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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think some people are a bit precious about shoes in house

214 replies

VikkiStMichael1 · 04/12/2018 16:26

I visit someone weekly with work and use a room which is literally 6 foot steps from the front door yet I have to take my shoes off.

AIBU to feel this is a tad annoying?

OP posts:
AmyDowdensLeftLeftShoe · 05/12/2018 07:06

@switswoo81 I have clogs near the door.

Oh some of my friends' thought I was mad years ago insisting on shoes off inside until they had children.

angieloumc · 05/12/2018 07:11

The only person I know who keeps her shoes on when coming to my house is my mother. It drives me mad that I have to ask her every time. And every time I do she rolls her eyes and says 'you've got OCD' which is so ignorant to people who do have it.

onlyconnect · 05/12/2018 07:12

I think your house your rules, but if that we're my rule I'd provide some slip on slippers for guests, 3 sizes could cover everyone and I'd Change them frequently so they're not gross. No one would be forced to put them on but I think it's a bit unreasonable to expect people to be in bare/sicked feet especially if flors are wooden.

DonDrapersOldFashioned · 05/12/2018 07:22

I’m a shoes off person but I don’t tend to make workpeople do it (for health and safety reasons). I also wouldn’t ask them to use those awful swimming pool overshoes, they are slippery as all hell, deadly on carpeted stairs.

BestBeforeYesterday · 05/12/2018 07:29

The pavement is filthy because of dogs.
Nobody cares so much about mud or dust or even water. It's dogs which are the problem.
No, it's not just dogs. There isn't dog shit on every square inch of the pavement, whereas there is dust and dirt literally everywhere. My in-laws wear shoes around the house, and even though they clean more than I do their floors are much, much dirtier.

MakeAHouseAHome · 05/12/2018 07:31

Shoes off for everyone, everytime, NO exceptions!!!

And to the idiot who said mud, dust and water doesn't matter only dog shit does, I don't know what planet you live on but mud causes just as much damage when dragged through the house!

Alfie190 · 05/12/2018 07:35

I think most people offer to take shoes off, as do I. However I would never ask anyone to remove shoes, I find that rude.

Don't understand why everyone is walking through dog poop and chewing gum. I find it quite easy to avoid!

LakieLady · 05/12/2018 07:38

I hope that all the people who insist on shoe removal can guarantee that their floors are completely free of Lego and other painful tiny toys.

Cachailleacha · 05/12/2018 07:39

YABU.

I don't know why some people are a bit precious about just taking their shoes off at the door. Unless a person are elderly or disabled, then it's reasonable to wipe their feet then walk to the nearest seat to take them of if there isn't one at the door. If you can't walk without shoes then bring clean indoor shoes.

jophie80 · 05/12/2018 08:10

Sorry in Germany, Russia and South East Asia (countries I have lived in) taking off ones shoes before entering the house is the norm. Because yes there are all sorts of particles one can bring in wearing outside shoes (water, snow, mud, dog poo, dust, sand), its a question of keeping the house clean and not having to mop the floor every time someone steps off the street with dust or dirt on their shoes. To me I always found it strange that people in the UK didn't as a rule take of their shoes before entering the house, and that only some families in the UK would ask visitors to take of their shoes.

AlaskanOilBaron · 05/12/2018 08:38

I don't understand shoes-off, or cream carpet for that matter.

It makes me unhappy to reveal my jeans tucked into my bulky winter socks when I have to take my boots off, or when I arrive at a dinner party and have to remove my heels and my trousers are too long, but it's their house innit?

It doesn't happen very often, blessedly.

stokieginge · 05/12/2018 08:43

@VikkiStMichael1 in SE Asia you can be expected to take your shoes off before entering a shop let alone a house.

I always ask people if they want me to take me shoes off when I go to their house 🤷🏼‍♀️ feel like it's just courteous

blueskiesandforests · 05/12/2018 08:51

CaptainsYuleLog visits from the queen and police raids being everyday occurances in your life, and therefore you assume everyone else's?

blueskiesandforests · 05/12/2018 08:53

abacucat older people in Germany are the most scrupulous about never wearing street shoes indoors. A conveniently located chair in the hallway enables most people to change their shoes.

DaffydownClock · 05/12/2018 08:55

I find that visitors automatically take their shoes off without being asked (as would I if visiting their houses) so it's no big deal in my opinion.
It's good manners and shows consideration for others.

blueskiesandforests · 05/12/2018 08:55

Obviously nobody should ever need to ask anyone to remove shoes - you do what the householder does unless you're jaw droppingly rude.

HerSymphonyAndSong · 05/12/2018 13:20

Having a baby crawling around makes me even more happy with my shoes-on house. My allergy specialist friend says that the ideal place for a baby to play is in a muddy puddle with a cat and a dog. I haven’t taken her literally and my floors are cleaned frequently but I do not get myself worked up about particles of dirt being brought in from the outside. I am aware that some people on this thread (and I’m sure some of my friends and family) will be DISGUSTED, but I make sure that I remove my shoes in their house, no questions asked

abacucat · 05/12/2018 13:36

blueskies Except I have NEVER seen anyone in Britain have a chair in the hallway for this. In fact many hallways in Britain are not really large enough to have a chair sitting there so older people can change their shoes.
In Britain many younger people seem oblivious to the difficulty for some older people of taking shoes off and on standing in a hallway.

Hofuckingho · 05/12/2018 13:38

I visit someone weekly with work and use a room which is literally 6 foot steps from the front door yet I have to take my shoes off

AIBU to feel this is a tad annoying?

Their home, their rules. YABU

abacucat · 05/12/2018 13:39

Unless a person are elderly or disabled, then it's reasonable to wipe their feet then walk to the nearest seat to take them of if there isn't one at the door.
Except people in the UK do not generally say this. They say take your shoes off in the hall. No offer to walk on their ridiculous cream carpets so you can sit down and take off your shoes.

Personally I have no issue taking off my shoes. But if you demand this at least have the courtesy of having clean floors. It literally makes me feel sick if I am walking on barefoot on dirty floors. Disgusting.

blueskiesandforests · 05/12/2018 13:40

HerSymphonyAndSong playing a cat and a dog is different from crawling around on a floor where adults have walked cat and dog poo in on their shoes. Babies obviously have their hands on floor and in mouth alternately and baby's immune systems are immature. Picking up bacteria and parasites from animal faeces is not going to prevent allergies.

blueskiesandforests · 05/12/2018 13:41
  • the word "with" was missing from my last post
blueskiesandforests · 05/12/2018 13:44

abacucat maybe lack of chairs/ mutual consideration is the actual problem...

abacucat · 05/12/2018 13:45

blueskies - I think younger people are just unaware that older people who look physically fine, can struggle with this. Just a total lack of awareness. And for many disabled people, putting shoes on is the hardest part of getting dressed and a real struggle.

abacucat · 05/12/2018 13:48

I just say it is up to individuals whether they take their shoes off or not. Totally up to them.

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