To want guests to remove their shoes when walking through my house?

[MummyLizH]

Not sure if I'm particularly bothered by this because it's mainly the in-laws who do it, but most people know I expect shoes off as you walk through the front door.

I've mentioned it to dh a few times, I think he thinks I'm just picking at his parents behaviour, but it makes my blood boil... I clean and hoover my home, invite you round and you tread your dirty shoes all over the floor which me and my kids sit and play on (and my little girl crawls around on) . My parents have the decency to bring their slippers!

I am very glad people are so invested in this topic. It has made me chuckle every time I've popped back.

In my house wear your shoes don't wear them put your knickers on your head - I don't gaf. You're welcome here.

If I'm a guest and our ask me to put on second hand slippers to bend to your control freakish ways... I'll not be back. 😷

No it may not be. Nobody on this thread has given the indication that they are too ill-informed to realize that there are already loads of bacteria on every surface.

What people have said over and over again is that they are worried about the dangerous bacteria in dog poo, urine, people's spit, vomit, etc.

So yes, either you are being deliberately obtuse when you suggest we are worried about the population of bacteria already living in our bodies to increase, or... Well, the alternative isn't pleasant, either.

Cote the other was communal but this one is just for you:

(Don't drop crumbs inn those beautiful carpets!)

Cara - It's not at all an awful state of affairs. Except perhaps for those who don't understand that the only courteous thing to do is to take the lead of one's host. If you are there for a play date, kids are rolling around on the phone and she is walking around in her socks, take off your shoes and do the same. If you are back for a dinner party and she has her shoes on, keep yours on.

It's not rocket science.

I'm on a pre-Xmas diet. Here, have it back.

If someone was being treated for having an irrational fear of the heaving world of the bacterial monsters, the therapy would involve confronting those fears, no? They might even be required, at some stage, to lie on a communal rug or to touch the loo.
And they would live to tell the tale.

I love the snobbery on here 'it's everyday suburban houses' that request shoes off. Read as 'I live in a fabulous extraordinary house'

Haha. I've just moved from a very posh village indeed (I didn't fit in at all obviously) mainly massive individual houses yes it was firmly shoes off and wipe your dogs paws if you have one before coming in!

Hey guys, what does the biscuit symbolise? I have asked before but have had no response.

I hope the excessive weight you're trying to shift hasn't put too much pressure on your precious germ free floors.

...

Ooooooh gravy! You are for it now!!

Don't tempt her, she's on a diet ffs

What do you mean I was expressing my concern for her soft furnishings.

You need some of those blue plastic shower cap things that the British Gas man puts over his shoes at the door.
I do put a tesco bag over the pushchair wheels when it's standing in the hall but I live on a road notorious for dog mess, have a young baby who is terrified of the Hoover, and basically don't want to wipe dirt/mud/leaves off the hall floor twice a day.
Guests can keep their shoes on if they like, but I like socks around the house and would always take my shoes off indoors. We have a tiled downstairs so I don't mind if people keep theirs on, but when we get our carpets in February it will be no shoes on the carpet. Also, I have an absolute no shoes on the sofa rule.

It is not irrational to not want one's children to wallow in bits of dog poo, vomit and other assorted filth direct from the street.

Very strange blasé attitude. I hope you wash your hands once in a while.

Oh you are so funny Gravy. No, I'm not overweight and I'm not trying to lose weight.

I will remember your sad attempt at a personal attack in a bit while I put on my mini dress for an evening with girlfriends

Well, that seems to have escalated a bit...

"CoteDAzur

It is not irrational to not want one's children to wallow in bits of dog poo, vomit and other assorted filth direct from the street.

Very strange blasé attitude. I hope you wash your hands once in a while."

Oh dear, there you go being rude again. Why are so truculent?

I will not bother to tell you that our house is gorgeous and even though it was built in the mid 17th Century it is really really clean and we regard ourselves as very lucky!!
(Oops - looks as if I have told you, after all. Teehee...)

A mini dress and an evening with girlfriends? How utterly amazing X

I think the biscuit means:
Here have a biscuit and sit quietly.

May I just say that a shoes off/shoes on thread is one of my very favourite things about mumsnet.

I consider myself a casual observer because I don't care one way or the other. But a few questions popped into my mind when reading the thread that I'd love to hear people's thoughts on.

If you are vehemently 'no shoes indoors' how would you feel if someone came to visit who was a wheelchair user? You presumably wouldn't make them leave it at the front door?

I'm sure it's already been said but there are lots of parts of the world where not wearing shoes in the house is part of the culture. it's one of the multitude of reasons I love a lot of Scandi culture.

I don't demand it of guests, because I don't have slippers for them to put on, but I always take my own shoes off as soon as I enter the house and put on slippers when it's cold or walk around in my bare feet when it's warmer. I wish we would make it a part of our culture. The homes I'm happiest in are those where I take my shoes off when I go in and feel relaxed because my feet are bare, in socks, or in slippers.

No one I know wears shoes in the house, they all remove when entering each other's homes lol

Excellent question, treacle. I was wondering about that sort of thing, too, whilst I was posting. In the case of an elderly person, with a walking stick, for instance, would s/he be obliged to remove shoes at the door, also? Surely not...

I wasn't allowed to run around bare foot or in my socks as a child.