Outdoor shoes inside

Oh, and there are things called doormats, which have barely had a mention. They are for wiping the dirt off your shoes.

Callistemon, I'm not at all houseproud and have no new carpets. I'm not fussy in any way. Doodledog will never understand why I think it's such a filthy habit. Where is the logic in:

' I have only walked up their drive or garden path in them.'

Outside is not clean. A drive or garden path has been walked upon by many others. Potentially, there is dog, cat, fox, rat and bird s**t all over it in fine particles, invisible to the naked eye. I'd prefer my grandchildren not to ingest it - that's all!

Pointless Jane10!

We are on 3 floors, main living room upstairs. One of my sons and I were reminiscing on Boxing Day, how when they turned up with a crowd of mates during their teen years and beyond they'd all take their trainers off in the hall, one friend's feet smelt so bad, we eventually decided if there was a choice between dirt on carpets and the odour of his feet, there was no contest it had to be the former

I saw some children wrapped up in swathes of cottonwool the other day. Granny was shrieking at them not to touch anything outside in case they got contaminated.

Terribull

Do those who are scoffing at others as over house-proud or germphobic apply the same rules to hand washing?

I haven't read the entire thread but I have adapted over the years. I always ask when I arrive but am sometimes grateful when the answer is to just keep them on (if they aren't too dirty) I agree with Saxifrage slippers are never attractive but perhaps more so than my bare feet.

We are gradually lifting our carpets and sanding our floors so that they are much easier to keep clean .

If there was a virulent disease which could be spread through things one touches, then carpets, hard floors, or removing outdoor shoes would all be ineffective to prevent its spread.

There are always disease germs but in insufficient numbers or virulence to cause diseases except among very weak individuals such as young babies especially if they are not breast fed and getting their mothers' antibodies.

The amount of disease germs in a house does make a difference and it's undeniable hard floors are easier to keep clean. Also they don't harbour fleas' eggs if that is a concern.

However the danger is generally not disease germs as such, as these are always around the environment.

The danger is virulent disease germs in huge numbers coming into the house and entering people's bodies. We don't eat food from the floor, and we wash our hands. We sterilise food by cooking it.

Your average kitchen is more germ-ridden than your toilet and your kitchen sponge the most germ-laden of all.

My husband won't take off his shoes and wear slippers. I hate it, particularly when he goes upstairs. I ask and ask but he can't be bothered. Shoes can be so filthy!!

Door mats are a help but not many are very efficient.

You can buy backless slip on leather shoes; we don't wear soft flat slippers and they can be dangerous especially on stairs.

DH has a couple of pairs of the leather or suede mules, made by FitFlop, which he wears indoors, he changes into them as soon as he comes in from the garden.
I wear Pavers soft Mary Janes indoors as they give some support.

That was to Buffy btw

I don't get the impression that many of us prefer people to remove shoes because of any fear of germs - very few, in fact. Most of us do it because of the general dirt that is trailed in on wet shoes.

Doormat have been mentioned, but I have one outside the back door then a large one inside it, yet I can still clearly see dirty footprints on the kitchen floor where people have walked in their shoes after supposedly using those mats.
I don't mind that, as it can be mopped after they have gone, but it is quite clear from the carpet in the living room that their shoes were still not clean or dry by the time they stepped from kitchen to living room.

I can't afford a carpet shampooer or a steam cleaner, and wouldn't even have anywhere to store them if I did, and getting down on my hands and knees to clean grime from the carpet with special shampoo hasn't kept it clean.

We live in a small house, so perhaps the problem is greater than it would be in a larger house where a similar amount of dirt would be spread more thinly over a larger area.
Also, parking is either on the road or the (frequently-muddy) grass verge at the end of our long front path, so visitors will always have soiled shoes by the time they reach our door in winter, and quite often in summer too, though they probably aren't aware of it if they left home in clean shoes.

I don't think it's at all unreasonable or overly-houseproud to want to prevent carpets from becoming (and looking) grubby within a few months of being fitted!
If you are lucky enough to live in a house where this doesn't seem to happen for whatever reason, or if you simply don't care, that's fine too. I certainly don't mind keeping my shoes on if that's what the person I am visiting would prefer. Their house, their rules

Oopsminty. I too was wondering about dogs and cats. I can’t imagine a lot of the people on this thread having dogs traipsing through their lovely clean houses with their muddy paws. My little dog absolutely hates having his paws washed and I can’t see him in slippers, he’d probably eat them.
If friends of ours were to see plastic slippers waiting for them to put on they’d probably think we’d lost the plot.

Some people don't mind having outdoor shoes walking on their carpets and floors. Some people don't like outdoor shoes walking on their carpets and floors including bedroom and bathroom floors. I am the latter. Each to their own.

Oh no. I've just had a terrible thought. I wonder if my clothes are clean enough to sit on people's sofas or chairs. If I've been on the bus my trousers might have picked up germs from the seats or, oh no, the bench at the bus stop. I wonder if I'd be better to carry spare trousers or just quietly take them off in the hallway or porch.

A friend of mine has two cats. They jump up on the kitchen units. I’ve seen one in particular sit down on them when she’s not noticed.

I always refuse an offer of a sandwich.
?

In the summer I wear bare feet with sandals, I would not want to wear somebody elses slippers or walk around with nothing on my feet.

Jane10
If your clothes are as dirty after those activities as many people's shoes are when entering our house then I'd like to think that you would be polite enough not to sit on my furniture even if asked.
But I somehow doubt that they are, and that they don't leave a dirty imprint on the furniture when you stand up again!

Regarding mud, the advice from the carpet firm was to let it dry completely then vacuum. Do not try to clean it whilst it's damp.
It worked.

MamaCaz probably best if everyone covered their furniture in plastic - for 'health reasons'!

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask people to remove outdoor shoes. My family know I don’t like outdoor shoes worn in the house and respect that. Visitors either ask or automatically ask. Otherwise my carpets would be filthy !

I meant visitors either ask or automatically take their shoes off