To ask all guests to take shoes off in my house?

[chardonm]

Just that really. A few people seem really put off by that.

My dear sil has to be reminded several times before she takes them off.

I hate the thought of trailing the dirt inside the house.

All the people who are shocked at shoes off in houses, do you keep your shoes on when you're sat down watching TV? Do you wear them up the stairs, and in the bedrooms? When do you take them off?

Like I said, my home is immaculate

That's not necessarily optimal for your family's health. But your house, your rules obviously.

Keeping houses to a very high standard of cleanliness and putting a lot of time and effort into maintaining furnishings/interiors is a lower middle class marker in U.K. society. Which is why I suspect shoes off is important to this group in particular.

All the people who are shocked at shoes off in houses, do you keep your shoes on when you're sat down watching TV? Do you wear them up the stairs, and in the bedrooms? When do you take them off?

It really depends. I'd wear them upstairs, yes.

I'd usually take them off later in the evening (after dinner, around 8ish) but not necessarily.

I have carpets throughout the house and always take my shoes off when inside- I see dogs peeing in the street, drunks vomiting and people walking through it! Would rather it wasn’t trod into my carpet however, I leave it up to my visitors- if they’re well mannered enough to remove their shoes then I’m grateful, if not, I just have to get over it!

Are the houses of people who have delightful slipper baskets small new builds entirely decorated in grey, except for one feature wall? I can’t imagine even one book far less bookcases in such environments.

...baskets, small...

We prefer kilims to fitted carpets.

I lived in Asia for a while so I got used to doing this and now do it out of habit. I don’t ask guests to do it here though because people aren’t used to it.

I think it's polite and I would offer in others homes. I'm not very uptight about it myself, but DH wears shoes on our light carpet all the time and that does drive me a bit nuts because he keeps them on even when he isn't going out again. It's not smelly feet or discomfort with him so I really don't get it!

It’s pretty clear that the social class of certain posters is of such importance to them that they have to do the head-tilt pity posts about how lower middle class not wanting dirty shoes paddled over the carpets is. Utterly batshit.

The duchess of Cambridge doesn’t have to worry about paying to have her carpets cleaned or replaced when they get old or dirty so that point is irrelevant.

Decent flooring and carpet costs a fortune so why would you want other people’s dirt on your floors for you to then have to clean?

I have a friend who thought it was acceptable to traipse mud from her shoes and on her two dogs paws in my home and when pulled up on it told me that my carpets are old and shit anyway. Now I’ve moved, I made a point of asking her to take her shoes off the first tine she visited.

All the people who are shocked at shoes off in houses, do you keep your shoes on when you're sat down watching TV? Do you wear them up the stairs, and in the bedrooms? When do you take them off?

No I put on an old comfortable pair of leather pumps when I get in. That’s for my comfort not for hygiene reasons.

Leather pumps sound lovely. Unlike someone else’s communal slippers or smelly socks.

Imagine the owners of stately homes - keeping to the Kate theme here - padding around in slippers. Hilarious.

Padding as opposed to paddling.

Check this:

imagesvc.timeincapp.com/v3/mm/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpeopledotcom.files.wordpress.com%2F2016%2F08%2Fqueen-portrait-1-800.jpg%3Fw%3D800&w=700&q=85

All this shoes on bollocks is just grim.
Urgggggh.

Cripes! How has shoe-wearing humanity even survived post-millennium?

It annoys me when people don't I had fresh carpets laid for a week my brother came round and stood chewing gum into the carpets, grease and mud and it wouldn't come out it was fucked it still upsets me now. Nobody takes there shoes off in my house except us. I now don't have many visitors

Nobody takes there shoes off in my house except us. I now don't have many visitors
Presumably because you put your carpets before human relationships.

Clearly it is more hygienic to take shoes off so as not to transfer extra, outside germs inside.

People (understandably) don't like to feel less hygienic than others. So they keep wheeling out this class thing.

And RoseWhite is just being obnoxious. Quelle surprise.

Nice pic, Rose, worth 1000 words

It’s pretty clear that the social class of certain posters is of such importance to them that they have to do the head-tilt pity posts about how lower middle class not wanting dirty shoes paddled over the carpets is. Utterly batshit.

When people are being told that shoes on is 'disgusting', 'grim' and it's 'laughable' that we're not dying of shame over it, it's worth pointing out that different social groups have different norms and rules around etiquette.

I'm a big advocate of 'my house my rules' actually. I'd always remove shoes if asked. Just pointing out that it's not a priority for some.

Clearly it is more hygienic to take shoes off so as not to transfer extra, outside germs inside.

The question is more whether this increased hygiene is good/bad/neutral in the overall scheme of things.

The human immune system developed in the context of higher levels of germs than today's pristine houses afford.

Well, my house isn't pristine. My kids play in the park. We are not over zealous.

But I don't see that trying to avoid the very real possibility of dog shit in ny house is over-zealous, and I struggle to see how others do.

I failed. I have a child who is crawling why would I want them to crawl over germs bought in from outside? I shouldn't have to clean the carpets every day should I then allow to dry that's completely bizzare. It's easier to just take shoes of and have respect for another persons home?