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Shoes on or off when visiting?

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midnightcatprowl
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Re: Shoes on or off when visiting?

#226849

Postby midnightcatprowl » June 4th, 2019, 3:01 pm

The dog brings in more muck than a pair of clean shoes


I was finding this thread extremely amusing, without exactly being able to analyse why, until I came to the comment above and reflected on my four cats and their open 24 hours a day cat flap. Cats are, of course, very clean animals but they are very clean because they constantly wash and as they wash they carefully deposit on your chairs, bed, etc all the surplus fur, seeds. bits of grass and pollen and blossom and general muck they've just removed from their coats. A friend commented that she'd never met anyone who did as much washing as I did and I explained it was because every chair, bed, etc, (even the printer which they regard as a comfortable place to lie) has a throw or towel over it and these constantly need to be washed. Needless to say hard flooring throughout in my place.

I'm happy to keep my sandals on - I don't wear socks or tights - or take them off in other people's houses as they personally wish but I expect a direct request not to have to guess at what they want. The fact that a householder is wearing slippers doesn't inform me that they never wear shoes in the house, rather it tells me that they've been in for a period of time, plus, of course, I've come across many people who wear slippers in their house for comfort but don't stop to put on shoes if they want to walk round the garden or down the garden path or go to and from their car to fetch something. Also a pile of shoes beside the door means nothing as some families use that place as a storage area for all their footwear and it tells you nothing about their habits and wishes as regards shoe wearing in the house by themselves or anyone else.

People in my house? I don't care, they can take their shoes off or leave them on. I do prefer however that they don't sit down and start licking their feet - only cats can do that with real elegance.

JamesMuenchen
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Re: Shoes on or off when visiting?

#227282

Postby JamesMuenchen » June 5th, 2019, 6:35 pm

In the UK I always found it really weird unless your shoes were especially mucky.

Here in Germany, at least the south, shoes off is totally de rigeur. Everyone keeps a supply of slippers for guests.

At first I thought it was because of the heavy snowfall and the small stones they grit the pavements with in winter, but when I wore my trainers into the house in summer the downstairs neighbour complained.

Clitheroekid
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Re: Shoes on or off when visiting?

#228466

Postby Clitheroekid » June 10th, 2019, 6:41 pm

It used to be the case with me than anybody with a sense of smell preferred me to keep my shoes on and sealed, but that magically changed, for no apparent reason about 20 years ago.

Yes, exactly the same thing happened to me. Ever since I was a teenager I'd been cursed with awful, sweaty feet. The were a source of real distress and embarrassment. I tried everything to alleviate the problem, but without success. My shoes only lasted a few months, and I absolutely dreaded situations in which I had to remove my shoes.

But for some reason, as with Slarti, the problem just disappeared - also, by coincidence about 20 years ago. It was probably the best ever improvement in my health, and without any medical intervention.

So far as the original question's concerned, on first reading I thought it quite bizarre, but to my complete surprise I've concluded that, having read the responses, it's actually me who's the odd one out. This is because it would never normally occur to me to remove my shoes on entering someone's house unless they were visibly dirty.

I have, of course, on a few occasions, either been asked to remove my shoes or done so voluntarily because it's the sort of carpet that might show dirt, but most people I visit regularly have hard surfaces in the entrance area, and many have wood floors throughout, with rugs and carpets spread about the place. I must admit I've never given it any thought, but I think most of my friends wear shoes in their house, or if they kick them off (as I often do) it's for comfort reasons rather than to preserve the floor coverings.

So far as people visiting my house are concerned it would again never occur to me to ask them to remove their shoes, and I don't recall anyone offering to do so. Mind you, this may be a reflection on the less than pristine state of my humble abode! ;)

I've certainly never been offered slippers when visiting, neither would it occur to me to offer them.

It's fascinating that I've managed to live so long in complete ignorance that this issue even existed.

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Re: Shoes on or off when visiting?

#230705

Postby Clariman » June 19th, 2019, 10:54 am

As the OP, many thanks again for all this. It has been really interesting. I was brought up in a family that kept a tidy house but they were not showy people or 'house-proud'. My father wasn't a slippers and pipe person. It was the norm to wear outside shoes or no shoes around the house. Similarly that is how I have always lived. My other half often worse slippers but I did not until the last few years, when I've found our tiled flooring just a bit cold without something on my feet.

I would never dream of asking anyone to take their shoes off in my house, irrespective of the newness of our carpets. In my way of thinking, that would be putting material goods ahead of personal friendship and the comfort of any guests in our house. I also have always felt that taking a pair of slippers to someone-else's house would seem a bit presumptuous ... that I was treating it as if it were my own home and settling in for the duration.

What made me think about it again, was when our lovely daughter-in-law said her dad had a bee in his bonnet about people not taking off their shoes in the house :o . She didn't say in a pointed our accusatory way - she was laughing about it. We get on really well with our son's in-laws and I thought her dad must have been screaming on the inside that I never take my shoes off!!! :?

C

brightncheerful
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Re: Shoes on or off when visiting?

#230717

Postby brightncheerful » June 19th, 2019, 11:24 am

Downstairs we only have rugs. Whenever we are expecting visitors, I roll up the rugs and put them to one side. The other day we had a by appointment visitor who asked whether she should remove her shoes; we opted for yes. It was only after she'd gone about 45 minutes later that I remembered I must've been so tired as to have forgotten to roll up the rugs before she had arrived.

Unexpected visitors get the same response from us but I would roll up the rugs before the visitor(s) enter. Contrary to popular belief, Mrs Bnc and I are not perfect. When the TV installer and his wife came to fix the TV etc I clean forgot to roll up the rug in the living room. As they trampled over it, Mrs Bnc noticed my grimace and remarked to them, 'even Bnc doesn't walk on that rug with outdoor shoes'. They apologised and for a minute or so the conversation turned to the subject of whether to remove shoes when visiting. They said they do if asked on arrival so as we hadn't they thought we didn't mind.

As for us visiting, I would always ask the host's preference. Whether I'd be behaved enough not to remark on when the carpets were last hoovered or cleaned would depend!

Likely a test of our tolerance will begin when we start publicly marketing the house for sale. A neighbour has expressed interest in principle but is yet to view inside. (The neighbour has not visited inside whilst we've owned the property so memory is of the previous occupier's taste/life-stye.) If after viewing neighbour doesn't proceed then chances are it'll be strangers that'll be wanting to view. In any event, I shall have steam cleaned all the carpets so the answer will be yes, please remove your shoes. And ensure all rugs rolled up.

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Re: Shoes on or off when visiting?

#230759

Postby Gaggsy » June 19th, 2019, 2:08 pm

brightncheerful wrote:chances are it'll be strangers that'll be wanting to view... so the answer will be yes, please remove your shoes.
BnC, may I suggest you keep some disposable overshoes by your front door for when the house viewers arrive? https://www.thesafetysupplycompany.co.u ... 16610.html
Of course, if you spot them coming up the garden path and they look particularly grubby, you can always break out the heavy duty option https://www.amazon.co.uk/Protection-Air ... way&sr=8-5
:lol:


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