Wearing shoes in the house

[Part-Time Homeschooler]

This is sort of a spin-off of the post about wearing shoe covers when viewing a home.

 

I was just wondering, does anyone ask their guests to remove their shoes or ask maintenance/service people to wear shoe covers upon entering their home?

 

Several years ago I read an article which stated that wearing street shoes indoors (especially when you have young children) is a major health hazard. The writer of the article said that when you wear your shoes into the house you are tracking in all sorts of disgusting things (I won't gross everyone out by listing them, but I'm sure you get the picture). The article put it this way: Do you really want to track everything you step in while out in public back into your home? Think about how disgusting most public restrooms are....

 

For those people who need to wear shoes at home, the article suggested having a separate pair of shoes to wear only in the house. This really makes sense when you think about it.

 

Any other thoughts or opinions?

[Remudamom]

It sounds like a good idea but I could never make it fly here. I just try to keep manure covered boots outside, as well as big hairy dogs who have gone swimming in the sewer.

 

Crocs would be good for that, cheap and comfortable.

[DollyM]

I live in central Maryland. It is VERY common here for people to ask/expect guests to remove their shoes at the door. Some even have a basket of slippers for guests to "borrow."

 

My kids are so used to sliding off their shoes upon entering a home, that they are surprised and caught off guard when they are the only ones to do this (for example, when we go out of town to a relative's home, to an area where this practice is not so wide-spread.)

 

We encourage but don't require guests to "de-shoe" at our door - most of the kids DO, but many of the adults do NOT and we'd don't insist upon it.

 

But I have friends who absolutely WOULD INSIST - even for adults. I had to get used to this myself.

[Anne/Ankara]

In the Middle East (Turkey) it is unheard of to wear street shoes in the home. Everyone takes off his/her shoes when entering a home. We do it here too, and it really does keep the level of dirt/mud down in the home. And there is no running around, looking for shoes, when leaving the house (as I remember from my childhood), because all the shoes are in the laundry room at the exit!

 

Of course it is more difficult to ask older people to remove their shoes when visiting us. I am unable to do that, but I've noticed that more and more people ask or volunteer to remove their shoes when arriving. And I always do the same, when visiting other people's homes, as a curtesy to them.

[In The Great White North]

Guests (over 10) are usually bright enough to figure it out on their own, especially after they see me in slippers.

 

Workmen are usually hopeless. They have huge dirty boots that take half an hour to lace up. I just assume I have to wash the floor after anything gets fixed.

 

The dog is definitely the worst. He comes in all wet and as he dries, tons of dirt comes out. You could almost make a sand castle with it.

[Kate in Arabia]

We don't wear shoes in the house. We don't ask people to remove their shoes, some do when they see the shoe rack at the door. Culturally (like Turkey) it is common here to remove shoes, unless the floor is tiled (no rugs) or if you're going to a fancy party in your fancy shoes, lol.

 

I don't make a fuss about it either way.. particuarly since for some people it is a medical issue -- my father was told by his physician to always wear shoes, it may be due to his diabetes, I'm not 100% sure on that.

 

Kate

[Tracey in TX]

We wear shoes in the house. Workers also wear their shoes unless there is mud. My dog runs through mud and trollops through the house, as do the children. We have a hard wood floor which requires cleaning daily. I refuse to be a high maintenance mom with more attention to my home than my family. Kids roll in the dirt, crawl on the sidewalks, and attempt to climb into the storm drains...not to mention bouncing on trampolines and eating in public restaurants, and using public restrooms. They're equally gross, so walking with shoes in my house isn't really a concern IMO.

[KS_]

We don't wear outside shoes in the house (unless someone has forgotten something and runs back inside to get it), but we also don't require guest to remove their shoes. I have inside shoes that I wear just because I do not like to go barefoot and it helps protect my feet from bumping things or dropping things - lol.

[FunnyFarmMom]

Among our friends and neighbors it would be considered extremely rude to come tromping in the house in shoes. Even when the weather is dry (no mud), everyone down to the littlest ones will automatically slip off their shoes. I mean, teaching little ones to take their shoes off at the door ranks right up there with teaching "please" and "thank you". I guess I just assumed it was that way everywhere! :D I don't care so much about my floors now that they're easy wash laminate - not that I'm much of a neat freak anyway, so I will wear my shoes in and out. But the kids are usually muddy (or worse - we live on a farm) so they slip them off at the door.

[dirty ethel rackham]

In IL, many people remove their shoes if the weather has been bad. I do ask children to remove their shoes because they tend to be impulsive and don't pay attention to what they are bringing in. Adults can usually be trusted to make their own decisions. Most see a shoe rack and ask if they should remove their shoes. I rarely wear shoes in the house. I just hate tracking in mud, dust, leaves, etc. all through the house. I would have to sweep 4 - 5 times a day and, on wet days, be wiping up the floor several times a day. Nothing is worse than stepping in mud or a puddle in socks.

