Removing ones shoes before entering one's or another's home

Dancor

In Soviet Russia shoes romove you.

mad_physist

mad_physist wrote: »

When you enter a house in Austria, you take off your shoes FULLSTOP Even a plumber or satelite repair man will remove his shoes when called to fix something. Actually its considered very impolite to leave ones shoes on!

And european men don't sprinkle or leave the toilet seat up.

bluto63

c4cat wrote: »

So I would have to wash my mat after each person used it. cos after the first person used it the next person would be picking up the dirt left by the first person who could have wiped the dog sh!te from the soles of his shoes onto the mat in the first place. I am sorry but from an hygenic point of view your method does not compute

Why are you lettin these people who run around in dog **** in your house?

-=Shamrock=-

c4cat wrote: »

Some thing I picked up from living in the Far East Asia for a good part of my life. I was brought up to never walk into any home with ones outdoor footwear on; Its common practice to always remove outdoor footwear at the door. In my home in Ireland my family and I have carried on this practice and when I visit anybody elses home I still always remove my shoes before entering. Personally I think its just common sense not to bring in the sh!te from the outside world into ones home on their outdoor footwear and spread it all over the carpets. Here in Europe it seems its just not the done thing to remove ones shoes before entering ones or anothers home. Can anyone justify from a hygenic point of view why people expect to wonder into any home, ones own or another's home wearing outdoor footwear?

In Holland people remove their shoes. Guests would however not be expected to remove their shoes.

c4cat

RedXIV wrote: »

I think this could be closer to the truth than many will want to admit. I know plenty of people who wish their home to be absolutely spotless and flawless in appearance. But that wouldn't be "home" for me. I'd wear my shoes in and out of my house because it's convenient, not out of disrespect for the house. I think if you get worried about little things like this, you may not be able to relax fully?

I do not think its a matter of being house proud, I have visited homes in Thailand which were no more then shacks with a tin roof, but the floors were spotless. For me its a matter of hygine. here in Ireland so many people spit, gob and piss on the pavements plus the dogs doing their dump too it does not make sense to me to walk into your house with outdoor foot wear on bringing in spit, gob and piss

c4cat

bluto63 wrote: »

Why are you lettin these people who run around in dog **** in your house?

I am not letting those people in, do you?

phasers

c4cat wrote: »

I do not think its a matter of being house proud, I have visited homes in Thailand which were no more then shacks with a tin roof, but the floors were spotless. For me its a matter of hygine. here in Ireland so many people spit, gob and piss on the pavements plus the dogs doing their dump too it does not make sense to me to walk into your house with outdoor foot wear on bringing in spit, gob and piss

Yes but we don't eat on the floor. If someone wanted to dance on my dining room table though I'd ask them to take their shoes off

c4cat

Ghost Train wrote: »

does seem a bit controlling being asked to remove your shoes

should you feel you have to remove all your clothes is your host requests it :pac:

Well if my host was a sugarbabe look alike, I would comply as resistance would be futile

RedXIV

c4cat wrote: »

I do not think its a matter of being house proud, I have visited homes in Thailand which were no more then shacks with a tin roof, but the floors were spotless. For me its a matter of hygine. here in Ireland so many people spit, gob and piss on the pavements plus the dogs doing their dump too it does not make sense to me to walk into your house with outdoor foot wear on bringing in spit, gob and piss

I'd point out that the only place that would be affected would be the floor of your house? and while wearing outdoor shoes, you will certainly not be overly affected by these things. You're floor is not just contaminated by things brought in by your feet. what about if you've pets? should they never be allowed in the house? Young children, who are inherently messy, should they be forbidden in case they mess up the floor? Your home should make you feel comfortable, and if you feel better taking your shoes off, then thats what you should do. But its not necessary to be done and nobody is obliged to do it. And frankly, in ireland, alot of places will think you're odd for requesting others to do so

c4cat

Moonbaby wrote: »

And european men don't sprinkle or leave the toilet seat up.

