Do shoes come off at the door?

Drea

Well I used to take my shoes off at the door but that was more to do with that's where my shoes were kept than anything else. I didn't ask other people to take theirs off and it doesn't bother me that they didn't. I'd only be bothered if it was rainy/muddy outside and they were trailing mud around.

Now, I live in a houseshare and so don't take my shoes off until I get upstairs to my bedroom (sometimes stopping to make dinner, etc first).

When I go to other peoples homes I don't take my shoes off because it's never been something that my family or many of my friends have done so I would actually be embarrassed about taking them off in case DIDN'T want me to. I do take them off if asked to though and would then automatically take them off next time I visited.

People who want shoes taken off, just ask!

ts_aly2000

Yes. EVERYONE has to take their shoes off. We have new carpets, well, 3-years old anyway. I like having a nice house.

It came about when we first moved in and a meter reader came in the front door and left oily foot prints everywhere. We live on a main road, with a path running alongside. It's utterly filthy outside.

Have had it out several times with utilities people since;

1 : Knock knock.
2 : *Opens door*

1 : Hello, I've come to read your meter.
2 : Yes of course, can you take your shoes off please?

1 : I'm afraid not, we're not allowed.
2 : Oh right, then I'm afraid you can't read the meter.

1 : We have a legal right to access the meter.
2 : I don't care if you do. You're not coming in this house with your shoes on.

1 : I'm going to have to report this.
2 : Ok, whatever. *Closes door*

This house has also NEVER been smoked in either, despite my hubby smoking. He goes outside, as does anyone else who wants a quick fag.

It's my house, I'll do what I want in it!!

mountainofdebt

Strangely enough I take my shoes off when I visit a certain friends house and she when she comes to mine but its more of a relaxed thing rather than a house proud thing but don't do it any where else.

I generally kick off my shoes as soon as I get home as does the rest of the family but that again is being about relaxed.

would find it rather like being hyacinth bucket thing if I was asked to take off my shoes when I went visiting,lol

mspig

We have laminate downstairs so i'm not too bothered about the shoes on downstairs but family are not allowed to wear their shoes upstairs, don't make it a rule for visitors though.

nadnad

mrcow wrote: »

Wait until you have a baby crawling over the floor and putting everything in their mouth, maybe you'll change your mind about how revolting it is then?

i've got an 11 month old and he puts everything in his mouth, and i still dont takes my shoes off and would never ever ask anyone else to do so! the floors are tiled and hoovered quite often so its not so bad!

shoplady_2

I am surprised that someone would be offended when asked to remove their shoes, if you are entering someone else's house you abide by their rules!
My partner is muslim and it is expected in the family that you would remove your shoes, not just for cleanliness but it is respectful. Nobody has ever had a problem with this in my experience, I have even been offered slippers or socks to wear in relatives houses!

nadnad

i can't believe how many people think it rude that visitors dont automatically take their shoes off! i actually dont know anyone who takes their shoes off in the house. ooh actually when i was little a family across the street did and everyone thought they were weird lol, and also i remember as a child feeling very embarrassed and awkward having to remove my shoes to go into that house.

debralee_2

Me and my OH leave our slippers in the hallway so always put them on when I come home.

I'm not bothered about shoes in the house just prefer to have my slippers on or be bare foot because it's more comfortable.

I have never asked anyone to take their shoes off at the door but most of my friends and family do it automatically. Two of my friends have even started bringing their own slippers with them to put on when they come round!

elainew

I gthink its rude that someone wouldnt obey the rules of my house. Would you wear your shoes in bed if you had walked outside in them first--i dont see why the carpet my kid plays on is any different.

This is from the NHS website

Soiled soles
Our shoes pick up all kinds of dirt when we're outdoors, including animal faeces. When we walk around in them at home, these germs get liberally spread around, settling into carpets and increasing the risk of infection. Hygiene experts advise making your home a shoe-free zone.
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/homehygiene/Pages/Homehygienetrivia.aspx

mrcow

nadnad wrote: »

i've got an 11 month old and he puts everything in his mouth, and i still dont takes my shoes off and would never ever ask anyone else to do so! the floors are tiled and hoovered quite often so its not so bad!

Like I said, we all have our own standards. Hoovering a tiled floor doesn't make it clean btw!

You may or may not find this interesting?

http://diseases-viruses.suite101.com/article.cfm/sole_survivors_germs_and_shoes

There are loads of other sources of information, this is just one I found.

Researchers, in conjunction with a major shoe corporation, recently identified a myriad of dangerous and health-threatening germs carried unknowingly on your shoe.

In pursuit of a marketing angle to prove the usefulness and marketability of their new line of washable shoes; the Rockport Company, along with researchers at the University Of Arizona, uncovered a plethora of remarkable facts and grotesque data regarding the dangerous germs clinging to the bottom of our shoes.

In the study, 10 subjects were asked to wear previously clean shoes for a period of 2 weeks.The shoes were then analyzed in the laboratory by the team in Arizona headed by Chuck Gerba (a professor in the Departments of Soil, Water and Environmental Science and in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Arizona).
What Germs Can Be Carried On Shoes?

The study, reported in April of 2008, found the following in large numbers:

• Escherichia coli (E. Coli) - causing symptoms ranging from severe stomach pain accompanied by diarrhea to kidney failure and potential death in 1 out of 50 victims.
• Klebsiella pneumonia – a gram-negative bacteria that can rapidly destroy lung tissue and in 25 to 50% of patients will cause death.
• Serratia ficaria – causing gallbladder empyemas and sepsis as well as biliary infections.

Gerba stated that "The common occurrence (96%) of coliform and E. coli bacteria on the outside of the shoes indicates frequent contact with fecal material, which most likely originates from floors in public restrooms or contact with animal fecal material outdoors" .
The study also showed that bacteria can be tracked by shoes over long distances into the subjects homes after the shoes were contaminated with bacteria.