Do shoes come off at the door?

lostinrates

I'd love to have a shoes off for family house: but with three large breed dogs, and the cats letting themselves in and out its unfeasable. We don't tend to wear shoes up stairs though. We have solid floors down stairs and just clean a lot.

I couldn't ask guests in without their shoes. It would feel wrong and rude. If you are going to ask people to take shoes off, I think you really have to have an array of CLEAN house shoes/slippers for them to slip on. Perosnally, all to much fuss and bother for me. I'm going to have to clean the hall all the time anyway...so a few more feet make not much more difference. A good door mat and rug shortly after that help.

Idiophreak

Were moving my sister into her brand new house the other week - a couple of the plug sockets weren't working, so we called the site sparky who promptly trampled mud all through the place over the new carpet. Have to say, if it was me, I'd have had a fit.

LilacLillie

Interesting thread. I find that asking people to remove their shoes when they come to my place has casued offence in the past.
I didn't used to mind but now have 2 small grandchildren crawling around the floors and somewhere in the past, I also saw that TV programme about what is carried into the home unseen on shoes!!
On another note, I have a home abroad and never have to ask anyone to remove shoes. It is second nature there and people leave their shoes outside the whole building without being asked!!
So that's what I do when I am there now, it seems to be custom or courtesy.
LL

elainew

To be honest i dont care if people think I'm rude-its my house and my rules ( gawd i sound like my mother!!)

tanith

I wouldn't dream of asking people to remove shoes when coming in... I do have wooden floors but wouldn't bother if it were carpet either. I find some people automatically remove shoes and other don't, I am relaxed about it but I'll be washing the floor every few days anyway so it matters not..

myrnahaz

To be truthful, I currently live on the remnants of a building site (we've had an extension built) so there's no way I could avoid mud (It was only when I found muddy paw prints everywhere that I realised how much more thorouhly I needed to disinfect my surfaces!), and all my carpets need replacing anyway, so even though I voted 'no way...' I don't think my answer would be the same in 6 months time, when the mud has turned to lawn and my new carpets are laid, lol!

poppyolivia

my sister always takes her shoes off in my house and her kids do too...I've told them not to but they said its rude not to...

We take ours off when we are in hers as her house is posh!!lol....plus she lives in the country so can get a bit muddy.

But no one else takes theirs off in my house. And likewise we don't take ours off in other peoples houses either...if they asked that would be fine....no problem.

Doom_and_Gloom

I hate people walking around in houses with outdoor shoes on (although as MRSTITTLEMOUSE states workmen are a different matter) as I see it as disrespectful to be honest. I always take my shoes off when I enter peoples houses and have been known to bring my slippers with me that I wear in the house to wear at theirs. I’m very much in the Japanese culture when it comes to being in peoples houses. It is an honour to be invited into some ones home and therefore you should respect it. Not taking off the outdoor shoes that could have numerous types of outside dirt etc is unacceptable in my opinion. Although I’m in my parents house now I do insist on people taking their shoes off if they are to enter. It’s only polite and should not be seen as rude from the host to ask this.

RadoJo

Well, this is certainly food for thought - it never occured to me that people would think it rude not to remove your shoes. I just assumed that if people wanted shoes off they would ask, and the fact that people on here seem to think it should be a given shows how we can misinterpret situations and see offence where none is intended.

It sounds like people need to be open with guests and if they would prefer shoes off to actually say something rather than assume it's rideness or lack of respect - I tend not to take my shoes off when I go to someone's house because my feet stink and I don't want to subject them to it, but I would hate them to think that I was being rude when I was trying to spare them!

mrcow

RadoJo wrote: »

I tend not to take my shoes off when I go to someone's house because my feet stink and I don't want to subject them to it, but I would hate them to think that I was being rude when I was trying to spare them!

Personally I'd rather have your foot odour in my house temporarily than any faecal material or spit remnants that you will grind into my carpets if you don't take them off.

The problem with your idea about the host requesting the shoes to be removed is that it's poor manners to point out to someone that they are being rude or inconsiderate. Therefore, it's not often that someone will actually say something to you about it.