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Should you take your shoes off at home? - Or at other people's homes?

In other people's homes ....

  • .... one should always take of one's shoes

  • .. one should not be obliged to take off one's shoes

  • ... one should sometimes take off one's shoes

  • don't care

  • don't know


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Rumpel

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Taking off shoes inside the home is also a common practice observed in Asian and Middle Eastern countries and households. But if you regularly take them off mainly because you’re worried about harmful bacteria from the outside getting inside and making you sick, you can probably relax.

Those concerns are overblown, according to experts, who added that more pressing health risks are often overlooked.


https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/27/...shoes inside the,sick, you can probably relax.


And what is your opinion?
 
Other people's houses', always unless they specifically exempt it first. Generally at home too, though sometimes not if I'm just going to grab something. It has more to do with not scratching hard floors with rocks stuck in the tread and bringing in mud and dirt and dog shit etc than bacteria. The only time bacteria might be a concern is when there's kids young enough to end up with a mouthful of carpet.
 
I come from a long succession of 'take your shoes off' family. We always had a lot of kids (often crawling on the floor), and we tended to live in communal buildings - two & three flats. We usually, but not always, implored our guests to take their shoes off, as well. When we were guests, we always offered to take our shoes off - leaving the decision to our hosts.

I believe the hosts should decide if the guests should remove their shoes. And if the host decides so, the guest should accommodate their desire. It is their house, after all.
 
1 x one should always take of one's shoes
1 x one should not be obliged to take off one's shoes
 
Depends on the homeowner.

If the homeowner requests you remove your shoes upon entry, you should respectfully do so or not enter.

But you should not have to automatically default to "take my shoes off anytime I enter someone's home." It is polite to ask if you have any question about it.
 
And what is your opinion?


When one thinks about the absolute filthiness of the sidewalks and the hallways and the carpeted floors of your place of employment, how could anyone NOT remove his/her shoes when coming home? And, of course, the soles of those shoes should be sanitized to kill the millions of germs on them.

(Furthermore, after coming home from work, one's clothes should be thoroughly washed. Just think of all the germs on the chairs that you sat in during your work day. And if you took public transportation or a taxi, those seats were filled with other passengers' germs.)
 
Always take your shoes off at other people's homes, it's polite. At home it's up to you. I don't want to live in a dirty apartment, so I always take off my shoes at home.
 
Always take your shoes off at other people's homes, it's polite.

And is it polite of the home owners to order their guests around and about? :cool:
 
It isn't impolite to have house rules, and if the guest doesn't want to abide, they are free not to come in.
 

I meditated for years. Many of the places where people gather to meditate around here, Boston/Cambridge, are connected to Buddhism. Taking your shoes off is a common request in these places. But here's the/my problem. I lost a portion of the popliteal artery in my left leg. Because of that in combination with multiple shrapnel lacerations, I'm highly susceptible to infections in the lower leg. Cellulitis, etc. So, taking off my shoes and walking around where others are walking around is problematic for me. Usually, after I explain my situation, people understand, but there was one very well known meditation center in Cambridge that refused me.

Bottom line, I'm glad to hear this: "Taking off shoes inside the,sick, you can probably relax"

Just remember:

 
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We don't live on the floors here in America. Asian countries eat monkeys, bats and dogs, and Arabs eat with their hands----same hands they wipe their butts with without soap or toilet paper. So what they do doesn't impress me. Other than maybe the Japanese, most of those other cultures are more unclean than the streets of Calcutta.

And who seems more ridiculous than people dressed up nice for a dinner party in someone's home standing around socializing with each other in their dirty smelly socks?

Nah, ain't gonna do it. Fughetaboutit!
 
We don't live on the floors here in America. Asian countries eat monkeys, bats and dogs, and Arabs eat with their hands----same hands they wipe their butts with without soap or toilet paper. So what they do doesn't impress me. Other than maybe the Japanese, most of those other cultures are more unclean than the streets of Calcutta.

And who seems more ridiculous than people dressed up nice for a dinner party in someone's home standing around socializing with each other in their dirty smelly socks?

Nah, ain't gonna do it. Fughetaboutit!

Bruh, why you so racist?

I'm part Asian on my mom's side and i find that offensive.

Here in Hawaii, people take the shoes off before they go into a house.
 
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People who never take their shoes off in their own home are weeeeeeeeeird.
 
I've been switching to indoor shoes, leaving outdoor shoes in the garage, as of late. But it's not a habit for me, having never grown up doing that.
I need the support of shoes and do not like being barefoot AT ALL anymore.
Also with dogs, there's no getting around tracking stuff inside.
 
I meditated for years. Many of the places where people gather to meditate around here, Boston/Cambridge, are connected to Buddhism. Taking your shoes off is a common request in these places. But here's the/my problem. I lost a portion of the popliteal artery in my left leg. Because of that in combination with multiple shrapnel lacerations, I'm highly susceptible to infections in the lower leg. Cellulitis, etc. So, taking off my shoes and walking around where others are walking around is problematic for me. Usually, after I explain my situation, people understand, but there was one very well known meditation center in Cambridge that refused me.

Bottom line, I'm glad to hear this: "Taking off shoes inside the,sick, you can probably relax"

Just remember:


Much of the shoe thing has to do with east culture viewing shoes as filthy, in the middle east showing the bottom of your shoe is an insult, and often beating someone with the soles of their shoes is a major insult.

Also in the slavic world east through asia squatting instead of sitting is a norm, some have said it was an old soviet thing, but many more have told me from both former soviet nations as well as india china japan etc that those regions are often over crowded and filthy, and the reason they squat instead of sit is because they are often afraid of catching a disease or having parasites crawl up their but, something you never hear of in the first world but then again not every nation is the first world.
 
And who seems more ridiculous than people dressed up nice for a dinner party in someone's home standing around socializing with each other in their dirty smelly socks?

You have got a good point there!
 
House rules are for prisons etc ...
No, not sure where you get that idea. Everybody has house rules. They're usually unwritten, informal, and generally universal. For example, a common one is no shoes on in the house....
 
No, not sure where you get that idea.

No need to be sure about it.
But house rules are against the idea of "Guests are welcome!"
If you prefer a dictaorship of "proud home owners" - then of course you will love house rules.
 
I do. It’s inconsiderate not to. There is no rule at my house not to. But inconsiderate people are treated differently. [emoji2369]
 
inconsiderate works both ways,
 
When asked, I don’t have a problem but overall I think it borders on rude. A guest in your home shoudl be just that. If you’re worried about a little extra cleaning, meet ‘em at a Starbucks.

Exactly!

And shoes nowadays are clean in most cases anyhow.

But there are those who value their stupid old carpets more than human guests.

That is no culture! :cool:
 
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