Removing shoes indoors

[diagold4u]

Am interested to know how many people actually have the rule of no shoes indoors.
We've had this rule from when I was young and have carried it on when I moved out. I think it makes sense not to walk all over the house with shoes that have been worn outdoors, who knows what you've stood on and then bringing all that in to your home.
I have shoe covers that I provide to workers.
Especially with young children I think it's even more important not to wear outdoor shoes indoor, carpets/rug will harbour all that dirt no matter how much you Hoover up.

My actual aibu is, if someone came to my house as a guest would it be U for me to ask them to remove their shoes? Obviously in a polite manner.
I feel quite embarrassed having to ask when these people already know.
My current house is all flooring with large rugs everywhere, the main living room is carpet.
I've noticed certain extended family members get annoyed at my request but the way I see it, it's my house, if I don't walk with shoes, why should you when you've chosen to come to my house.

I thought the idea of removing shoes was something lower income households had to do because they could not afford cleaners.

I would be repulsed if visitors took off their shoes.

But each to their own....

@HelloThereMeHearties

How on earth do people cope in offices? Or shops? They must be ill all the time from all the horrific germy shoes being worn!

I don't live there.

@HelloThereMeHearties

Anyway, it's not exposure to general germs that makes children ill. It's lack of exposure to germs.

Hurray, another poster who is aware of the hidden dangers to this obsession with immaculate flooring in a home.

I would definitely prefer shoes to people's bare feet 😄

I always take mine and my child's shoes off once inside, however my partner doesn't and it drives me mad!

@TheyWentToSeaInASieve

I find on the whole people who are 70+ tend to be shoe on and not open to being asked to have shoes off. They genuinely find it rude -- possibly due to difficulty of getting shoes on and off. But I come from an entire culture where it is rude to bring outdoor dirt inside (thankfully, my partner who is from a shoe-on household agrees!) so always found this very difficult. I have actually invested in one-use hotel slippers to resolve this, but it hasn't been as successful as you'd think:-)

No, it’s probably because they’ve always been used to shoes on and asking someone to take their shoes off and show their socks is almost as rude as asking them to sit in their underpants. I’m embarrassed to sit around without shoes on, and I wouldn’t inflict that embarrassment on anyone else.

All except one of my friends are shoes on. It wasn’t till I came on MN that I knew shoes off was widespread. So, no, thinking about offering to remove shoes isn’t the first thing in my mind if I arrive somewhere.

Who is having visitors anyway? I thought we were “in the grip” of a pandemic, so visitors with or without shoes are unthinkable.

@wanderings

Who is having visitors anyway? I thought we were “in the grip” of a pandemic, so visitors with or without shoes are unthinkable.

You were alive before covid right?

@Daphnise

I thought the idea of removing shoes was something lower income households had to do because they could not afford cleaners.

I would be repulsed if visitors took off their shoes.

But each to their own....

Oh my god I laughed so much 😂😂 who do you think you are

flawpatrol

And I'm sure they wouldn't want your grubby shoes all over their floor?

I literally just wrote I take my shoes off if you ask me to!

My house is shoes off.

The last time someone walked in my house and left their shoes on, I asked why, since our kids were both crawling babies, and I removed my shoes at their home. The response was, "because my house is nicer than yours".

I've since chosen better friends. 😁

A lot of posters mentioning class as the reason.

Thinking it through logically I would’ve thought this made it lower class to take shoes off - so you work in a more manual job, shoes are more likely to be dirty, so you take them off at the door. Upper class more expensive shoes and heels, being ferried everywhere by carriage to their front door - don’t need to take shoes off.

But most of the people saying it’s a class thing are shoes off so they must think it’s lower class to keep shoes on?

Answers on the back of a postcard!

@CaffeineInfusion

My house is shoes off.

The last time someone walked in my house and left their shoes on, I asked why, since our kids were both crawling babies, and I removed my shoes at their home. The response was, "because my house is nicer than yours".

I've since chosen better friends. 😁

I think it’s weird that if someone left their shoes on you wouldn’t just say ‘would you mind taking your shoes off?’ rather than asking why they’d kept them on.

If anyone takes their shoes off in my house, they might run the risk of splinters (or worse).

Shoes-off houses give me the creeps.

@imalmostthere

I absolutely expect people to take their shoes off. I don't want dog crap and Christ knows what else trudged through my home, for me or my kids to step in!

Do you walk on dog crap as a daily exercise? Most people I know don't.

Most people manage to remove dirty or muddy shoes too. And most people I know don't lick or cook on their floor.

I personally also have floors that I can actually clean and no grubby carpets, which helps, but each to their own.

I wish the cat would take note, love her to bits, always washing on bed!

@EpiphanySoul1

A lot of posters mentioning class as the reason.

Thinking it through logically I would’ve thought this made it lower class to take shoes off - so you work in a more manual job, shoes are more likely to be dirty, so you take them off at the door. Upper class more expensive shoes and heels, being ferried everywhere by carriage to their front door - don’t need to take shoes off.

But most of the people saying it’s a class thing are shoes off so they must think it’s lower class to keep shoes on?

Answers on the back of a postcard!

most posters like to accuse the other camp of being lower-class, because they fancy themselves as upper middle or upper class

in their mind it's a class thing showing how better THEY are, shoes on or shoes off.

Every single time, it's funny every thread.

The last time I was asked to to take my shoes off it was in a house where I wanted to wipe my feet on the way out. If ever there was a pointless exercise ...

@MrBullinaChinaShop

I believe you missed the point.

The conversation was 17 years ago. My comment was not verbatim.

Anyway. Still shoes off.

So according to Wikipedia:

In Ireland, it is very uncommon to take one's shoes off when entering a house, especially for visitors.

In the United Kingdom, whether shoes are taken off is at the homeowner's discretion and both options are common.[4] [5] However, it is uncommon for people to walk around barefoot.

I’m Irish so this could explain why I don’t know anyone who has a ‘shoes off’ policy. In U.K. it says both options are common so could explain why some people ‘only know’ shoes off people or vice versa.

I don't know anyone who would want to wear their shoes in their own house or presume to wear shoes in someone else's home.

Shoes on here. I hate taking taking my shoes off. I worry about my feet smelling or if it’s a really hot day I hate leaving foot prints on people’s tile floor. Also unless a seat is provided I would struggle getting my shoes on and off, I’ve got a problem with my knee. I want people to feel comfortable in my home x

@HelloThereMeHearties

I'm fairly certain that children sit on the floor in schools and nurseries

Luckily, no shoes allowed in the baby room. In any good nursery anyway

@EpiphanySoul1

A lot of posters mentioning class as the reason.

Thinking it through logically I would’ve thought this made it lower class to take shoes off - so you work in a more manual job, shoes are more likely to be dirty, so you take them off at the door. Upper class more expensive shoes and heels, being ferried everywhere by carriage to their front door - don’t need to take shoes off.

But most of the people saying it’s a class thing are shoes off so they must think it’s lower class to keep shoes on?

Answers on the back of a postcard!

Let's just say that Shoes Off is very suburban

We have new carpet that cost a bloody fortune. When we can have visitors again I will ask people to take their shoes off when they come round and if they think that’s weird I couldn’t give a toss