 

For the childbirth class I teach in my home, I do ask people to remove their shoes and I tell them ahead of time. The reason is that we sit on the floor a lot and do relaxation exercises on the floor.

[Mrs. Readsalot]

and generally most of our repeat visitors pick up on this and also remove theirs. This is common where we live. Interestingly a friend of my sons will not permit barefeet in their home so in the summer he must take a par of socks when he visits them. I picked up the no shoe thing in Hawaii. If does keep our carpets clean. I have started to need to wear shoes in the house due to ankle problems, I have a pair of crocs just for in the house wear.

[Tracey in TX]

Among our friends and neighbors it would be considered extremely rude to come tromping in the house in shoes. Even when the weather is dry (no mud), everyone down to the littlest ones will automatically slip off their shoes. I mean, teaching little ones to take their shoes off at the door ranks right up there with teaching "please" and "thank you". I guess I just assumed it was that way everywhere! :D I don't care so much about my floors now that they're easy wash laminate - not that I'm much of a neat freak anyway, so I will wear my shoes in and out. But the kids are usually muddy (or worse - we live on a farm) so they slip them off at the door.

 

That's fascinating to me! Our first exchange student was from Norway. When she walked in our home for the first time she took off her shoes and we were shocked! Nobody here (among our friends) does this, so it was a little cultural experience for us :) That's probably why I answered so emphatically to the 'shoe covers in a for-sale home' post.

 

It's enlightening to learn how others even within the USA have various expectations. Maybe this can be our adult culture lesson for the day:)

[Laurie4b]

I don't worry about germs tracked in. For one thing, there has been a rise in various diseases from houses being too sanitary ( autoimmune diseases. & I think also allergies/asthma. I know about the autoimmune because this happened in dh's family where m-i-l was very focused on clean). No worries here, LOL!

 

I do ask visiting kids to take off their shoes after they've been outside, because our wooded lot is muddy after a rain. I don't ask adults to take off their shoes. That seems rude to me. I grew up in an area where people did not take off shoes NEVER in all my growing up days was there a pile of shoes at someone's front door, so when I moved to an area where it was common to ask, it felt weird. I can't bring myself to ask adults.

[Amira]

After living in countries where everyone takes their shoes off, I much prefer that my family takes their shoes off and I usually ask guests to remove their shoes, although often the shoe rack by the door does the talking. However, I don't ask people for whom it would be difficult to remove their shoes to do so.

 

I buy shoes knowing that they'll need to be easy-on and easy-off. And it really does keep the house so much cleaner. There is a huge difference between the carpet by the front door and the carpet in the rest of the house.

[Dayle in Guatemala]

really grosses me out. In the States, I didn't have a problem with it. I didn't like it, but, I didn't worry too much if a guest did it. Here, however, we have a strict, no shoes rule.

 

I won't get into what could be on your shoes here, but, trust me, it's not healthy at all.:eek::ack2: So we have house slippers for everyone and flip flops for guests that don't happen to have socks on and are wearing sandals. It just makes me feel better!

[Alice]

We take off our shoes. Dh is American-born Chinese and grew up doing this. I think we were married before I asked what the reason for the custom was...thinking I was being so culturally sensitive. He looked at me oddly and said "to keep your house clean." :)

 

My FIL is pretty strict about the no-shoe policy. They have a basket of slipper socks (from the hospital where SIL is an ER doctor) at the door for people who don't want to be barefoot or in socks. We have had a couple of big events at his house and usually on the invitation is included something like "We ask guests to remove their shoes. Feel free to bring slippers if you desire."

 

At our house we take our shoes off and all our close friends know this and so just do the same. We have a monthly lunch group after church that often includes visitors or people we don't know very well. Usually they see everyone else removing shoes and do the same. I try not to make a big deal over it since it's more important to me to have guests feel comfortable than anything else. If people are going to go upstairs to where our bedrooms are we generally so ask them to remove their shoes. But we keep it pretty low-key and I hope don't make anyone fell awkward.

[Alenee]

Living in the NW, it's a must to de-shoe upon entering a home. With all the rain, we'd end up with severely muddy carpets. My family from CA finds it weird but hey, they don't have to pay for new carpet! :001_smile:

[Heather in the Kootenays]

We don't wear shoes in the house - perhaps the result of wearing boots part of the year. We'd never ask anyone to take their shoes off but most people, except for the elderly, seem to do it automatically.

