Why are shoes worn inside?

This is one of those questions where because this is a huge country with different people with varying preferences; the answer is just simply "it depends".

I'm from an Asian immigrant family and we prefer shoes off, so as my white friend of Irish descent, and Mexican buddy. However, another friend of Hispanic origins just simply walks around his home with his shoes one. It's just arrogant to assume everyone in the third most populous country in the world to act the same.

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Quick-Ostrich2020@reddit

No. Not all 330,000,000 people wear shoes inside.

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IPreferDiamonds@reddit

I am fine with people wearing shoes in my house. I can clean my floors afterwards. No big deal.

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SabresBills69@reddit

from my experience……

weather matters. in winter with snow/ mud you take off shoes.

if it’s a summer outdoor picnic party folks are going to keep shoes not going in and out if it’s not muddy

i wear shoes inside my place. it’s usually when I come home it about to head out.

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SilverRaincoat@reddit

I've never lived in a household where wearing shoes inside was acceptable.

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MasonStonewall@reddit

And for me, it was the opposite.

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SilverRaincoat@reddit

Weird!

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MasonStonewall@reddit

I suppose all learned cultural and familial norms seem odd to those that grew up with different ones.

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SilverRaincoat@reddit

That's fair lol

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MasonStonewall@reddit

To be fair, I've visited homes that ask for shoes to be removed, and I do so. I have an artificial leg so need a chair to do it though, and it can be troublesome. But showing disrespect to someone in their home is more troublesome.

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sorakirei@reddit

I grew up in a shoes on all the time household. Never thought it was weird or gross until college when I had a few shoes off friends along with exposure to Japanese culture.

I now have a shoes off household. The bottoms of shoes are gross. Guests are required to take off their shoes. I have reusable shoe covers for anyone who refuses/can't. Things are so much cleaner!

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shelwood46@reddit

I grew up in a shoes/boots off, but you better be wearing socks or slippers household. I don't want foot sweat ground into the carpet either.

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elucify@reddit

Because it's cultural. Why do you think it's ok to wipe your ass with dry paper instead of using a bidet? Talk about disgusting.

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FunTricky903@reddit

Bidet users really love talking about their fecal matter, don’t they?

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shelwood46@reddit

Also if I have shit on my hands, I am scrubbing them with soap, maybe more, not just rinsing them with water, then drying them with a towel. It's such an odd example. Are bidet people only rinsing shit off their hands?

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eyeroll611@reddit

Floors can be disgusting and littered with debris so shoes are safer.

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FunTricky903@reddit

You should probably buy a mop

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TheFieryBanana@reddit

Yeah, everytime I see the argument of "floors are dirty" I'm like.... they wouldn't be,,,, if you took off your shoes???

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LightningMan711@reddit

So, if you take off shoes it becomes impossible to have a dirty floor? Nonsense.

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TheFieryBanana@reddit

Not at all, but between cleaning ones floor and not introducing extra dirt, mud, bacteria, etc via wearing shoes, you wouldn't have dirty floors all the time. Nobody's saying no shoes inside = never dirty floors. But wearing shoes inside always = dirtier floors

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Quick-Ostrich2020@reddit

Yeah if you wear your shoes inside... of course they are dirty!!

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MakeStupidHurtAgain@reddit

Do… do you not clean your floors??

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FunTricky903@reddit

It’s not nearly as universal of a thing as you guys seem to need to believe it is.
What exactly do you think I’m walking through on any given day that would make my house disgusting if I kept my shoes on for a bit?
Can you guys not conceive of cleaning your floors?

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michelecw@reddit

I agree with all of these. I can’t think of one friend or family member that I have to remove my shoes at their house. I’m not walking anywhere that would bring in germs, cause why the hell would I?

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Wattaday@reddit

I stopped wearing shoes inside when I got my first job as an RN. Workshoes came off at the landing of my garage steps. And since I hate to wear just socks, they came off as I was changing out of my uniform.

And now that I’m an old disabled lady (physical disabilities and balance issues) I don’t trust my walking in socks, especially in the kitchen or bathroom. And socks are slippery n carpet too. So I’m bare foot anytime I’m home. Which is most of the time now.

