Wearing shoes inside the house?

[otc]

How do you guys feel about wearing shoes inside the house? Obviously, wet/muddy/dirty shoes are bad but what about normal dry shoes?

I personally feel that it is completely appropriate and I do it all the time and I never ask guests to take theirs off. Hard wood floors probably play a part--I prefer them but they are colder to walk on and they will get your socks dirtier than carpet. I prefer my feet to not get cold and I prefer to use a broom or a mop to clean the floor rather than the bottom of my sock. Also, I have always been taught that you should wear shoes when cooking or working with tools (wouldn't want to drop a knife on your toe) and I woudl find it odd to have to go find a pair of shoes to chop an onion.

Obviously if I am somewhere else and they ask me to, I will remove them. If it is a party or something though...I would really prefer to keep them on. People spill stuff, people step on you...I've had to throw away socks that came back incurably disgusting after I had to take them off at a party (in an apartment with no carpeting)...went to a party this weekend (so shoes were kind of wet but 3 flights of carpeted stairs and some door mats probably took care of most of it) and everyone was leaving theirs in the giant pile of shoes outside the door. I walked in, realized that the floor was especially cold (the place was probably 65 at the warmest...), saw the future potential for spillage, and immediately wished I had kept my shoes. Luckily, I looked around and noticed that a few of the host's close friends still had their shoes so I went for it (and it seemed like a whole troupe of people quickly got the same idea).

I try to buy comfortable shoes...so it seems like I should get to wear them comfortably in my home...

 

[micbain]

I think its kind of weird wearing shoes inside the home. Even if the shoes don't have mud on them, they're still dirty. I also think nothing is more comfortable at home than wearing just socks.

 

[Big Pun]

I wear shoes indoors, because I don't want to step on the back hems of my jeans, and it's all tile and wood.

 

[hamish5178]

Socks at home, or barefoot in the summer, slippers when it's freezing/the morning.

 

[JayJay]

Wearing shoes indoors is fine at my house.

 

[Tarmac]

it's fairly dirty, but Americans do it. I presume other European countries do it too.

You gotta understand that you literally, literally step in flecks of dog poop every day on the concrete. Now, are you gonna walk all over your carpet where your kids plan, lie down, watch TV, put their bowl of cereal?

On the other hand, is it enough to get you sick? probably not.

 

[huy]

Was raised to take off shoes so I do it subconsciously whenever I enter a house. I also think it's a cleaner, especially with carpet.

 

[JetBlast]

Slippers work fine for me. I have an outdoor set and an indoor set.

 

[sho'nuff]

Originally Posted by Tarmac

it's fairly dirty, but Americans do it. I presume other European countries do it too.

You gotta understand that you literally, literally step in flecks of dog poop every day on the concrete. Now, are you gonna walk all over your carpet where your kids plan, lie down, watch TV, put their bowl of cereal?

On the other hand, is it enough to get you sick? probably not.

not only that, but people's hocked up spit and phlegm, cigarette ash, etc

 

[Bill Smith]

I wear shoes indoors, it's hardwood with area rugs at my house.

 

[Eason]

It's dirty and impolite, I would never do it.

 

[tiecollector]

Not in my place. I swap out with a pair of Ugg slippers.

 

[dkzzzz]

I have slippers for bathroom so that I don't spread water all over the floor.
I have another set of leather luxurious slippers for winter.
I have leather strap slippers for when it is warm.
I always have soft fabric sleepers for guests if occasion is not formal.

I don't have kids or carpets ,but the thought of me standing at the urinal in a men's room and then walking in the same pair of shoes all over my house makes me sick.

I was always taught that walking barefoot inside your house is not appropriate, plus it leaves your foot imprints everywhere on hardwood.
Socks I can understand, but would not do it myself. I grew up in a city.

 

[unjung]

This seems to be a very regional thing. In the majority of American cities in the South I've been in, shoes stay on. In Canada, I would be very intrigued by any family or individual who thought typically they should stay on. As for barefoot, I view this as entirely appropriate and will walk barefoot in another person's home, not just my own. I would be interested in what's typical in Europe; I would assume it's the same - in the Mediterranean and drier countries (Portugal across to Greece), I assume they would stay on. In Nordic countries, off.

 

[holymadness]

Eason and unjung have nailed it. It's not about cleanliness, it's about manners. I have never known anyone, friend or family, to allow shoes on in the house where I grew up. And understandably, that attitude might differ from place to place.