To ask visitors to please do this?

[925XX]

Remove their shoes. I have very pale cream carpets and no one in the household wears shoes in the house. My niece recently called and it was heavily raining, she had cork sole shoes on which sucked up lots of water which she tramped over my carpets. I asked her to take them off as wet soggy prints were being left behind. I do not have to ask some people but feel awkward when I do ask.

Mopped every few weeks

And you expect people to take their shoes off? The floors must be dirtier than the shoes.

Carpeted upstairs cleaned 1-2 times a week.
Downstairs is all wooden and is hoovered twice a day and mopped twice a day - DS is weaning so there is always food dropped! If DS is in childcare then it's only once a day as we also have a dog

I think it’s really rude to ask people to remove shoes and thankfully not something I have experienced often. I remember picking up DD from a friends house once. I’d been at work and the mum asked me to take of my shoes. My feet were sweaty in my boots having worn them all day in the office and my tights had a massive hole in each foot through which my big toes were poking out. I was totally mortified and thought the mother really rude for making me feel so awkward.

Yes that is all that is needed.

We don't have pets, we don't have small children, people don't wear shoes in the house.

I think the consensus is the cream carpet/shoes off people are quite anti-social and hiss at people to put ‘shoe coverings’ on should they dare grace their doorstep.

Shoes on: parties/ inside/outside walk in the garden/come in for a drink/ muddy dog/ who gives a shit brigade..

Your feet fall off.

I think I’ll start a new thread about how guests have to wash their hands when entering my home 😁

I always take my shoes off or offer to, it’s simple manners. Just ask, no-one will be offended. You pay for the carpets!

You pay for the carpets!

Indeed. We bought ours for the sole purpose of walking on them. In our shoes.

What happens if you take off your shoes (at your host's request), and you walk sweaty, cheesy footprints all over the house?

I'll happily wipe my shoes to within an inch of their life but if I've been on my feet in trainers all day, and it's been a hot, active, physical day, I'm fairly sure the smell and sweat, upon removal, is more offensive than anything I might bring in on my soles!

I'd rather have someone keep their shoes on than walk their smelly, sweaty feet over my floors! I've mostly hard floors anyway, and a downstairs bathroom so no need for anyone to go upstairs.

I have never once been asked to take my shoes off, and none of my friends require it - some of them live in hugely expensive homes, but it's just not a 'thing' here and I hope it never will be either!! We all change our shoes at home but that's a comfort thing, not a clean freak thing! We have 2 rescue cats - they are indoors but maybe I should be sticking Elastoplast on their bumholes, just in case!!?

I think some of you would get a huge shock in the country, where farmers will happily walk in with their earth-laden wellies!! Country folks don't tend to have carpets downstairs, so any dirt can always be cleaned!

What are people walking on anyway? Surely to god if you got dog or fox shit on your shoes, you'd clean them before going anywhere? Does nobody own a doormat? We've got one outside and one inside!

When did people get so incredibly precious?!!! Life's too short for that shit! Get over yourselves folks and live a little!!!

What do people with pets do? They can't take their shoes off?

Honestly nobody has ever brought their dog or any other pet to my place, my terrier would have gone bezerk, very territorial.

I think the question is more - do you make your dog wear special boots when it goes outside, or do you accept that your own dog walks stuff in from outside on its paws?

I have indoor house rabbits, rabbit diseases are known to be carried and brought in on the bottom of shoes. Therefore due to that and other germs and diseases on the bottom of shoes I always ask people to remove them. My children play on the floor I don’t want to constantly have to mop and clean floors and carpets because visitors pop round.

I once had workmen in the house who I didn’t ask to remove - wouldn’t have been practical. More and more of them arrived and they were there hours in which should have been a 2 hour job and kept walking all over the house. My floor was filthy and it took me ages when I should have been working to get it cleaned before I needed to collect my children.

There was an awful post from someone once who said that she dettoled her dogs feet after he has been outside. ☹️

I visit people at home too…li would say twice a year I get asked to take my shoes off….So a very small percentage….,I never offer to….but am fine taking them off if asked

@antelopevalley I do not take personal offence. I said it is fine if you keep your floors clean.
Not if your guests walk away with filthy socks.

I agree with this! It’s shoes off in our house but my MIL also is shoes off however her floors are always filthy! She has 2 dogs and she herself walks outside through the area where they do their business in her slippers then walks in the house. I hate having to put my visibly dirty socks from her house back into my shoes when I leave 😐

Its constantly raining where we live. Shoes off, we dont want wet, muddy footprints all round the house. Also, our son plays with his toys everywhere and we would rather he not be playing in mud. I do make an exception and ask my grandparents to leave shoes on, as it is just difficult for them, however they will take their shoes off anyway and borrow our slippers

This! ^^

Same at MIL, I hated it.

I have since bought a pair of slippers that live there and use those in her house. I dont know if she found that rude but she never said anything, this was about 6 months ago and I still use them.

Maybe you can try something like this?

HA I actually tried this!
went round one day, couldn’t find them so walked in with socks and MIL sister had on my slippers! 😱

Where do your house rabbits shit @Sweep3? I wouldn’t want to take my shoes off in your house and step in rabbit shit.

In litter trays! Also they have their own room so no risk of stepping in any stray ones 🤣

We’re generally a shoes off household, but I’d never ask guests to take shoes off. There have been a couple of occasions when I’ve been asked to take shoes off & I’ve been wearing ballet shoes so no socks- I find this mortifying and feel strangely vulnerable with bare feet. I was once asked to remove my shoes & offered slippers ‘from the slipper basket’, which was also hideous. I don’t want verrucas, thanks! 🤮

I went to see my friend’s house for the first time yesterday and as soon as I walked through the front door I took my shoes off, it’s an automatic reaction. As soon as I get through my own front door I remove my shoes, it’s as automatic as taking my coat off or hanging my handbag up when I get in. I don’t specifically ask people to take their shoes off but that’s because my house is a bit ramshackle and the dog has put paid to anything being nice anyway (scratched doors, skirtings etc care of madam). If I had a pristine house with carpets I would ask (nicely) if they’d remove their shoes. When plumbers, workmen etc come in I notice they always ask if I want them to remove their shoes so I think it’s becoming more normal than it was years ago.