To ask visitors to please do this?

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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.

You replied!

Get a cheery sign to hang in your hall saying No Shoes Please (or words to that effect) and a shoe shelf unit with a mat in front of it and chair beside it for people to sit on while taking off their footwear.

Then feel free to ask too. It's not a big deal. If people are so embarrassed or horrified that someone else would ask them a small thing like that, that's their problem, not yours.

You would have to be really away with the fairies to waltz into a home with cream carpets with your shoes on on a rainy day.

I get it now. You haven't heard of cleaning. It has amazing results. You should try it.

I hate the "shoes off " thing - it's so rude - altho I will do it at the couple of friends houses where they prefer it. Floors are supposed to be walked on, and I don't want to see people's bare feet or manky socks. You would never be asked to remove your shoes in a grand house, so why do it for a 3 bed semi?

Thank you. I am not so bothered if its dry.

Thank you OP. I shall wear my prettiest socks just for you and bring flowers.

@JenniferBarkley , I’ve come to the conclusion that in this country, non-Brits must (a) just do their best and (b) accept the fact that someone, somewhere, at some point will think that their best makes them wretched, dragged-up and scummy. It’s the price we must pay for the nice bits😁

@MasterBeth Covid made people look at hygiene routines differently. Many people now walk in the house and immediately wash their hands but wouldn't have done that previously. Some people isolated post for days and changed clothes after being outside, I'm presuming they didn't do all that and then walk around the house in shoes.

Yanbu, shoes on is gross even without light carpets. Completely shoes off here. And before anyone flames me, the only elderly person who comes over is my grandma and she always brings her slippers to other people’s houses.

Some people isolated post for days and changed clothes after being outside

As we know now, those things made bugger all difference to the spread of covid. Shoes would have had even less impact (if that's not a non sequitur)

I don't know one single person who is so precious about there floors they ask me to remove my shoes.

I'd rather not walk barefoot in someones elses house, so I'd only visit the once if they asked.

What happens if you are invited to a BBQ are your shoes on and off every time you enter the house?

Perfectly reasonable in my eyes. But I come from a country where its normal to take your outside shoes off when coming inside.

It's the wooden-floors, shoes-off brigade I don't understand. I kind of get it with the pale carpet lot, but what on earth is someone going to be able to tread into a house that can't immediately be swept or wiped up off wood or laminate. I assume you're no more likely to lick the sitting room floor than you are to lick the pavement so why does it need to be hygienically clean? And babies will pick up any old shit from any old place, so don't use them as an excuse.

It's like the public loo hoverers. You're not going to catch anything from a loo seat unless you've got an open wound on your bum. I assume there's a fairly substantial crossover between the two groups.

I always offer to take my shoes off but think people who are bothered about shoes off are precious. We have hard floors downstairs which are regularly mopped, and while we tend to take our shoes off to go upstairs on the carpet, we aren’t anal about it. We certainly wouldn’t be rude enough to ask a guest to remove theirs.

I particularly don’t understand people who are horrified about a pair of shoes indoors but have cats or dogs wandering around their home.

Have loved in Scandinavia and Germany, nobody thinks twice about taking off shoes. Most have clean feet and socks!! It's not unwelcoming, it's clean. Even as children we changed at the door into house shoes or slippers, and it wasn't a wealthy home. 😊

@QuestionableMouse It wasn't really about transmission, Covid just made people think a bit more about hygiene in generally. Wearing outdoor shoes indoors is unhygienic - very few people will clear their floors sufficiently daily to remove what comes in and that's totally unnecessary if you don't wear shoes indoors in the first place.

Wearing outdoor shoes indoors is unhygienic

Do shoes on people get more sick? I've certainly never seen anything to suggest that?

1. I don't want to always have to be poised to 'immediately' sweep or wipe anything up off the floor.
2. It needs to be 'hygienically clean', as you call it, so I can feel comfortable to sit/lie on it, or to walk on it barefoot.
3. And no, I don't hover in public loos.

@ScentOfSawdust I’ve literally seen men urinating on my street. We have hard floor downstairs but I still don’t want that walked in! I don’t hover in public loos though.

What about athletes foot? Am I the only one concerned about this or just gross sweaty feet? I walk bare foot at home and we have no shoes upstairs but downstairs is comfy and welcoming with mostly hard floors so visitors can choose. I never understand why people have unsuitable flooring.

I'm always barefoot in the summer, even in the garden, so I traipse all the big bad germs inside anyway.

We’re a shoes off house, but I wouldn’t dream of asking people to remove their shoes.

We have wooden floors, so it seems ridiculous to be anal about a floor that’s been trodden on for 100+ years.

Some people offer to remove them, I always say no need, but if you want to, fine.

It’s just a floor.

YANBU. I think it is the height of rudeness when people don't offer to remove shoes.

Hygiene isn't just about getting sick (or not). If someone doesn't wash for days it doesn't mean they'll get sick but it does mean they aren't terribly hygienic.

I'm not a fan of other peoples feet. So keep your shoes on in my house thanks.

As discussed, it’s definitely a class thing. Hence understanding the etiquette surrounding this.