Removing shoes before entering your home?

[yoopermom]

We take off our shoes, appreciate our guests doing the same, but make exceptions for the aged and infirm. And, yes, I wipe off my dogs' feet when they come in. I do keep a pile of slippers/crocs in the back hall for "borrowing". DH grew up in a home of construction workers, and they dropped shoes and the majority of their clothing in the back hall where the washing machine was located before entering the main part of the house! At least I don't go that far!

Terri

 

[Kurby]

i think it's important to follow the lead of the host.

meaning if you go over to your friends who never take their shoes off then it's acceptable to leave yours on too

however if you go over to your aunts or a friend who you know takes their shoes off then do the same.

when going to a house you've never been to for a party it's probably acceptable to leave your shoes on

 

[npmommie]

A question for the shoe removers, do anyone of you have dogs? Do you wash their feet when they come inside or do they remove their shoes too?

I have dogs, and yes I wipe their feet off before they come thru the house, we live with woods around, so I have to otherwise I have the forest in my home
when they are really muddy, i have to bring them in the side door and I gate them in the side hallway, so I can clean them up before they have run of the house

 

[jrmasm]

What I don't get is what is the difference between whiping a dog's feet and people whiping their shoes on a mat before they come inside? Heck I'd guess people's shoes are probably cleaner than a dogs feet because people usually care what they step in.

 

[rparmfamily]

Shoes always come off before entering a home here in Hawaii. You'll notice the huge pile by the front door. Heck, you might see a sign at the front door saying "Mahalo for removing your slippahs" LOL. I've been to cocktail parties (Christmas eve) and even the heels come off LOL. I think it's a red dirt thing here plus local/asian custom. Everyone just about wears flip-flops (slippahs) here so shoes off is easy.

I have asked my IL's to remove their shoes in my home when they come out to visit (for extended stays) though I wouldn't dream of asking my 97 yr old grandfather to do the same. At his age he can do what he wants LOL.

I always remind the children to remove their shoes, but 99% of the time everyone takes shoes off right away anyway.

 

[ZachnElli]

I don't ask guests to remove their shoes. But we don't wear shoes in our house and we remove them when visiting others' homes. I also wipe my dogs feet. And since we seem to move alot, when looking at homes to buy, we also remove our shoes when entering a home to look at.

 

[MariDisney]

We typically take our shoes off at home. I wouldn't dream of asking someone else to take theirs off, and it wouldn't occur to me to offer. If someone removed their shoes I would be startled. It isn't the norm here. I go in and out of people's homes all day as part of my work, and I've never been asked to take them off. I wouldn't think to take them off, either. Now, if I know I've been in mud or something I will, but it feels odd.

 

[aprilgail2]

. I do keep a pile of slippers/crocs in the back hall for "borrowing".

Sorry but I find that truly gross- wearing shoes that other people have worn- no thanks.

What do all you shoes off people do when service workers come to your home because around here they walk in and do their work with their shoes on - do you offer them little pink slippers to wear????? Last night after reading this thread I talked to my neighbor who works for cable in and out of peoples homes all day long and he said he has never once been asked to remove his shoes before doing his job- and if he was he would just leave and call his company because no way was he doing that. Then I thought about the meter reader guys that have to come in your house and go to the basement to read your meter, can you even imagine if every house asked them to take their shoes off, they would never get their jobs done with so much time spend removing and putting on their shoes at every home!

 

[NHdisneylover]

Our own family pretty much never wears shoes in the house. We prefer to be barefoot and it does keep the floors cleaner.

I have NEVER asked an adult guest to remove shoes. I have asked children sometimes (when it is muddy) to do so before they went upstairs in our house in New Hampshire (upstairs floors were harder to clean--light carpeting).

Most people seem to automatically take their shoes off when comming to visit. In fact, I have often told guests that they did not need to remove their shoes--we just happen to like being barefoot. Most guests say they don't wear shoes in the house and remove them anyway. One friend used to bring his own "indoor" sneakers and change into them. He said he did the same at his own home and would not dream of tracking dirt into our home that he would not track into his. I have found this to be the case in several states and now in Germany.

