Wearing shoes indoors

[KARL]

I am very grateful for all the replies to my question, most of which express the same puzzlement as I did: it is dirty, unhygienic, uncomfortable, etc. and even rude, but still there are those who do it. However, the odd one out is janetx who simply said she (?) would be horrified at being asked to remove her shoes. Of all those who took the time and trouble to respond to my question (thank you one and all, although you did not actually answer the question), she seems to be the only one who may hold at least one possible answer: WHY ? Janetx, please elaborate to the same extent as those who are against the practice did - that is, if it is not excruciatingly personal a question (remember, you are anonymous on this site, so you can spill it all without fear of being identified).

[j2buttonsw]

I make a point of wearing shoes all of the time to to spare people the smell of my feet.

[KARL]

Ah, but do you realise that the reason for your feet smelling is that they are sealed inside shoes - especially if you wear "trainers". This is without a doubt the main reason, assuming you wash properly (not just wetting but actually rubbing soap in between and below toes) and change socks/stockings (incidentally, synthetic/manmade fabrics such as nylon make your skin sweat, even in cold weather - more stench) frequently, daily if necessary. Wear well vented footwear, such as sandals, as a preference outdoors but take off your shoes altogether when indoors. You will never have to fear causing embarrassment again. If you are unfortunate enough to suffer some form of medical condition of the skin then see a doctor because there is no justification for putting up with it. Athelete's foot is a fungal growth which causes buildup of dead skin which rots in moist conditions - good washing and maximum freedom from shoes and/or synthetic fabrics is a great help but creams and powders eliminate the condition - you must throw out shoes which have been worn while suffering the infection in order to eliminate re-infection caused by the shoes (wash socks twice at high temperature, once each way out, to save them). Just imagine, not only will no-one be able to accuse you of having smelly feet, but you won't need to fear such a possibility.

[j2buttonsw]

Oh, I never thought about washing my feet.

[Rev.Crowley]

I, too, would feel insulted at being asked to remove my shoes, unless it were in a mosque. It is ettiquette to make a guest feel comfortable. Only if they were visibly trailing mud in would I (politely) point it out. Besides, I always wipe my feet on the doormat before entering.

[KARL]

I hope, j2buttonsw, that your response was intended to be humorous rather than indignant, because it was not my intention to cause offense. The advice I put to you was precisely what I was given by medics and read on medicine instruction sheets when I once contracted athelete's foot while abroad. Washing thoroughly is advised. Only you know how you wash and if an adjustment in technique can help with smelly feet (regardless of to what degree or where the advice comes from) then I imagine that is worthwhile. We all use public toilets at some point (shops, stations, motorway services, etc.) and seeing men delicately wet two fingers of one hand under the tap is, frankly, bizarre. Significant numbers perform and leave without even this little ritual (my wife tells me things are not a lot better onthe ladies' side), and we then have to open the door they touched ..... According to historians, people in this country and elsewhere in Europe literally stank until, relatively recently (royalty and aristocrats kept moving between residences because they could no longer stand the stench of their own detritus - minions spent months cleaning up). While elsewhere in Europe washing ALL over using sope is mandatory before entering a swimming pool, one very rarely sees the practice even suggested here. Unfortunately hygiene cannot be taken for granted. Rev Crowley wil apparently only make an exception for mosques. I am no expert on religious customs, certainly not non-european ones, but my guess is that removing shoes on entering a home is a custom which pre-dates Islam because it is so widespread in non-muslim areas. So far only one reason (smelly feet - thanks to one courageous person) has been revealed, but WHY is this habit, of keeping the shoes firmly on to the point of religious rigidity, so difficult to shift ? I really would like to understand.

[KARL]

P.S. I should have mentioned I am trying to persuade my near-adult sons to go against TV imagery and turn the shower off while they are washing so they can soap themselves all over (cubicles do not usually provide sufficient room to get out of the flow) and then rinse off. Otherwise they only dissolve the soap in the cascade - gels are worse because they are already liquid. They don't want to smell bad but they occasionally do in spite of "showering" daily - their bad technique is at fault.

[vittoria]

In my family (in Italy) it was regarded as the pits of bad manners to remove your shoes in public. However, I don't mind one bit if someone asks me to remove my shoes when I go into their house. I have a Japanese friend who asks everyone to take off their shoes when they visit and for her, keeping the shoes on would be bad manners, but in my family it was the opposite.

[comloulou]

Karl have you ever heard of obsessive compulsive disorders?

[KARL]

Ciao, Vittoria, thank you for your interesting slant - when I was in Italy last month every Italian household I visited had an outdoor-shoe-free routine, so clearly there are variations across this particular spectrum there also. Thank you also, comloulou, I hope you find relief from the dark secret you tightly lace up inside your shoes if that is your particular hangup.