To ban the wearing of shoes in our house?

[EagleRay]

I've just spent the last 3 nights up until the early hours repainting the living room floor (it's white and because it's a basement room and lacking in light, I painted it white a few years ago - this was when I was single, idealistic and didn't have a DP and DD!). It hadn't been painted for a few years and looked really grubby plus had suffered a few knocks and scrapes.

It looks really good now and much cleaner than it was, but it opens out onto the garden and so won't be long now before dirt starts being traipsed back in along with DP's bikes as apparently the lounge is a really good place to take them apart

Just been thinking about how nice it would be if we went shoeless in the house - think the rest of the house would benefit too as it's mostly wood floors. Has anyone else started leaving shoes off and noticed a difference?

I had to drink a fair bit of wine to get all that painting done - perhaps I will go off the idea by tomorrow when I've sobered up

We take our shoes off at the door and I find guests do it automatically as they come in when they see the neat row (messy pile) of shoes in the hall. I never ask people to take them off but feel my house is much cleaner when people take their shoes off.

I live in a culture where people automatically take shoes. When we've had visitors from a culture where it's not the norm, I don't say anything. This has only bitten me in the arse the once when someone wore stilletos and there were little pockmarks all over the wooden floor.

We don't wear shoes in the living room or upstairs but I wouldn't ask guests to take their shoes off, some do some don't it's their choice.

I don't think it works for children going in and out the garden though. Mine are always 'just getting x", "just going for a wee" etc they CBA putting shoes on and off all the time.

Once a I wished ZmIL did have shoes in in the front room when she visited and proceeded to tell me about her infected toe. Wandering around the carpet barefoot with it oozing puss everywhere

I woldn't ask guests to remove shoes. we live in the country and any vistors arrive by car. If they are visiting they won't be wearing dirty shoes, usually something smart that only gets workn for visiting. it is polite to ask if you should take your shoes off, but very rude indeed to insist your visitors do so.

YANBU
We don't wear shoes in our house and most visitors take them off at the door as do I when I visit someone's house, it's always the first thing I do wether they do or not. I have a white floor downstairs aswell.. The whole downstairs.. And whilst it looks great and reflects the light you also notice the dirt straight away. With 8 kids, a dog and a husband it's forever being cleaned lol.

Isn't it more difficult to clean the floor than take shoes off?

No shoes in our house!

I hope that you ask before you take them off,Scorpio- I would want you keeping them on in my house.
I can't think why anyone wants me paddling around their house in bare feet (I don't wear socks or tights in the summer) rather than clean shoes.

I have a couple of friends that insist visitors take their shoes off and I'm afraid I find it really annoying. I comply, obviously, but think rather uncharitable thoughts about them…. I sympathise with your predicament, but just giving honest view!

No shoes in my flat including guests. I hate the thought of dirty shoes on the carpet. This is even more so now I've got dd as she plays on the floor and I sit on the floor next to her.

Shoes off here. Guess a lot of "shoes on" people live in cities. Here in a small town in the countryside, it just means your carpets get covered in mud. Gross. I don't have time to steam clean carpets every single day, or live with the alternative - filthy, muddy carpets. Lovely. Also I would kill anyone who wore heels inside the house, digging holes in the carpets.

I still remember a workman traipsing mud and sticky tarmac through the living room the DAY AFTER I'd paid someone to professionally steam clean the carpets. I didn't have a choice about the workman coming as it was a rental, but I went MENTAL - we get enough damn cleaning fees for rentals without some pillock damaging carpets we looked after. Fuck me it's not that hard to remove shoes!

I'm shoes off and in London blues. Might not be so muddy but the streets certainly aren't clean.

I don't mind shoes in the house. I have a doormat, and only remove my shoes on the rare occasions my shoes get so dirty the doormat can't take it.

Why is it rude to ask guests to remove shoes?

I have cream carpets and a crawling baby, it would be madness to allow shoes in the house through winter.

I hope all you people who expect guests to remove their shoes warn them ahead so that they can bring slippers. I'd be horrified if I had to walk around someone else's house in bare feet.

Do people really want all and sundry walking around their house in bare feet? Seems odd to me.

Shoes off can lead to athlete's foot and verrucas. To say nothing of sweaty soles of people's feet.

We are a 'take off shoe family'.
I don't insist adult guests do.
Our neighbours are a 'take off shoe' family too.
Only they shouldn't be.
They all have stinky feet. They store their stinky shoes on some enormous contraption in the front door area! It reaches from the floor, and they have had it especially screwed to the ceiling!
It stinks.
I have white painted floors in two of our bedrooms, so l don't think you are being unreasonable to keep slippers for indoors.

We generally take shoes off in the house, but there are exceptions and as there is no where to sit in the hall way to out them on, we often end up sitting in the lounge, putting them on before we go out. We try not to wear shoes up stairs though.
I was visiting someone else's house a few weeks ago and the host asked another guest who was all ready in to remove her shoes to protect the carpet. The carpet looked really grim anyway and she didn't have socks on, I felt quite sorry for her.

I'd like to have shoes off (although would never ask guests to do so), but we are in and out of the house so often that it isn't very practical - our back door is generally open all the time we are at home between now and about October and we go in and out of the garden all the time. The DCs take theirs off, and I generally do, but DH will never walk barefoot (he has medical reasons) and only wears lace-up shoes, so he finds it too much faff to take them on and off all day long. So they tend to stay on. Don't other men find it a palava putting lace-up shoes on and off all day long?

I think you're setting yourself up for an anxious time of it if you use white paint on a floor.

I mean honestly - it's such a bad idea!

When I make a home improvement I try my hardest to make sure it's one that will lessen the stress, lessen the work and lessen the amount of shouting I have to do at the children.

You seem to have gone for maximum on all three - why???!

I take my shoes off in other people's houses even when they tell me I don't need to. I think it's rude when people don't take off their shoes in my house, ILs are worst offenders. I even provide nice slippers! I don't want outside dirt all over my floors. If I go barefoot, that dirt ends up in my bed!

PBlaarth I know what you mean about the bed thing - ew!! I hate going round to people's houses who don't take shoes off indoors as you always end up with filthy socks :(

I hope that you don't take them off when you are expressly told not to PBaarth- when I say 'keep them on' that is what I mean.
By all means ask me to take them off and I will comply, but I am not, under any circumstances, wearing someone else's slippers (however 'nice') that really is dire.

Yanbu to have a shoe off policy.
We have shoes off but where we take shoes off/store in the hall the carpet was getting ingrained with muck.
I make allowances for workmen visiting or oap guests who would struggle to take them off.

I want to paint my small bathroom concrete floor.
Does it wash well?