When people visit your house do they take their shoes offf

[PlantMummy87]

Do you request people to take their shoes off when they come into your house?

I always take off my shoes whenever I enter someone's home as think it is rude not to as I think on the whole people like to keep their floors and carpets clean. However my FIL, my mum and my dad always keep their shoes on now when they visit ever since I had our baby, it's like as soon as they arrive they instantly want to see baby so just walk straight in and don't think they are causing any extra work cleaning for us. It's happened a lot now so it's not a one off that I can just brush off unfortunately. We have a tiny hallway which think might be part of the problem as don't have space for a chair or stall for someone to be able to sit on to take their shoes on and off on and can understand it might me harder for older people to bend over etc but they used to take their shoes off. When I was heavily pregnant I sat on the stairs but can't expect everyone to do this.

Downstairs is laminate flooring which I guess is easy to clean, but we also have rugs which they step on (which are hard to clean as wool), and upstairs is carpet. I do have a small carpet cleaner, but it's more for spot cleaning than entire areas of carpet and is a lot of hard work to do a large area. Plus I'm not really sure I want to have to clean all the floors, carpet and rugs every time people come to visit as have a newborn baby so don't have a lot of time to be dedicating to cleaning.

Recently our cat got really unwell resulting in lots of expensive vet visits, blood tests, stay at the vets, drip fluids as been so unwell, and now special food to help stomach recover etc. the vet thinks that it may have been something brought into the house perhaps via shoes as she is an indoor cat. It could well have been our shoes that brought something in, but we do take them off in the hallway and then they get put away and I clean the hallway floor daily.

We've spent the day disinfecting the whole house as baby who could easily catch a gastrointestinal upset so I want to be extra careful now, but even when he is a bit bigger and putting things in his mouth, crawling and walking I want to know things are clean for him in our home.

Do you think it is unreasonable to ask next time anyone comes around to ask if they can take their shoes off? I'm not really sure how to bring this up though and I don't want to cause drama especially with my FIL.
I'm thinking of putting a small foot stall next to the hallway just inside the living room (there isn't enough room to put it in the hallway) so people can take their shoes off on there and it's easier to keep clean. But it is made of wool so I'm a bit concerned that it might get dirty. Would it be better/ridiculous to get a collapsible ottoman and bring that out when people visiting and store away easily when not?

Shoes off mostly. I have a friend who usually leaves hers on and it pisses me off. I take mine off when I go to hers.

@Momijin

Shoes off mostly. I have a friend who usually leaves hers on and it pisses me off. I take mine off when I go to hers.

I take mine off when I go to hers.

Which possibly pisses her off...

@8londie

Next well say washing dishes is OTT. Being clean is not OTT and it's not that easy to clean stuff out of mud and carpet. It won't make you sick but it's just unpleasant.

Given I don't eat off the floor, I'll continue to wash my dishes while taking my chances with shoes touching my floors.

Nah, it's OTT. Just let your fog lick it clean, or use it as it is @OchonAgusOchonOh

Why clean your toilet either, it's only going to get dirty again. It's what bogs are for.

Don't be prinky about hygiene- it's depressing and unwelcoming.

I think there's a bit of a disconnect. It's universally accepted that it's necessary to clean dishes and toilets for hygiene reasons - not least to stop infestation. But it's not universally accepted that shoes on floors where there's a normal cleaning regime is a health hazard.

@PleasantBirthday

I think there's a bit of a disconnect. It's universally accepted that it's necessary to clean dishes and toilets for hygiene reasons - not least to stop infestation. But it's not universally accepted that shoes on floors where there's a normal cleaning regime is a health hazard.

You won't get an infestation from wee splashes. It's precious to get upset about it.

@OchonAgusOchonOh why? She doesn't wear shoes in her house. She's either barefoot or in slippers. She's just being lazy.

Walking into someone's house with your dirty outdoor shoes is really rude IMO. I always offer to remove shoes when visiting someone's home and tbh I prefer to. As soon as I open the door to someone and have smiled and said hi I ask them if they'd mind taking their shoes off on the mat (we have a huge one for the pram). If it's workmen I offer them the bags if they prefer. The only people I don't ask to remove their shoes are DH's grandparents as his granddad has Parkinsons so I always make sure we visit them instead. Our carpets weren't cheap and I'm not having them covered in dirt. I don't understand why some think it's rude to request shoe removal.

I don't allow shoes in my house. I've tiles and laminate and still don't allow it

We are a shoes-off house and I absolutely hate it if people leave them on in the house.