To the PP who asked about service people. Maybe it is because of all the mud in rural New Hampshire but most service people automatically pulled their shoes off too. I remember becuase when the water softener was being installed it took forever as they kept going in and out and taking shoes on and off every time. I told them the first time they were welcome to wear their shoes in the house but they refused.

 

[bicker]

We take off our shoes, appreciate our guests doing the same, but make exceptions for the aged and infirm.

Ditto. Just as I would expect that guests take care not to mar our walls by dragging their ring-laden hands along them, nor mar our tables by carelessly dragging coffee cups across them, I also hope our guests would concern themselves with protecting our wood floors with the same consideration.

 

[PatsGirl]

Heck, not only do I not ask you to take your shoes off, but once ours are off, all feet promptly end up on the coffee table

Many of my childrens' friends drop their shoes at the front door and that's great but I've never "trained" my children to do that here or anywhere else. I do have a shoe basket not far from the front door but that was mostly because there were shoes everywhere! In most cases, we end up taking our shoes off wherever/whenever the mood hits. In my case, the bra and shoes come off almost immediately, but only in my own home

 

[MichelleVW]

Same here. I think it is important to be a good hostess and not REQUIRE anything of guests. My good friends I might ask if I was so inclined same as I would ask them to BYOB but shoes are not my hang-up

I even go so far as to offer an ashtray to my smoking friends so long as there are no children around but I have to say it's been many years since anyone has taken me up on my offer which suits me just fine Many, many years ago when I was an avid smoker, I went to my BFF house for the weekend and hadn't seen her in a few years. She insisted that I smoke outside in very cold temps -- it was a difficult weekend for me and I never visited again until after I quit smoking. It was that weekend that I made a vow to be a gracious hostess at all times, especially with overnight guests!

Wow....no way is anyone smoking in my house, I don't care if it's a blizzard or 100 degrees. I have family members that smoke, and they don't even smoke in their OWN house.

A question for the shoe removers, do anyone of you have dogs? Do you wash their feet when they come inside or do they remove their shoes too?

If they are muddy yes.....

What I don't get is what is the difference between whiping a dog's feet and people whiping their shoes on a mat before they come inside? Heck I'd guess people's shoes are probably cleaner than a dogs feet because people usually care what they step in.

I doubt it...my dogs are always cleaning their feet.

 

[Angelhalo]

Sorry but I find that truly gross- wearing shoes that other people have worn- no thanks.

What do all you shoes off people do when service workers come to your home because around here they walk in and do their work with their shoes on - do you offer them little pink slippers to wear????? Last night after reading this thread I talked to my neighbor who works for cable in and out of peoples homes all day long and he said he has never once been asked to remove his shoes before doing his job- and if he was he would just leave and call his company because no way was he doing that. Then I thought about the meter reader guys that have to come in your house and go to the basement to read your meter, can you even imagine if every house asked them to take their shoes off, they would never get their jobs done with so much time spend removing and putting on their shoes at every home!

I agree. I keep reading back because for some reason this topic is bizarrely fascinating. I think the strangest thing is the whole slippers for people to borrow. I find this to be absolutely putrid! If I went to someone's house and they asked me to put on some used slippers out of a basket I would probably laugh thinking they were joking, and then leave once I realized that their disgusting request was serious! LOL!!!

 

[NMAmy]

What do all you shoes off people do when service workers come to your home because around here they walk in and do their work with their shoes on - do you offer them little pink slippers to wear????? Last night after reading this thread I talked to my neighbor who works for cable in and out of peoples homes all day long and he said he has never once been asked to remove his shoes before doing his job- and if he was he would just leave and call his company because no way was he doing that. Then I thought about the meter reader guys that have to come in your house and go to the basement to read your meter, can you even imagine if every house asked them to take their shoes off, they would never get their jobs done with so much time spend removing and putting on their shoes at every home!

My meter is outside so no one comes in the house for that. I've never heard of one in the basement.

All service workers that come to the house have these little paper/plastic bootie things that they put on over their shoes. In fact, I've seen ads on tv and in the phone book for plumbers/carpenters, etc that highlight the fact that they do this.