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Unusual-Material9443@reddit

there isnt a thing across the board in america. many people take their shoes off and many keep them on.

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fullofspiders@reddit

I don't want stranger's smelly, fungus-infested feet airing out in my house. I tend to wear shoes if it's cold, or I expect to go outside. I haven't walked in anything that could get tracked into my house in years, other tha rainwater from pavement, and that's what welcome mats are for.

I don't expect the floor to be a sanitary surface. No one who isn't a child should be eating off the floor or touching the floor without washing their hands immediately afterward.

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stangAce20@reddit

Because floors are dirty

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Quick-Ostrich2020@reddit

Because you wear your shoes inside...

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stangAce20@reddit

It can be dirty often times even when you’re not wearing shoes indoors!

Unless you’re walking around with a mop behind you, it’s just natural for it to get dirty

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mrsc1880@reddit

Because I have pets...

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Northman86@reddit

Shoes are worn only on linoleum surfaces, if theres wood or carpet i will kick your ass if you walk with shoes on it.

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Blonde_Vampire_1984@reddit

Nice flag

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Northman86@reddit

thanks, unfortunately your comment does not convey tone. so i don't know if you were sarcastic or not.

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Blonde_Vampire_1984@reddit

I actually wasn’t sarcastic this time. I legitimately think the new Minnesota flag is super cool.

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Northman86@reddit

awesome, thanks for supporting.

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Neenknits@reddit

Because I don’t want my ankle to hurt. I’m a fall risk. Not taking my shoes off.

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plantsandpizza@reddit

Where did you get the impression that everyone wear shoes in the house. TV? Random strangers on the internet? What makes you think this?

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mmmsrhjnh@reddit

Laziness

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Smeaglete@reddit

What do you think I’m walking in outside that the dog isn’t bringing in through the dog door? If I went somewhere like the nyc subway every day or something I might be grossed out.

but here’s what I do; I walk to my car, drive to work, walk into my work, walk around work, walk back to my car, drive home and walk into the house. No part of this is unclean. Then I walk the dog around the neighborhood. But the sidewalks aren’t dirty, my work isn’t dirty, and I’m not eating off my floor.

Other peoples feet are gross though, and I don’t want to share germs with them. So I’d rather wear shoes.

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LightningMan711@reddit

Children and pets leave things on floors (like Legos and barf) that make walking shoeless unappealing.

If you take shoes off at your house, I will honor that. Just don't tell me what to do in mine.

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datedpopculturejoke@reddit

I wear shoes in the house because it's what I grew up with. There were five kids in my house. No one wanted to be the person everyone is waiting on when we needed to go somewhere. So you put your shoes on for the day once and took them off when you're in for the rest of the night.

Besides, I have a dog. She goes outside 6 to 8 times per day. Unless it's muddy, I'm not wiping her feet every time she comes inside. So she's carrying in much worse than I am.

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mythicalwolf00@reddit

I mean first if all every house is different. Personally only times I've seen shows kept on in the house is generally guests. And Secondly learn how to clean your floors.

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LaSerenita@reddit

IDK, I take off my shoes as soon as I walk in the door, and I expect my guests to as well. USA citizen here.

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WashuOtaku@reddit

I've been to Canada and I have meet people that wear shoes at home. I reject your premise.

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Hungry-Wrongdoer-156@reddit

I cannot imagine having this strong an opinion about such a thing in either direction.

If someone asks me to remove my shoes when I enter their home (which isn't a universal thing in the US but is fairly common), I'll happily do that, no questions asked. It's a normal and reasonable request. If nobody asks me to, though, the idea of removing my footwear simply because I happen to be indoors probably won't ever cross my mind... and that includes when I enter my own home.

I just don't think about my own shoes that much.

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RockShowSparky@reddit

I just think it’s a little pathological to be obsessed about it.

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UpbeatPhilosophySJ@reddit

The scolding was the funny part. Like, oh look at me, I'm an angry Canadian, me bark like a tiny dog!

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vteezy99@reddit

Many, or maybe most I know, don’t. Of course you’ll ignore all the comments stating otherwise and focus on the couple that do.