I also offer to take my shoes off when I go to someone's house, it's literally never been awkward. They say yes or no, and we all just crack on with life!

We've had plumbers in today and the first thing they did was take their shoes off, so it's obviously not that weird.

[quote Momijin]@OchonAgusOchonOh why? She doesn't wear shoes in her house. She's either barefoot or in slippers. She's just being lazy.[/quote]
But she may think it's rude of visitors to remove shoes uninvited. I do.

@OchonAgusOchonOh why do you think it's rude?

Are you ok knowing people think you're rude for keeping them on?

But she may think it's rude of visitors to remove shoes uninvited. I do.

I can just about understand someone not wanting another person's bare feet in their home. Presuming 99% wear socks though (as we've never once had anyone except a child in bare feet), what possible objection can there be to taking shoes off?

@JustUseTheDoorSanta

But she may think it's rude of visitors to remove shoes uninvited. I do.

I can just about understand someone not wanting another person's bare feet in their home. Presuming 99% wear socks though (as we've never once had anyone except a child in bare feet), what possible objection can there be to taking shoes off?

It's overly familiar if I don't know them very well. I look on it as similar to someone asking me to put the kettle on or walking straight in to the house and heading in to the kitchen/sitting room without being invited to do so. Perfectly acceptable for close friends and family, not so much for someone I have a more casual relationship with.

You need to get to a certain level of relationship before you start making yourself at home in someone else's house.

what possible objection can there be to taking shoes off?

Our hallway is tiny. I don’t want it cluttered up with shoes, neither do I want to stand with the front door open while people remove them. I prefer my guests to keep their shoes. Thank you.

[quote AllThingsServeTheBeam]@OchonAgusOchonOh why do you think it's rude?

Are you ok knowing people think you're rude for keeping them on?[/quote]
I'll take them off if asked.

I can assure you, nobody where I lives thinks anyone is rude for not automatically taking shoes off, even if they don't wear shoes indoors themselves.

I did recently have a friend go to take her shoes off on arrival as she saw I didn't have any on. I told her there was no need and she left them on. However, she was home visiting from England, which is where she presumably picked up those notions.

@TDCtomorrow

I don't allow shoes in my house. I've tiles and laminate and still don't allow it

Unless you have underfloor heating, I guess that's one way of ensuring people don't stay very long.

I always take my shoes off in other people's home if that's their preference.

But I'd never dream of asking guests in my house to take their shoes off - I feel like it implies they're dirty, and is a massive overstep by insisting they partially undress to my preferences! They can do what makes them comfortable.

Dirt gets on the floor - that's the nature of floors! My house is clean 'cause I clean it, not because I fuss about guests' shoes.

When I went to Buckingham Palace, I was allowed to keep my shoes on.

@granny24

When I went to Buckingham Palace, I was allowed to keep my shoes on.

Yes, but they probably thought you were really rude. Did you not see the #BuckPal tweets about the #RudePerson #WearingShoes after your visit?

Your shoes should have been left beside the corgis' water bowl.

Maybe you didn't bring your glasses, @granny24, but there's a sign that reads:

In this place of royal dues
Please remove your stinking shoes

I stand at the door and insist all shoes come off
My house. My rules
The only person to object was a rather spoiled child who didn’t like being told what to do - his shoes came off eventually

@8londie

Nah, it's OTT. Just let your fog lick it clean, or use it as it is *@OchonAgusOchonOh*

Why clean your toilet either, it's only going to get dirty again. It's what bogs are for.

Don't be prinky about hygiene- it's depressing and unwelcoming.

The dogs would love to be promoted to plate lickers from their current status of floor lickers.

Everyone should include a dog in their cleaning supplies. I dropped an egg on the floor recently and rather than trying to get the slippery slidey stuff up with a cloth, I just picked up the shell and called the floor lickers who cleaned up the egg. All I had to do was give it a quick wash afterwards.

They are also brilliant for the recycling. I get them to clean out tubs of cream cheese, yoghurt etc. Much more environmentally friendly as you don't need to do as much washing.

@PleasantBirthday

Maybe you didn't bring your glasses, *@granny24*, but there's a sign that reads:

In this place of royal dues
Please remove your stinking shoes

@Heatherjayne1972

I stand at the door and insist all shoes come off My house. My rules The only person to object was a rather spoiled child who didn’t like being told what to do - his shoes came off eventually

Sounds like a fun, easygoing welcome designed to put visitors at their ease - I like it!