I do wipe my dog's feet when she comes in--I have a rug by the back door and she knows to wait there.

I would never ask anyone to take their shoes off when they enter my home--it's just the norm around here. Oh, and the only people who usually walk around barefoot in my house are my sister and my dd. Most folks are wearing socks so you don't usually see their bare feet--in the winter, I've never met anyone who goes without socks!

 

[jrmasm]

No one has answered my question, what is the difference between wiping a dog's feet and a person wiping their shoes on a mat?

I'm being serious.

 

[Jennasis]

1. My yard is not muddy and the dogs are confined to the yard. They do not get their feet wiped unless it has been very rainy. The yard is grassy.

2. Service people rarely come to the house. DH does 90% of the home work. When we have had someone here to fix something, we don't ask them to remove their shoes. We bust out the mop and rug shampooer after they leave.

3. Again, I live on a horse farm. The people who are coming to my house are 9 out of 10 times the ones who were hanging around the barn all day. They are absolutely required to remove their shoes.

4. When I DO wipe the dogs feet, I take a large towel to each paw, get in between the toes and wipe every trace of dirt off. NOBODY ever wipes all the dirt from their shoes of on those useless mats.

 

[happygirl]

No, I couldn't even image asking people to do that

 

[NMAmy]

No one has answered my question, what is the difference between wiping a dog's feet and a person wiping their shoes on a mat?

I'm being serious.

I can only answer for my own situation so you may get some different responses. I'm wiping my dog's feet to reduce the mopping I have to do from snow and/or mud. The dog only goes in the backyard and there is no salt back there.

In the winter, DH and I tend to wear boots of some kind which have treads in them. Walking around on sidewalks, parking lots, etc, we tend to pick up salt that gets stuck in the treads so wiping my feet isn't going to get it all out. It's easier to just remove the boots.

Frankly, I'm just more comfortable walking around the house in socks so I do it any time of the year. Again, I do not require people to remove their shoes/boots in my home. It does cut down on the mopping/vacuuming, though.

 

[MineMail]

We don't wear shoes inside the house. DH usually wears slippers, but the rest of us are pretty much barefoot unless it's really cold.

I don't ask my visitors to remove their shoes. When first-time visitors or older people start to take them off on their own, we usually reassure them that it's not necessary. One day of shoes isn't going to ruin my rugs - that's my kids' friends' job to do with KoolAid. sigh

Most of our family and friends who visit do take off their shoes because it's part of their own routine or because they see the always-filled shoe racks.

My sister built a new house and the builders had to redo the driveway. The day she moved in, the blacktop was still fresh. She was insistent that everyone remove their shoes because that crap would ruin her rugs/floors. I didn't get that memo and left a trail of black marks across the living room and dining room that had to be cleaned immediately.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

My meter is outside so no one comes in the house for that. I've never heard of one in the basement.

All service workers that come to the house have these little paper/plastic bootie things that they put on over their shoes. In fact, I've seen ads on tv and in the phone book for plumbers/carpenters, etc that highlight the fact that they do this.

Ditto! All the service workers that come to our house use those little bootie things, on their own, we don't ask them to.

I've never asked anyone to remove their shoes, but most people do around here, anyway. We have a dog and we don't wipe his feet before he comes in unless it's muddy out, but like a PP said, he spends most of his time on the grass, licks his feet clean all the time, and gets baths more often than most people's shoes do, so I don't think they are as dirty. Plus, he's only 20 pounds, I don't think his paws are grinding the dirt into the carpet the way a 150 pound adult wearing hard sole shoes would be, and the little rocks and things that stick to the bottom of a shoe would be felt by a dog and removed before he dragged them over the hardwood floors.

About the slippers available for borrowing, the pp didn't say she insists that people wear them, she just said she keeps them available. I know people who do the same thing, but no one cares whether I'm barefoot or socked, or in their slippers, they are just there for the people who don't like to be barefoot or in socks, to use if they prefer. Anyone who finds it "putrid" to borrow a pair of slippers from a friend would not be required to do so.