Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
The shoes thing is very much regional. I'd wager houses in the areas of North America and Western Europe where it's not conventional to take of your shoes aren't any dirtier than houses in areas where you do. Then there's the sweaty stocking feet issue. We think it's perfectly normal, but in other parts of the world it's considered disgusting to let someone's stocking feet touch your floor. And of course, some people wear shoes and sandals without socks. You'd really prefer someone walking around your house in bare feet?
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Okay, you're not completely out to lunch. I think it's really gross when somebody walks around my house in bare beet as well. I would prefer they bring a pair of socks to put on, but that's not going to happen so I try not to worry about it.
My preference is socks. Nobody wears them more than one day without washing them, so they are clean. They can't scratch my floor and they won't have gum/bug guts/tar/oil/grass/leaves/etc. on them, either (unlike shoes).
We wash our floors on a regular enough basis that I'm not bothered by sweaty sock feet. That I can clean. I can't mop away scratches and nicks from shoes, though. Plus I highly doubt everybody has non-marking soles.
I know other parts of the world don't take their shoes off in the house. In other parts of the world they also wipe their ass with their bare hand. We're a particularly clean people, here.
My hardwood is from 1969 - I refinished it for the first time in its life six years ago. It looks absolutely brand new. If people had been tromping around my house in shoes for the last 45 years, the hardwood would be a complete disaster. I know this because when you go into a house where people wear shoes around all the time their hardwood looks terrible.