Now thats another topic altogether

c4cat

RedXIV wrote: »

I'd point out that the only place that would be affected would be the floor of your house? and while wearing outdoor shoes, you will certainly not be overly affected by these things. You're floor is not just contaminated by things brought in by your feet. what about if you've pets? should they never be allowed in the house? Young children, who are inherently messy, should they be forbidden in case they mess up the floor? Your home should make you feel comfortable, and if you feel better taking your shoes off, then thats what you should do. But its not necessary to be done and nobody is obliged to do it. And frankly, in ireland, alot of places will think you're odd for requesting others to do so

Well then I am odd, but my kids don't crawl in sh!te brought in from outside and think its chocolate

almostnever

I have friends like that. You can't wear shoes:
-in a room with a carpet.
-on wooden floors,you'll scrape them.
-on tiled surfaces(for some unknown reason.)
It's kind of funny because even if I'm not wearing pjs and am dressed,my parents will say "go get dressed" if I'm not wearing shoes.

RedXIV

c4cat wrote: »

Well then I am odd, but my kids don't crawl in sh!te brought in from outside and think its chocolate

if you think you're kids aren't bringing dirt into the house just by making them remove their shoes if they are out playing, you're a tad naive lass

SuperGrover

Me Irish, wife Asian.

We take off our shoes going into the gaff. Some visitors also do this 'cos they spot it or know the story.
Some don't but we would never ask them to. That's just rude.

Seems like a decent enough compromise to me.

walshb

I never came across it, but have heard of it here. Anyway, if a mat is provide, which it should be, I would always use it

c4cat

RedXIV wrote: »

if you think you're kids aren't bringing dirt into the house just by making them remove their shoes if they are out playing, you're a tad naive lass

My kids remove their shoes and go and wash their hands and change their clothes if they are dirty in that order when they come home. To me thats normal to you thats odd

Neamhshuntasach

almostnever wrote: »

I have friends like that. You can't wear shoes:
-in a room with a carpet.
-on wooden floors,you'll scrape them.
-on tiled surfaces(for some unknown reason.)
It's kind of funny because even if I'm not wearing pjs and am dressed,my parents will say "go get dressed" if I'm not wearing shoes.

I think you covered all floor surfaces there horse. Unless lino is still knocking around.

Long Onion

Take off one shoe, leave the other on.

ejmaztec

On the whole, people in the UK and Ireland are quite happy wallowing in our own sh1t, which is frowned upon by our more cultured European neighbours.

The closest I got to removing my shoes was when I was bought a pair of Doctor Who slippers from Aldi. I'm not going to wear them and look a dick when I have to answer the door.:eek:

RedXIV

c4cat wrote: »

My kids remove their shoes and go and wash their hands and change their clothes if they are dirty in that order when they come home. To me thats normal to you thats odd

you're right, to me that is a little odd. Can I ask you, do you think you're home is free from dirt then? do you believe you've eradicated all possibilities of dirt entering your home?

Novella

I never wear shoes in the house, but it's more of a comfort thing, I think. As a child though, I always had to take my shoes off at the door. My mother is OCD and my house looks like a showhouse, people always say it looks like no one lives in it! It's a bit weird, but whatever makes her happy!

Never wear shoes in my apartment either, but that's pretty much a bad idea 'cause a lot of the floor is sticky from where beer has been spilled at various times! Eeeek!

TanG411

If I go to a house and I notice a carpet then I usually ask if I should remove my shoes. And if I know my shoes are dirty then I'll remove them anyway.

Other than that I just walk in.

Cookie_Monster

c4cat wrote: »

So I would have to wash my mat after each person used it... I am sorry but from an hygenic point of view your method does not compute

Admit it, your just a hygiene freak.

