<p>I never ask my guests to take their shoes off in my house, but most do when they see our running shoes and dress boots neatly lined up near the front door. We don’t wear our shoes in the house - it is a good habit for folks who walk through a chemistry lab once in a while. I know a guy who used to work at a big pharma making cytotoxins; he had 3 pairs of shoes for work: one pair for the lab, one pair for the office, and he would change into a different pair for the drive home. He did not want tiny traces of the compounds he was making anywhere near his family.</p>
<p>As dress boots go, my feet are luxuriating in my brand new pair of Tod’s suede boots as we speak. I live in PNW where boots are essential in the winter.</p>
<p>But do people come into your house from the front door or the back door?</p>
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<p>Why?! What is the difference? A heel is a heel, a sole is a sole. Carpet or hardwoods, tile, marble, it’s all the same to the floor if they are clean and dry. You did say “dress” boots, as opposed to dirty work boots. </p>
<p>I have lived in several states, and no one has ever taken off their shoes as they came into the house. I would never greet a guest at my door without my shoes on. </p>
<p>I guess this may be a regional, cultural thing, but I really don’t get the difference between wearing dress boots vs. regular shoes into someone’s home.</p>
<p>I’ve never heard the thing about boots, either.</p>
<p>The thing about removing shoes is interesting. I think it may be largely cultural. If you do ask people to remove their shoes, I think you should be aware that people who don’t normally do this at home may be uncomfortable or even offended by this request.</p>
<p>When I first moved to Maine I was somewhat startled by the practice of removing shoes at the door. In CT it wasn’t done. Then I experienced mud season. What I’ve found is that here it is largely seasonal. Friends who are coming to hang out will always remove snow/rain boots at the door, and will often ask if they should remove shoes/dress boots in the winter/mud season. At parties the shoes stay on. When a stranger comes to the house, the shoes stay on. If people have a shoe tray by the door it is a hint worth taking.</p>
<p>Around here I wouldn’t necessarily get it just because there happened to be a few pair of shoes kept by the door. I have friends who keep trays by the front door and the mudroom that are there for shoes that happen to be dirty or wet. I have cubbies in the mud room for that, as well. But we wear shoes into the house otherwise. I’d get the hint if shoes were being collected or the hosts and other guests were all in slippers or socks. </p>
<p>Adults removing shoes automatically is not common where I live. Not that there isn’t probably good reason to consider it. The Today Show just did a feature on why people get sick so often after flights. One major source of infection was touching those security bins - from exposure to the bottom of people’s shoes. Yuk! </p>
<p>As for a no boot rule, perhaps it applies to people from other countries or a place where boots are constantly worn outdoors on a range or a farm, but not for fashion boots in the US. </p>
<p>I agree with nj2011 that asking guests to take off shoes can be problematic and even embarrassing if it’s not something they are prepared for or used to.</p>
<p>"…why people get sick so often after flights. One major source of infection was touching those security bins - from exposure to the bottom of people’s shoes. Yuk!"</p>
<p>When DH put his shoes in the same bin with his wallet and laptop while going through the security checkpoint at the Moscow airport, he got scolded by one of their security agents. The agent went on to rant how easy it was to spot an American traveler. Apparently, that airport provides special bins designated for shoes, and everyone is given disposable “footies” to go through the magnets/scanners to prevent spread of foot fungus, etc. :eek:</p>
<p>From knowing many Russian-Americans (including my son-in-law) I can believe that the Russians are very concerned about nasty shoes. Nearly every time I’ve been to the home of a person who has immigrated from Russia, I’ve taken off my shoes. Sometimes the host has asked that we do so–other times it was clear from all the shoes lined up at the door and the pile of slippers nearby that taking off one’s shoes on entering was the norm.</p>
<p>I also have neighbors who ask anyone who comes to their home to take off his/her shoes because the house has white carpets and white furniture.</p>
<p>My D loves her boots & those were among her few footwear options this break. She had them, some strappy silver sandals and grungy rubber slippers. She mostly wore her boots. Few people in our state wear footwear inside people’s homes–most remove them before entering as an island custom.</p>
<p>I love dress boots and don’t consider them any different from regular shoes. I have always thought that expecting people to take their shoes off when entering a home is just weird. I had never experienced it until I moved to Maryland, and it took me a minute to even understand what the host wanted me to do. I’m sure my face said, “Remove my shoes? Are you nuts?” They were really strange people so maybe I assumed that only very strange people make that request.</p>
<p>In HI, you’re considered very strange AND RUDE in most circles if you do NOT remove your footwear when entering a home. It’s actually better for hardwood floors not to have shoes (especially stiletto heels) making marks and denting the floors. You also don’t track things into the home that you stepped on while walking & keeps carpets from getting soiled a lot better. </p>
<p>If you tour the Iolani Palace on Oahu, you will have to remove your shoes and be provided with cloth slippers or socks to wear so you don’t damage the wood floors. Nearly all homes in Japan also expect all who enter to remove their footwear.</p>
<p>I know the reasoning behind it, but it just had never dawned on me that people would expect you to remove articles of clothing to come into your home. I know now that it’s cultural but I still think it’s strange and defies common sense. Don’t use materials on your floors that you don’t walk people to walk on since that’s what people do on floors.</p>
<p>^^Completely agree. I really think that in most instances in the U.S., it’s not so much cultural as it is the desire to preserve the pristine nature of those white carpets or whatever flooring someone is trying to protect. I think it’s incredibly rude to place value on that over the comfort of a guest in your home.</p>
<p>To the OP: since this isn’t really about someone removing their shoes, what difference does it make if they have dress boots on?</p>
<p>This has turned into a thread on whether it’s polite or strange to ask or expect others to remove their shoes when entering a home. But that’s NOT what the OP was about. It was specifically asking about an implied “rule” or policy requiring one to remove “dress boots” when entering a home and the OP has specifically differentiated that from “normal shoes,” which are apparently okay to wear into others’ homes. This is NOT the same issue which is now being discussed.</p>
<p>cartera, it really does depend on where you live. Like Consolation, I was surprised when I learned of the habit when we moved to Maine, but it makes sense. Shoes from November through April probably have snow, salt, and/or mud on them. People really don’t want that stuff on their floors.</p>
<p>MTA: Nrdsb4, it’s OK for threads to wander a little bit - it’s not a violation of Terms of Service.</p>
<p>We have beautiful hardwood floors throughout our home. I let the dogs walk on them, so I’m not about to ban shoes on them, lol.</p>
<p>As another person noted, I’d be met with frosty indignance if I imposed that rule on my Grandma. She wears skid proof shoes for a reason: she has double knee replacements, fears falls, and would feel very vulnerable walking around my house in her socks.</p>
<p>In some cultures the tradition of not wearing shoes inside the home did not arise from fears of causing damage to fancy flooring materials. I would respect the hosts’ customs and take my shoes off if that is their family tradition. If I see everyone with their shoes on, my shoes will stay on. I would not question whether the hosts’ tradition of leaving footwear by the door has religious or cultural roots or whether they are concerned about their carpets or germs. Dress boots or shoes - it would not affect my actions.</p>
What I’ve found is that here it is largely seasonal. Friends who are coming to hang out will always remove snow/rain boots at the door, and will often ask if they should remove shoes/dress boots in the winter/mud season. At parties the shoes stay on. When a stranger comes to the house, the shoes stay on. If people have a shoe tray by the door it is a hint worth taking.</p>