Showing people round house - taking shoes off

BlondeHeadOn

oldone wrote: »

There is also the matter of discrimination against the elderly and those with disability.Some people find it difficult to put shoes on and off and would need a chair of certain height to perform the task.
People of larger than average weight would also find it difficult, and embarrasing to try and take their shoes off standing up.
Some elderly people need five to ten minutes to take their shoes off, even longer if they become flustered knowing the homeowner is staring at them with arms folded waiting.

Bravo! I am disabled, and was getting very cross with this thread until I read this post - thank you for mentioning issues of age and disability.

I can't take my shoes off because I wear a splint. If I take my shoes off, the split loses its support and I fall over. And it really hacks me off when people say 'everyone must take their shoes off in my house' because some people just blo@@dy well can't! And I hate being made to feel uncomfortable or self-conscious about my disability just because of somebody's precious sodding carpets! Get a carpet cleaner if you are that bothered....

Sorry - lots it a bit there! I have had this situation recently, and it made me feel very self-conscious and cross for days afterwards. I still am feeling a bit that way, apparently ....

Valli

OP

I have taken my bin out. I came in. I washed my hands.

Not OCD - just common sense.

But I don''t take shoes off or ask others to (well except DS but hey - he plays football)

BallandChain

googler wrote: »

I'm old enough to remember the clear plastic being used in showhomes before the overshoes became common.

Good plan, and an alternative would be to obtain carpet offcuts and place these in the main walking areas and especially leading from the front door - a nice light colour, and a quick glance down will tell you if any visitor is trailing anything unwelcome in with them so's you can stop them there.

I'd go one better and tape the offcuts of carpet to the viewer's feet. Their shoes won't be in contact with the floor and their feet stay warm. Sorted!

DawnW

I can't believe this thread is still going on

treliac

Some people's sweaty, smelly, verrucary, athletes feet will leave a far worse 'trail' than anything their well wiped shoes are likely to leave.

tbs624

GracieP wrote: »

.....I would never buy a house with pale coloured carpets, or if I did I'd only do so if I negotiated the cost of removal and replacement into the price.........

God preserve all house vendors from idiot time waster "buyers". How many house purchases have you made Gracie?

terrierlady

as a house developer we spend a large amount of the cleaning budget on getting the carpets cleaned. yes we have the plastic socks by the door but many people choose not to use them, yes we seal the loos but people choose to use them, people even pee in the shower cubicles would you believe. the choice is the venders does she want a sale or not and most people show common sense if its wet they pop their shoes off if dry just wipe them, remember you can always get the carpets steamed clean before moving out day . good luck its a tough market out there.

Valli

terrierlady wrote: »

as a house developer we spend a large amount of the cleaning budget on getting the carpets cleaned. yes we have the plastic socks by the door but many people choose not to use them, yes we seal the loos but people choose to use them, people even pee in the shower cubicles would you believe. the choice is the venders does she want a sale or not and most people show common sense if its wet they pop their shoes off if dry just wipe them, remember you can always get the carpets steamed clean before moving out day . good luck its a tough market out there.

That is absolutely foul! How disgusting!

melancholly

tbs624 wrote: »

God preserve all house vendors from idiot time waster "buyers". How many house purchases have you made Gracie?

i don't think that's fair at all - if you're looking to buy and you go round a house and see that the choice of flooring is not at all practical for your lifestyle, you have to factor into your offer the cost to you of changing it to what you want. it's the same as if you hate the bathroom suite or the kitchen or the garden or anything really.... if you have a set budget, you don't want to spend all of it on the sale price and then having nothing left to make the changes you want. it's not an 'idiot time waster' strategy, it's a 'don't want to over spend and end up in financial difficulty' strategy.

GracieP

tbs624 wrote: »

God preserve all house vendors from idiot time waster "buyers". How many house purchases have you made Gracie?

Just the one. Thinking carpets are utterly horrid and impractical and seeing them as a negative to a house doesn't mean I'm a time waster. When I bought my old house which was a victorian red brick which a previous owner had painted I took the cost and effort of restoring the brick into account when I made my offer. If I was looking to buy now and I saw a house I liked but it had carpets I'd be less likely to buy it. But if it was a perfect house in every other way I'd be working the cost and effort of replacing them into my offer. It wouldn't matter if the were 50 year old brown paisley carpets in an executor sale or expensive recently laid wool carpets. Either way I wouldn't want to live with them and wouldn't be willing to pay for them.

Just like when I was selling my house I knew anyone who wanted to knock through the two living rooms would be taking the cost of that into account in their offer. And that didn't make them time wasters, it just made them someone who wasn't willing to pay a premium for my taste.