For asking the heating engineer to wear shoe covers in my house

[purplehearts21]

Guy came round this morning to the service the boiler, I greeted him in and asked if he’d wear the shoe covers as I’ve just had new floor fitted and new rugs. You have to walk through my whole house to get to the boiler and I get they they can’t take their shoes off for health and safety so I’ve came up with a solution. The guy looked at me like I’m a bit mad but I wouldn’t dream of walking through someone’s house with my shoes on. We’re a shoes off at the door family and you won’t believe the amount of people that will just walk on through unless you say something. ( including dh father and stepmother who are exactly the same and will stand and wait til you take them off in their home but will walk through ours with shoes on no bother) I find it so rude and would never do it unless I was asked to keep them on. This man looked at me like I was an alien though but at least he agreed.

was I being unreasonable to ask?

I prefer people to take shoes off when they come in my home but generally I don't ask them to first, they often ask if they want me to and I'd say yes then. I wouldn't bother with shoe covers though as it feels a bit precious (we have hard floors everywhere and no rugs). They are only in the house for a short time, for a one-off and it's easy enough to clean up after them.

Firstly, a mat won't get all the crap out of the groves in work boots - it only really works for flat soles. Secondly, just imagine how much crap there'll be in a floor mat that multiple people have wiped their dirty shoes/boots on. There'll probably be more germs/dirt on someone's shoes/boots after they've used a manky old door mat than before, all being trodden into the carpets inside.

We put down dust cloths or cover carpets with that sticky plastic carpet covering if we're having workmen doing anything major in the house as, yes, it's unreasonable to expect them to put on/off shoe covers multiple times when they're in and out all day.

Why would someone stand on a sofa or bed?

My carpet is red and is cleaned every 4 months. I dont use a mop (urgh) but I have one of those things that has a pad you put in the washer and its averagely a bit mucky id say after a week thanks to the dog. Visitors dont tend to go in my kitchen and we use slippers in the house.

I literally break out in hives when someone who isnt a friend or family is so presumptuous to take their shoes off at the door 😱 like excuse me i don't want to be sniffing your manky feet, I barely know you 😂

I’m guessing they are the same people who put dog bowls in the dishwasher or let their pets lick the plates clean 🤮

Don’t be daft. When the district/community nurses visited our home after my husband’s surgery, they didn’t remove their shoes. Neither did the carers when my father came home after a prolonged hospital stay. And visitors don’t generally wander through the house. In the summer we have gatherings for family and friends in the garden and people wander in and out of the kitchen. It’s a relaxed and welcoming environment. Likewise our friends and their homes.

But that isn’t the same as a wet winters day is it lol having family round in summer going from your kitchen to your garden is not the same as a man in wet boots trampling through your house on carpets and rugs lol

Id tell nurses and carers to take their shoes off. My daughter after just having a c section had to pick up her rugs and through them away after a nurse walked dog shit in on her shoes. That is the consequences of ignorant people and your left to clean after them when they could have just taken them off at the door.

You can't ask nurses and carers to take their shoes off. That is ridiculous. Fine, give them shoe covers but asking them to take their shoes off is ridiculous.

If, god forbid, someone in your home needed a ambulance, would you really ask the paramedics to take their shoes off before they came in?

I think that’s a little different. But yes I’d ask anyone, even the vicar. But then people shouldn’t be so ignorant and wait to be asked. It should be common sense and peoples homes should be respected regardless of how you live in your own home.

There is no way I would walk in someone's house without my shoes on.

Why don't you just provide shoe covers for everyone and not ask them to take their shoes off?

What on earth is wrong with putting the dog bowl in the dishwasher? It's washing it. At a high temperature with detergent. Do you think microscopic bits of dog saliva are going to survive that and contaminate your mugs or something?

Its not ignorant to wait to be asked, not everyone wants someone's sweaty stinking feet thrust into their lives without permission. I certainly dont 🤢 and i do feel a bit awkward when I have had to stop someone I barely know taking theirs off so wouldnt want to put someone else in that position.

It feels like its less awkward to say "oh can you take your shoes off thanks" than "oh no wtf are you doing please put your shoes back on"....(especially when the person says "oh no its ok ill keep them off" as ive had once, but that experience still haunts me 😩😩😩 I could see the feety sweat marks on my floor in the porch 🤢)

That's why we have a box of shoecovers. And yes, we have asked GP and paramedics to put on shoe covers before coming into the house. Their shoes/boots are just as likely to be filthy as tradesmen, probably previously been stood on sick or blood on a previous call out.

"Can you die a bit slower darling? The ambulance crew just need to put their shoe covers on" 😂

So its bizarre and unhinged in the uk but cultural in other countries? And what if those people move to the UK? Does their cultural habit become bizarre and unhinged at the border?

We’re in the process of moving house and have been to view a large number of properties so far. With two exceptions, which were houses with hard floors and one of which was empty anyway, the estate agents showing us round have asked us to remove our shows. The agents who showed people round our house also asked every viewer to take their shoes off as they came in. I really don’t think it’s at all unusual to expect people to remove their shoes or at least cover them.

I offered to remove shoes when viewing houses but they really should have shoe covers available and offer them.

Dog poo covered shoes? Unless you run a boarding kennel this feels like a ridiculous exaggeration.

We are a shoes off home but not dicks about it. I would never ask my dad to take his off as it’s not easy for him. Guests who visit usually clock our arrangement at the door and take theirs off but I wouldn’t expect people who find it difficult to do it.

I would not expect tradesmen to take off shoes for health and safety reasons. They usually have covers or ask.

I would never ask a paramedic to take off shoes again for their health and safety, they have specific shoes for that reason. If I have paramedics in the house the flooring is not my concern. I also think their time is more important than my flooring which I can clean.

Couldn't agree more. Unless the soles are dirty I think it's really rude. Personally I feel very uncomfortable sitting around someone else's house in stockinged feet and I wouldn't inflict that on my guests.

Carpet - YANBU
Hardfloor - YABU

Those little booties can be dangerous on hard floors. I always ask tradesmen not to wear them in my house because I don't want to be responsible for them slipping on the laminate. Although, I do usually have to ask because they automatically put them on at the door. My floor is dangerous enough with all the dog hair floating about (I do sweep daily, but the dog insists on shedding enough hair to knit two new dogs every hour).

My plumber wouldn't take his boots off, because he wears safety boots. You wouldn't want to drop a toilet or something else heavy on bare feet!

He puts shoe covers on though, as does my builder BIL (who wouldn't take his safety boots off either).

I hate it too, not least because I have a recurring achilles tendonitis problem and walking barefoot makes it worse.

Shoes off at the front door. I don’t care who you are. I’m not having clodhoppers on my carpets x

Basically home dishwashers are designed to sanitise not to sterilise.

So they don't get hot enough to kill all bacteria as a rule.

We've had this debate on here before. It's only the specialised ones you might get in restaurants and hospitals that get high enough in temp to sterilise. So some of the bacteria in your dogs/cats mouth could well survive the dishwashing process if you have a standard home dishwasher.

And anyone who has used a dishwasher knows they do not clean perfectly, even the best of them leave bits of food on stuff that has to be rewashed.