DH and dirty floor

[BunnytheFriendlyDragon]

This probably seems trivial but it is very annoying and I am not sure whether I am being U!

Our house is detached and has three external doors - front door to hallway, backdoor to kitchen and patio door leading into dining room. New wooden floors downstairs.

DH uses the patio door to come in from the garden but also if he has been out for a walk or his hobby, he walks from the front and around the back to come in the patio door.

It's so irritating because the dirt is on the dining room adjoining the front room where I sit (and often includes chunks of mud out of his shoes) and I have to clean it up at least twice a day. I don't want dirt in any room but find it lost annoying in the living room and dining room as we sit there and I can see it. DC will he crawling soon and I don't want unnecessary dirty on the floors. I am talking big chunks of mud and dirt sometimes. He leaves it for days if I don't remove it.

I think if DH wants to use that door 5-10 times a day he should be prepared to clean up after himself. He should do so anyway but the fact is he does think to hoover, sweep or clean the wooden floor. He occasionally hoovers in the other room but never thinks to run the hoover round all of downstairs.

He thinks I am being controlling to say he shouldn't use that door if he won't be mindful of dirt or clean up after himself. I think he's being inconsiderate of me and disrespectful of our home.

How do you deal with this?

And out of interest which door in your house do you use if you have wet / muddy shoes?

I am the one who cleans the floors as well and I almost can't be bothered considering how many times he brings dirt in on a daily basis. I would rather the dirt stayed in the hall or even on the kitchen tiles that are old and easier to clean!

Which door do you want him to use?

I would ask him to clean it up every single time.
Why doesn’t he go into the kitchen and take shoes off there? Or take his shoes off outside? It’s just inconsiderate. If he didn’t start clearing up or changing what he does I would sweep the mud up with a dustpan and brush and tip it into his shoes each time - clearly he thinks it’s ok to be standing on it!

I don't think you're being U. Get him a dustpan and brush and keep it somewhere near the door he uses the most. And tell him when he brings mud in he must sweep it up. It isn't your job to constantly clean and he can't even do the most minimal of tasks as an adult - tidy up after himself

Wouldn’t the non-clearing-of-dirt be the issue whatever door he used?

Mud and dirt in front hallway - annoying.
Mud and dirt in kitchen - annoying and unhygienic.
Mud and dirt in dining room - annoying.

Or have I missed something?

Doesn't matter which door we use because we immediately take out shoes off. House rule.

You will have to point it out every single time and ask him to clean up after himself and if he doesn’t then warn him you will clean it up and then put it in his car! And the do it

Surely he should just take his shoes off if there’s a chance they’re muddy? Seems the obvious answer. If he forgets he needs to clean it up, straight away! I’d be handing him the mop every time and telling him to get in with it.

@NoSquirrels

Wouldn’t the non-clearing-of-dirt be the issue whatever door he used?

Mud and dirt in front hallway - annoying.
Mud and dirt in kitchen - annoying and unhygienic.
Mud and dirt in dining room - annoying.

Or have I missed something?

Sorry, answering my own question as I didn’t read properly:

I don't want dirt in any room but find it lost annoying in the living room and dining room as we sit there and I can see it.

Presume you’ve told him?

If so, keep calling him back to clean up every single time.

He thinks its controlling to object to cleaning up after him twice a day!? Wtf!

We just take our shoes off if they're muddy. Why the fuck is he walking around the house dropping mud everywhere?

He should be taking his dirty, muddy shoes off before he steps indoors, irrespective of which door he uses. He should have indoor shoes/clogs to step into and should leave the dirty shoes on an indoor washable mat or newspaper. He is a just another lazy, entitled male who thinks cleaning is a woman's job, it's so depressing.

Do you have decent dirt-trapping doormats at all entry points?

Your husband is a filthy arsehole. Is he daft as well? He's not smart enough to take off muddy shoes before stomping through the whole fucking house? I'd probably kill him, but that's me.

Well if they're wet he'll take them off but if they're dry he still trails in dirt from the garden or his walk

I don't want dirt at any door but it would bother me less in the kitchen or even the hall as its not in eye shot. I'd still clean it but wouldn't feel like I needed to do so several times a day.

Of course I have told him.

And we share a car so that's not going to work!

What a selfish, thoughtless idiot. That would really piss me off OP. I think I’d be tempted to start leaving the patio door locked if I were you. I’d rather have the inconvenience of not using it for a while whilst you get him out of the habit of using it as a way in. Out of interest is it laziness that makes him use the patio door rather than the back door, and do you both walk around the house with outdoor shoes on?

You need to care less and he needs to care more.
Then you’ll have a compromise.

Ok instead of the car how about soMewhere that would inconvenience him, his briefcase, his side of the bed, inside his shoes, on his plate instead of dinner, but
Tell him what you will be doing if he doesn’t clean up after him so he has been warned

Lock the doors, lose the key.

Have you asked him why he prefers the patio doors?

Looks like you’ve run out of brooms/mops/cloths and have to use his work shirts to clean the mud off the floor, what a shame.

It's just a bit of mud. It won't do your little one any harm - in fact it may help their immune system.

Put a big doormat there and ask him to take his boots off in the dining room.

Why can't he take his shoes off before he comes in? Surely that would solve your problem?

And to answer your question, we take shoes off before coming inside, so it doesn't matter what door we use. No shoes, especially muddy ones, allowed in the house.

He needs to take his shoes off before he comes in.

Tbh with a crawling baby I’d just make the house a shoes off zone.

We have a no shoes in the house rule, they live in the hall where they get put on to leave the house and they come off at the door before we come in. No mud or mess trailer through the house by anyone, simple.