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.

What the hell has this got to do with Covid! It’s an airborne disease.

I always offer to take my shoes off. My more well-mannered friends leave it up to me (as it’s rude to ask people to take their shoes off) or insist I keep them on. If they have Wooden floors and they have their shoes on I’ll tend to keep on - especially if an evening do and shoes are part of the outfit (remember the Sex and the City episode where her Manolas were stolen?!).

I don’t have many friends with pristine cream
carpets as they don’t seem to wear well. I would always just take my shoes off in that situation.

I think wooden floors that are mopped daily are more hygienic than carpets anyways. Especially if you have pets. So really don’t mind people coming in with shoes on. It is bad etiquette to ask people to remove their shoes. Especially elderly people with mobility issues.

I spend a lot of time barefoot, especially in the summer. I don't really care about shoes on/off rules (I offer if it looks like a shoes-off sort of house) but I wonder what the cream carpet owners would require me to do on a barefoot day?

There's been a billion Mumsnet threads on this over the years and it's always completely polarising with zero consensus, so just do whatever you think is right in your own house but don't judge others for doing it differently.

Well if I ever visit your house op, I'll be sure to do that. Bit strange to put your plea on here though. Did you mean to put it on Facebook where people actually know you?

I started to take my shoes off in a new friend’s house and she got really offended. What sort of stick up the backside person did I think she was?

Now I just ask. People always say things like “oh everyone does x, y or z” and then you find that they don’t. MN is a most unreliable guide to the manners and mores of the UK.

No problem with walking around in socks. I knit my own and I love showing them off! 😁

Yes I would ask you to wear carrier bags.🤔

Many years ago I threw a housewarming with a boyfriend - his house, lovely old floorboards. We hadn't really thought it through and a number of female guests arrived all dressed up with high heels. The floor was trashed, particularly in high traffic areas 😖

I always take my shoes off and, as I am now an old gimmer, take my slippers with me to people I know well.

I have no idea what you are talking about!

😂

I find that 99% of people who visit us just automatically remove their shoes. We always do, and I never ask people to - they just offer. Very occasionally a stranger will visit and I wouldn't ask them to - I just suck it up.

My parents in law always found it a weird habit, but we live on a busy road and if you walk down to the town you will routinely pass by dog wee (please, please let it be dog wee), the occasional pile of vomit, chewing gum, discarded fast food, dirty puddles and sometimes dog mess. (I'm really selling my neighbourhood, aren't i???)

We also have pale rugs and no pets nowadays, and frankly, if I drop my digestive biscuit while I'm sitting on the sofa, I will happily pick it up and continue eating it. I wouldn't be happy to do this just anywhere - it's because I'm pretty confident that there's only 'clean dirt' in our house and not microscopic faecal matter, essence of vomit or last week's chicken nugget grease.

@925XX you have no idea that asking visitors to take shoes off when visiting your house is odd when you're addressing a forum of people you don't know who are never likely to visit your home??

Ok then!

I remember when I was a student nurse in the 90's. I was on placement with the Health Visitors and we went to visit a new Mum in a high rise council flat. I had never been in a council flat before and had a pre-conceived idea of what it would be like.

When the young Mum answered the door she politely asked us to remove our shoes. The flat was immaculate. I knew my socks had holes in them.

I had to sit there for half an hour in this sparkling clean living room with holey socks showing. I was mortified. The mum was so lovely, polite and welcoming but I was so embarrassed.

I certainly learnt a valuable lesson about pre- judging people and their houses.

And to this day I make sure I always wear decent socks!

It is your house. If it’s what you want, ask people to do this. Are you ŵorried about the consequences?

I still dont know what you are talking about. The question was is it reasonable to ask visitors to remove shoes? I do not know what thread you are reading but its not this one!

People who keep their shoes on indoors are totally bonkers imho. The end.

What consequences? They might shoot me if I ask? what?

I keep little slip ons by the front door and give people the choice. I do appreciate it when people offer to remove shoes.
My BIL has toxic feet, I've never even seen them. They're always tied tightly in grubby trainers but god I can smell them. Neither of us would want him to remove his shoes in my home

I once went to a dentist in Japan and had to take shoes off to go into the reception 😂

Totally reasonable request as it’s your house. I do think it’s better with no shoes but each to their own.

I think it’s reasonable, as long as you admire their socks. Or their pedicure. And if they’re barefoot, make sure the carrier bags you offer are from one of the fancier food halls. Rustling around with Tesco 5p bags on your feet in another person’s house would just be too humiliating.

I think the most hospitable thing to do is ask for shoes off and offer clean fluffy slipper socks or washable slippers or socks to guests. If people haven’t been fore warned their socks or feet will be on display they may feel anxious. Also we used to ask people to do this and then realised in the winter their feet might get a bit cold, hence the spare socks/slipper policy, it’s cosier for them too. I would not insist on it though

Oh I would only offer Harrods bags of course.

Just ask if it's so important to you but I loathe it when people take their shoes off in my home, all our floors downstairs are laminate and it really doesn't matter if you keep your shoes on - I don't want to see your socks or bare feet.

This crops up from time to time on Mumsnet and often opinion is divided.

Some think it the height of bad manners to ask people to take their shoes off. I don't want people's scabby feet on my floors, thanks. So I fall on the shoes on side. Unless they are muddy boots, obviously. I wouldn't ask anyone to remove normal footwear on a normal day.

None of my friends do ask. My parents certainly didn't, they would have thought it awful to ask or be asked.

Probably a class thing, is the conclusion reached here before. Middle classes keep their shoes on.

Shoes off always here.

Lived all over England (and abroad) and don’t know anyone (except one American family) who have shoes on in the house.

Its absolutely grim to keep shoes on indoors. Have you seen the amount of dog wee/poo plus people spitting on pavements etc! I have small children who still play on the floor so it’s very gross to think about what people would be tracking into the house.

The builder who installed our new wooden floors took his shoes off without me asking when he came back to do something else recently!

I will because it is.