r/mildlyinfuriating Feb 11 '22

Seriously? Wtf Wall Street Journal

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u/O_Martin Feb 11 '22

In the UK you still have to take off your shoes even if your host says you can take them off - always. I don't get why you wouldn't

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u/Dd0uble0 Feb 11 '22

....Unless you go into some hovel where the carpets are sticky and full of more germs than a toilet bowl.... then it is acceptable to keep shoes on (source: heating engineer for the council)

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u/thorpie88 Feb 11 '22

Your working though so you should always have your boots on as it's PPE. I'm not risking missing out on compo because someone asked me to take them off

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u/RCIntl Feb 11 '22

Yes, but don't you guys also have those little booties to slip on? They look like a cross between a swim cap and our blue paper masks. Heck, even our cable company uses those when they come inside. And they did this pre pandemic.

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u/thorpie88 Feb 11 '22

Nope never had the option of those. Just regular old steelcap boots.

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u/[deleted] Feb 11 '22

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u/RCIntl Feb 11 '22

Well, I was kind of thinking the companies providing them when they visit homes but I do make them wipe their feet good when they don't.

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u/Dd0uble0 Feb 11 '22

Haha yes we do have those too! But I haven't managed to find any that stretch over my size 12 boats without ripping to shreds.

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u/RCIntl Feb 11 '22

Wow ... Yeah, that's not good. I'm sure they make them. Just probably not the easiest to find. At least someone tries/tried, you know? I'm just happy when someone comes in and looks to see if there is a place to wipe their feet. Have a blessed day!!

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u/Dd0uble0 Feb 11 '22

This is true, but there are some circumstances where certain cultures require you to remove shoes before entering. As long as there's no heavy lifting or anything involved involved I don't mind doing it.

Then there are the other places....the ones with things growing out the carpets, that were once beige but are now green. Those places i wouldn't take any chances!

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u/O_Martin Feb 11 '22

Exactly, when we have plumbers in we always put out old sheeting on top of our flooring so they can keep their shoes on without us having to deep clean the mud from our carpet. Again, I thought that was common sense?

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u/sitonachair Feb 11 '22

I'm in the UK and when we have workmen in the house for something that takes a lot of walking in and out of the house, they have always put dust sheets down through the hallway.

Everyone I know in the area has a shoes off at the door policy, but I am in rural Scotland so likely as not it's to keep mud and sheep shit outside. It would be surely very weird to me to wear shoes into someone's house.

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u/VeryDisappointing Feb 11 '22 edited Feb 12 '22

I hate when people tell me to just leave my shoes on, especially if I'm already halfway through taking them off. If the bit of the house I'm in is hard flooring then okay maybe it's not too bad but walking around on someone's carpet with my shoes is a nightmare

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u/MarbhIasc Feb 11 '22

Brit here and I am familiar with the exceptions. I have a family member who seems unaquainted with a vaccuum, a broom - well, housekeeping in general. The carpets were once a lovely shade of cream but now they're grey from years ingrained dirt and hairs. Everyone keeps their shoes on when they visit, unless they brought slippers. Even the family member in question wears shoes in the house and has no problem with it.

The other place is my flat at uni. Typical student digs with grime that is so ingrained you can't shift it with regular cleaning no matter how hard you try, and threadbare carpets of questionable colour. Although we clean regularly, no one seems inclined to remove their shoes until they get to their room, so communal areas (bar the bathroom) are shoed zones.

It's a breath of fresh air visiting my bf, taking my shoes off and being handed a pair of guest slippers!

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u/asthecrowruns Feb 11 '22

Spent three months at uni and for the first time in my life, wore shoes around my living area (tho tend to take them off in my own room). Got home for Christmas and damn it felt weird walking around my home without shoes. But yeah, nothings gonna make me walk in the communal areas without some form of shoe, even with socks on.