outdoor shoes. Whilst true OP has a baby with a run down immune system, meaning they are more likely to catch something else and have a slower recovery. Seeing a child is hospital seriously ill is horrible, I can't imagine why someone let alone a relative wouldn't want to prevent that happening again.

OP we have a no shoes rule in our household. DH is immunosuppressed and I am on chemo so similar. Our home is our safe space. We remove shoes and wash hands when we come in. When I walk our village streets I can smell animal piss and shite as it is, I don't want to bring that into our home thanks. I'm no cleaning freak by any standards.

I disagree. There are plenty of germs, from dog poo for example, that can be very dangerous for children.

OP, stand your ground. I had the same issue with my FIL. If he can’t remove his shoes, then don’t let him in.

I grew up in a shoes off house, and I continue to have one. We walk outside where animals and sometimes humans have pissed, spat and shat - why would we want to walk traces of that on our floors, especially with little ones whose hands touch those floors? If you think thats OTT, a google shows me one study found that 96% of shoes tested positive for fecal bacteria.

I always feel like this goes against the general culture in Britain though, where people think it’s normal to walk inside in shoes and think you’re uptight and neurotic for insisting on shoes off. I think it is unhygienic and slovenly to treat a home like the continuation of the pavement. I suspect the two sides will never agree!

My fil always comes into my house in his shoes too. Even though everyone is expected to remove their shoes in their house. Husband doesn’t doesn’t the hassle of asking and my children are older now so I say nothing. I do (rebelliously) wear my shoes on their house now though 😜

Gently, he's not catching respiratory viruses from anyone's shoes. That said, ours is a shoes off house for all but the very elderly.

I hate this. We ate a shoes off house too. My DH’s step father was a menace for not taking his shoes off. I asked him to take them off once and he stormed out and didn’t come back for 40 minutes. What a child! Apparently he was insecure without shoes because of his height.

In the main people wipe their feet when they come into my house, as indeed do I, but I never take my shoes off (unless they are muddy) nor ask others to. In this weather I am in and out of the garden all day and certainly couldn't be bothered with taking shoes on and off all the time - especially after my back surgery!

If it is chest bugs that you are worried about they tend to be on people's hands and then transferred to working surfaces etc. and passed on that way. And also by coughs and sneezes.

I used to laugh about my children when they started crawling round the floor - I was busy sterilising a bottle one day whilst watching one of them crawl round the floor and I thought why the hell am I bothering with this!

Regardless of what you do RE the shoes please don’t bring your child up in a sterile, sanitised, detolled bubble. You will do him no favours.

This. I would remind them at the door every time. And get a steam cleaner mop. They are supposed to be good for killing floor germs I believe. Hope your dc is ok xxx

Maybe try to work out a compromise with them. Could they leave a pair of their own indoor shoes or slippers at your house?

Cleaning the bathroom is a daily task. I clean most things with bleach.

Single use and disposable… very eco friendly

Why? What are you doing in your bathroom that requires a DAILY full clean with bleach

MIDHILL 100x PREMIUM BLUE DISPOSABLE SHOE COVERS OVER SHOE COVERS FOR CLEANING OVER SHOE PROTECT CARPETS 3.5g 50 PAIRS ONE SIZE FITS ALL: Amazon.co.uk: Fashion

get something like these - then he can keep his shoes on (as clearly he is the most important person here)

Some people have too much time on their hands.

Keep the door locked so that you have to let all visitors in and remind them that before they go any further their shoes need to be removed

Do you have carpets?

If you clean your bathroom daily then it’s still going to be germy af in between.

Speak for yourself 🤮 I clean my bathroom top to bottom daily with bleach.

Nobody will be walking their germy shoes through my clean home.