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.

Never ask guests who are coming for a drink, meal. Only the sitting room is carpeted the porch and hall aren't nor the kitchen conservatory. The office and bedrooms are. It just seems rude. The family all take their shoes off.

I have an excellent carpet cleaner which I use twice a year. Well worth it if you have pets

Hygiene isn't just about getting sick (or not).

What else is the end goal though?

To your point about not washing, it isn't socially desirable to smell, but wearing shoes inside won't impact that either.

I think it's the height of ill-manners to ask visitors to remove their shoes. It tells me that the host is more concerned about their carpets than they are about their guests' comfort. If someone "tramps" a bit of mud on my floor, I clean it. Same as I wash a guest's coffee mug and clean the loo after them. All part of decent hospitality.

I don't mind asking but always have some of these cheap 'hotel' type slippers available for people. From experience - it's alright if you have socks on but those times you have fancy sandals etc and no socks it's weird walking in bare feet around someone else's house.

amzn.to/3z9tB0I

Every time I walk into a public toilet, fuel station forecourt or dirty pavement I remember how glad I am I'll be taking my shoes off before I walk into my home!

We've recently sold our house and I couldn't believe the amount of people during viewings who seemed genuinely surprised when I politely requested that they remove their shoes on the large doormat or wear the shoe bags I provide. Like I want their dirty outdoor shoes on my nice carpets?

Shoe bags?!!!!!!!!

Honestly yes I am more concerned with my carpets than my guests' comfort. I paid a lot of money to recarpet my house and I think it's the height of ill manners to make someone else's home dirty. The only people I don't ask to remove shoes are my husband's GPs as they have limited mobility and that's one of the reasons we now visit them at their own house.

Honestly if you’re that bothered about dirt just don’t invite people round. Often I’ve travelled over on the tube and sitting on seats which have probably had piss and vomit on them and all kinds. My clothes will be filthy, so do you want me to get changed before sitting on your sofa as well?

I’m solidly middle class (Oxbridge educated professional child of professionals) and everyone I know is shoes off, even my public school-educated friends. The poshest person I know (their parent was an ambassador, their spouse is a QC) walks around barefoot as much as possible! It’s only on MN that I’ve heard people say it’s rude to have shoes off - people who are prissy about feet.

At this time of year lots of people are wearing sandals with no socks, so anyone expecting visitors to remove their sandals should provide socks.

Well, shoe covers. They're like little bags that fit over your feet.

yes please

I think a lot of people remove their shoes for comfort. I suspect (again, not British) that asking/expecting guests to remove shoes is a class thing.

Exactly.

But if people are not wearing socks, then you have utterly gross bare feet in the house, and even socks are not much better. On the whole, I'd rather have shoes.

Honestly yes I am more concerned with my carpets than my guests' comfort.

See, now this definitely is a culture thing - no one where I'm from (Ireland) would ever dream of saying this out loud. Oh, the notions! Sure you'd never be allowed forget it.

This comes up regular as clockwork on MN and it's always about 50/50 (along with pierced ears for babies - 50% it's gross/child abuse, 50% it's normal in my culture). We are a 'shoes off' household. We have a bungalow (so bedroom near to front door).The other day DH popped into the house without taking his shoes off because he was going straight out again and later I found him scrubbing away at the bedroom carpet - he'd walked dog poo all through the house.

I'm with you. I have pale carpets and some wood flooring. I hate people taking off their shoes and having to look at their, often disgusting, socks or feet.

My babies all crawled around and never got any illness from being on the floor.

I don't remember anyone ever asking people to take off their shoes through my childhood and early life.

If you are that anxious about your floors, have you considered changing the type of flooring?

How many people do you see on property shows like location , location who take their shoes off ?

we are house hunting, we have only been asked to take shoes off once , there were four dogs living in the house, the kitchen was ‘grubby’ . I had clean trainer socks on by the time we went to put our shoes back on they were black on the soles and covered in dog hair 🤣

See, now this definitely is a culture thing - no one where I'm from (Ireland) would ever dream of saying this out loud. Oh, the notions! Sure you'd never be allowed forget it.

Same. I'm cringing so hard at the very thought.

Obviously not unreasonable at all. We have wood flooring everywhere so I’m not too bothered because I can mop any mess up but I would ask visitors to remove shoes if we had carpet.

As someone who has just finished a job that i had to visit 1,000 homes and go into their house for work and get forms filled in, not once was I asked to take my shoes off. No one has been asked to take their shoes off coming in my house either. Couldn't ask my mother in law she takes about 15 mins to put on shoes in the morning due to her mobility they are staying one her till she goes to bed. To the person who has their baby crawling on the floor, you do realise that your baby will pick up every cold, flue or bug going once they start nursery of childcare not from crawling on the floor

@JenniferBarkley totally agree. Notions is the exact word that comes in my head 😂this is so not done in Ireland