This is why I commented about all the people stating "shoes off" houses need to warn others before inviting them over. Most "shoes off" people assume that everyone else does the same, so they would have no idea that there's anything to "warn" guests about.
If you lived in an area where shoes off was the norm, you would be in the habit of having a pair of "house shoes" or slippers with arch support on you that you could change into. Or you would apologize as you came into the house that you have a condition and can't remove your shoes and the host would most likely tell you it's no problem and let you leave them on.
I think this is why this is a regional practice. I grew up in a "shoes off" region, but I don't really recall ever seeing people walking around in bare feet (especially in someone else's home). People always had socks on because they were wearing them with their shoes (and a lot of people would even bring extra socks with non-slip or little slippers in their purse).I think it is interesting that folks don't want their floors dirty but don't think about NAKED feet with who knows what going on with them walking all over their carpet, shedding, leaving germs .. where they and their kids walk, sit and play. I am a person that doesn't like feet, especially other people's feet. Now if they have on socks it's all good but what if they are sockless?
Living in the South, we wear flip flops or sandals all the time. I don't even go barefoot in my own home, so I would never expect someone to remove their shoes to walk around barefoot in mine.
Yes, people who wear flip flops or sandals wash their feet before bed. I would never dream of getting into bed without. When I travel, we bring baby wipes to wipe feet off in case we are not able to bathe before bed. Even when we've travelled to Africa and not had the ability to shower where we were staying, my husband and I cleaned our feet every night before bed.