Nothing wrong with a bit of dirt around the place. Good for the aul imune system and all that

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

c4cat wrote: »

Some thing I picked up from living in the Far East Asia for a good part of my life. I was brought up to never walk into any home with ones outdoor footwear on; Its common practice to always remove outdoor footwear at the door. In my home in Ireland my family and I have carried on this practice and when I visit anybody elses home I still always remove my shoes before entering. Personally I think its just common sense not to bring in the sh!te from the outside world into ones home on their outdoor footwear and spread it all over the carpets. Here in Europe it seems its just not the done thing to remove ones shoes before entering ones or anothers home. Can anyone justify from a hygenic point of view why people expect to wonder into any home, ones own or another's home wearing outdoor footwear?

You make this argument on the basis of hygene yet fail to understand that removing your shoes causes a new hygene problem. I rather not catch your feet diseases, thank you very much. If your shoes are filthy, take them off, if they are clean, leave them on.

c4cat

RedXIV wrote: »

you're right, to me that is a little odd. Can I ask you, do you think you're home is free from dirt then? do you believe you've eradicated all possibilities of dirt entering your home?

No and neither am I house proud either, I just need to hoover less often. But common sense and after living in SE Asia for 30+ years tells me that if you one does not control what comes into the house from outside on the soles of dirty footwear then what ever is stuck in the groves on the sole those shoes will get onto the carpets bit by bit. I have paid enough for my carpets and by not allowing outdoor shoes onto those carpets I just extend their use by a good few more years. If you multiply the 1 gram of outdoor grime by the number of people coming into your house then by the number of time per day so 1 gram x 4 people X 4 trips in and out time 365 days equates to almost 6kg of outdoor grime being deposited in your carpets which about half will get sucked up when you hoover leaving the rest sitting in yr carpet

Cookie_Monster

c4cat wrote: »

No and neither am I house proud either, I just need to hoover less often. But common sense and after living in SE Asia for 30+ tells me that if you one does not control what comes into the house from outside on the soles of dirty footwear then what ever is stuck in the groves on the sole those shoes will get onto the carpets bit by bit. I have paid enough for my carpets and by not allowing outdoor shoes onto those carpets I just extend their use by a good few more years. If you multiply the 1 gram of outdoor grime by the number of people coming into your house then by the number of time per day so 1 gram x 4 people X 4 trips in and out time 365 days equates to almost 6kg of outdoor grime being deposited in your carpets which about half will get sucked up when you hoover leaving the rest sitting in yr carpet

:eek: that's the most horrifying thing I've ever read

Kintarō Hattori

I agree with it as it makes sense but it's not common practice. I wouldn't offer to take them off as for most people that would just be weird but if asked certainly it's not a problem.

It is common practice in Poland and with the missus being Polish we do it here in our own home.

c4cat

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

:eek: that's the most horrifying thing I've ever read

So you don't read much then?

Cookie_Monster

c4cat wrote: »

So you don't read much then?

Enough to understand when someone is being sarcastic anyway

RedXIV

c4cat wrote: »

No and neither am I house proud either, I just need to hoover less often. But common sense and after living in SE Asia for 30+ tells me that if you one does not control what comes into the house from outside on the soles of dirty footwear then what ever is stuck in the groves on the sole those shoes will get onto the carpets bit by bit. I have paid enough for my carpets and by not allowing outdoor shoes onto those carpets I just extend their use by a good few more years. If you multiply the 1 gram of outdoor grime by the number of people coming into your house then by the number of time per day so 1 gram x 4 people X 4 trips in and out time 365 days equates to almost 6kg of outdoor grime being deposited in your carpets which about half will get sucked up when you hoover leaving the rest sitting in yr carpet

ah but here's where it gets interesting

By hoovering less often you are giving what ever may reside in your carpets longer times to multiply and evolve into more potentially more dangerous contaminants. This is also helped by the fact that you don't change your carpets as often as most and therefore leave the breeding ground of all sorts of nasty little things there longer in your house.

Of course this is all sheer hypothethical thought BUT there are other implications here to think of. As someone already, jokingly i presume, pointed out, having a spotless household can actually be bad for the immune system, leaving children open to more serious health risks later in life, asthma for example is thought to be caused by this.

Believe me when I say that i'm not trying to scare you or anything like that, I'm merely defending the way i choose to live, in response to your original statement challenging the way people opposed your ideals