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Salt-Willingness-154@reddit

I wear indoor shoes inside because standing on hard floor without shoes makes my back and feet hurt. I do mot where my outdoor shoes inside.

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2GreyKitties@reddit

My mother taught me never to cook or chop food with a knife in the kitchen barefoot. Always have shoes on in the kitchen... dropped knives and boiling spills happen.

Also, cats. Hairballs are a thing.

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OptatusCleary@reddit

There is no absolute standard on this in the US, and there are countries where “shoes off” is an absolute and countries where “shoes on” is an absolute.

In the US, it tends to depend on climate, region, ancestral cultural preferences, and other factors.

For a house party, people will usually leave their shoes on unless the outside is noticeably wet or muddy.

For a small gathering, people will do whatever the host asks them to do. If the host doesn’t ask anything, they might ask or just follow what the host does.

When you’re at your own house, you’ll do what feels comfortable to you. For most people I know, this is “shoes off.”

If you’re at a house and you don’t know what to do, it can be a bit difficult to figure out. Leaving shoes on could seem rude, like you don’t care about dirtying their floors. But taking them off could also seem rude, like you have misgauged the intimacy of the event and “made yourself at home” more than you’re welcome to.

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zombiefacelol@reddit

This should be the top answer right here. Everything varys so much you can't really say yes or no.

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pollymanic@reddit

For many people in my family, foot problem reasons. Collapsing arches, plantar fasciitis, etc. Keeps them out of a lot of pain.

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AdelleDeWitt@reddit

For the same reason that we don't go to the bathroom or say goodbye when we hang up the phone: because TV doesn't have the time to show it to you when they're trying to get to the plot of the week. I don't wear shoes in the house. I don't know anyone that does.

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NoShameMallPretzels@reddit

American who lived in Canada for several years - I have foot issues and need arch support, so I am never supposed to be barefoot. I started carrying a pair of flip flops in my purse to be my “inside” shoes so I could take off my outdoor ones and not offend my hosts!

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Quick-Ostrich2020@reddit

They aren't. We take shoes off at the door. It's a HUGE country, there are many regional differences.

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GlitterRiot@reddit

I'm asking you in good faith here, but why require one visitor to take off their shoes but not require 30 people? To me, there is no difference - the floor has to be cleaned either way. Do you not clean daily?

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stuck_behind_a_truck@reddit

Why worry about the lives of strangers you’ll never meet in this detail?

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IndividualGrocery984@reddit

They’re not

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_iusuallydont_@reddit

I don’t know anyone who wears shoes in the house.

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Mechanicalgripe@reddit

American here, and I kick my shoes off when entering someone’s home and my own home.

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x---HI---x@reddit

I had a friend, and he and his brother played sports. Their dad worked outside in the heat. Even though mom was a clean freak, their house always smelled like sweaty feet in the summer. I couldn't stand going inside their home June-August. sometimes shoes are a better idea.

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shammy_dammy@reddit

I was taught that no one wanted to see or smell feet.

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Friendly_Side3258@reddit

Not a fan of wearing shoes on carpet, but I don’t really think about it when the floors are wood or tile!

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Shadow-Spark@reddit

I don't know of anybody who wears their shoes into their bedroom and kitchen. Maybe walking as far as a living or dining room to take them off, but people aren't general tromping around the house shod at all times.

Frankly, this is a super weird hangup to me, especially the thing about OMG TRACKING IN DISGUSTING STUFF. Do other countries just not have mops and brooms or vacuums or something? It's like none of y'all have ever heard of the concept of, like...cleaning your floors and/or watching where you walk so you're not stepping in mud or literal shit and tracking it around.

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fakesaucisse@reddit

I live in a part of the US where people just naturally take their shoes off when coming inside without being asked. I think it's largely because of the weather. Nobody wants to bring in the mud and pine needles and leaves that are on the ground for over half of the year.

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LettuceInfamous5030@reddit

Most people I know in the US do not wear shoes in the home unless they are having guests over.

Many people I know have “house shoes” or slippers. These are shoes that are only worn in the house and not outdoors.

What makes you think America people are running around with shoes on?

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