 

It's very funny when we get a yearly delegation of visitors from Japan because although the Japanese ALWAYS take their shoes off, they're taught that Americans NEVER their shoes off. We generally explain that Canadians ALMOST ALWAYS take their shoes off which causes them endless confusion because they're taught that the two cultures are more similar than they actually are. It's been a great ice-breaker.

[Call Me Cordelia]

Hmm.. never really thought about it. I find it much dirtier when my kids go barefoot outside (which some of them do) and then come inside than if they wear shoes both places.

 

I can't imagine considering someone rude for wearing shoes in the house, unless they had been expressly asked not to.

 

I used to go barefoot all the time, but now need to wear shoes for heel spurs. It would make me crazy to have to change going out and then coming back in.

[Brindee]

I guess it's just a custom here. I don't ever ask anyone to take their shoes off, but people always do! And when we go to someone else's home we automatically take our shoes off as well. I feel like I'm in a foreign country by saying "our custom here", but I'm in the beeeeuuutiful Pacific NW! :D

[Brenda in FL]

I usually leave it up to the guests. The only time I ever asked guests to remove their shoes was for a family birthday party with children under two that I knew would be crawling all over our tile floors! it wasn't a problem because the guests were all parents and grandparnets of said children!

[Kathy in MD]

It sounds like a good idea but I could never make it fly here. I just try to keep manure covered boots outside, as well as big hairy dogs who have gone swimming in the sewer.

 

Crocs would be good for that, cheap and comfortable.

 

I thought you were thinking of crocodiles to permanently take care of your dirty dogs :)

[JennifersLost]

After growing up in NY where the custom where I lived was to keep your shoes on, moving in with dh and then up to Canada where shoes are taken OFF was a big switch for me.

 

I have thought a lot about it over the years and I think that people don't realize all the "cultural context" that goes on with it.

 

In upstate NY the families who did ask you to take shoes off were either foreign (so you grinned and bore it) or very "snobby", so you went along with it and then talked about them behind their back. It was considered both demeaning and rude to ask someone to remove their shoes because it suggested that that person was incapable of wiping off their feet and because making someone go shoeless takes away some of their dignity.

 

It would also have been considered very rude and strange for someone to come to OUR house and take off their shoes (a grownup) unless we knew them EXTREMELY well; it would have been like someone coming over half-dressed. It would have been presumptuous.

 

When I first dated dh and he made me take off my shoes at his house I was incredibly insulted and it was a definite strike against him.

 

After moving here and getting really used to the whole concept I see that the reasoning here goes the other way. It's considered extremely rude NOT to take your shoes off. If you want to keep your shoes on you're looked down on as being too stupid to know what to do, or way to snobby to walk in bare feet in someone's house (therefore you're insulting their cleaning). You only keep your shoes on if you know them very very well and they tell you to. It's the total opposite.

 

I think the whole thing is a great study in human behavior. I never got sick from having our shoes on in the house and I got fewer stubbed toes. On the other hand the house is much easier to keep clean when we take our shoes off.

 

And the funnier difference is that while dh insists on no shoes in the house - he insists everyone needs to wear shoes OUTSIDE. Whereas I don't mind shoes in the house, but I think bare feet outside are just fine! Figure that one out.

[Cindy in the NH Woods]

especially in our climate with "mud season", and long winters with its accompanying sand and grit.

 

Cindy

[Kat in GA]

I know lots of people who ask that their guests remove their shoes. No one in my house wears shoes except for me. My heel spurs are so bad that it really hurts to walk without them. And my podiatrist says that going barefoot is bad for your feet (I don't recall if he meant me...or for everyone!).

 

It's a fine line to tread (hey...a pun!) to know what to say when you go to someone's house where they do remove shoes...to have to explain myself and make sure it's okay for me to leave mine on...

[Nan in Mass]

I remember commenting on it at the garden store when I was buying boots for the children, and the young guy who was helping me said his mother had always made him take his shoes off, too. I asked him if my children would continue to take their shoes off, or if that would change when they were teenagers. He assured me that yes, my children would ALWAYS take their shoes off, even when they were grown up. I was relieved. I wish I could tell him now that he was right. All my children make their friends take their shoes off when they come into the house, even my 21yo. It isn't that uncommon here, anyway, where most of the children wear rubber boots most of the year, either that or they go barefoot.

-Nan

[Tammy]

We are just used to it. But....I wouldn't expect my guests to do it....but most of them do. Never would I ask a service man to take off his shoes.

 

Tammy

[magic]

I do not mind if anyone wears shoes in my house. However, my SIL requires everyone to remove their shoes at her house. The thing is, she has a cat that sheds like crazy and you take three steps into her house and your socks are covered in cat hair. We no longer visit their house because the cat hair is hard to get out of the laundry. My husband and son have asthma and the cat hair really irritates them.

[Kay in Cal]

We take shoes off when we come in the house... most of our friends do as well. That's here in So. Cal. I also think it is a generational thing--I don't notice elderly folks going without shoes as often (and I visit lots of people in their homes).

 

My dh grew up in New Jersey, and they always wore shoes in the house. My family always took ours off... from the midwest, but lived all over.

 

When visiting: If I see a pile of shoes by the door and my host/ess is barefoot, I take mine off. If they are shod, I leave mine on!

[Heather in Savannah]

it has become a cultural thing. Now it also makes a lot of sense in terms of not tracking in snow, mud, etc. I'm living in Georgia now, and when I go to people's homes and automatically without thinking take my shoes off, the hosts will ask me if my shoes are hurting my feet. LOL! :lol:

[Nestof3]

I will not go barefoot in any house, not even my own. I only wear socks during the cool months when I wear slip-on shoes. In the warm months, I wear slip-on mules with no socks. I cannot stand the feeling of bare feet when they come in contact with crumbs, spots of water or anything.

 

I also don't want to wear someone else's slippers, so I think it's kind of rude to say that I may track something onto your carpet or floor, but it's okay for me to pick up your germs on my feet from your slippers or your floor.

 

My boys always wear socks with tennis shoes, so I will have them remove their shoes if the ground is damp or muddy when we visit people. They take their shoes off when they come in our house because they are not aware enough yet to distinguish between muddy and non-muddy shoes.

 

I figure our body was created to handle a certain amount of germs and try not to worry too much about it.

[FunnyFarmMom]

This is just (weirdly) fascinating to me! We're in the SW corner of NY, but we must be more Canadian than not! BTW, I would never ASK an adult to remove their shoes (it would be like correcting their table manners :D), but I would ask the kids friends. Although now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever had to - my kids have very polite friends. Now I'm going back over my life, wondering if I was being presumptuous walking around in my sock feet! :001_huh:

[J'Marie]

I don't ask but many just do anyways, and I am never offended if asked! Although I ask my kids to wear slippers in the house...My midwifes use to have extra clog/berkies for people to slip on at her office

[Laura Corin]

We don't wear shoes in the house, but we don't insist on others taking their shoes off. We provide slippers, but don't lay down the law.

 

Laura

[Peela]

We tend not to wear shoes inside, but its not especially rigid. We do prefer it if guests deshoe upon entering (and there is a gigantic shoe rack inside the door so its pretty obvious) but people have different responses. Some people are offended, like dh's mother. Others just find it wierd or odd, and incomfortable. For many people nowadays its pretty common.

It used to be a strict rule but I must admit sometimes I just like to wear shoes inside anyway. The kids tend to take theirs off though- they would prefer not to wear shoes inside anyway.

[4arrows]

A lot of our guests will remove their shoes when they come in, because they see all of our shoes by the door. I don't feel comfortable asking anyone to remove their shoes, and won't stress about it if they don't.

[*anj*]

I prefer to go without shoes when I am at home. My children do likewise. Most of the children who come here seem to take their cue from the great pile of shoes overflowing a bin that we keep near the front door. Adults usually keep their shoes on, although I wouldn't ask either way.

 

My dh is one of those people who likes to wear shoes at all times. I guess he's kind of like Nestof3 because he doesn't like to feel things underfoot. I would love it if he'd wear a pair of special "house shoes" but I don't think that is going to happen. Oh well, he's the one who does the vacuuming and mopping, so I guess it doesn't bother him so much..... ;)

[dragons in the flower bed]

In upstate NY the families who did ask you to take shoes off were either foreign (so you grinned and bore it) or very "snobby", so you went along with it and then talked about them behind their back. It was considered both demeaning and rude to ask someone to remove their shoes because it suggested that that person was incapable of wiping off their feet and because making someone go shoeless takes away some of their dignity.

 

We're in the Mohawk Valley in central NY.

 

For me, it's not a hygiene thing at all. I would never ask a guest to make themselves uncomfortable in order to keep my house clean; it's my duty as a good hostess to make the house clean in order to keep them comfortable.

 

It's much more of a cultural thing here -- relax, take your shoes off, make yourself at home. We see shoes as something people only wear in order to prove that they are capable of meeting arbitrary, consumerist social standards. By making it clear to my guests that they're welcome to go barefoot here, I'm telling them that we don't care if they fit into hollow social norms. I wouldn't tell my guests they ought to remove their shoes, but I do think people who insist on wearing them are being silly, since shoes are so bad for you.

[nancypants]

Thankfully it's the norm here. I didn't grow up this way... can't tell you how much carpet my parents have gone through! LOL Since living in Alberta (5 years) I've not yet had a person over to the house who didn't automatically take off their shoes when coming in the house, except my own visiting extended family! :tongue_smilie: