Is It Rude To Ask People To Remove Their Shoes On New Flooring
Monday afternoon I spent 5 hours putting in the new wood flooring and it looks awesome! Now I have to worry about keeping the floors looking nice for as long as possible. Right now I have two ideas. First - the kids cannot ride their scooters inside. Second - I'm going to have to ask visitors to take off their shoes. Yeah, I'm going to be 'that guy' for a while. Sorry.
I was reading up on this though and found that having people take off their shoes is really a good thing for everyone involved so I won't feel so bad asking...unless you have stinky feet! Here are 6 reasons I don't feel bad about it.
- It's cleaner, obviously. Which is the main reason people do it. The less dirt you track in, the less you have to clean.
- Shoes are covered in bacteria. A recent study at the University of Arizona found loads of bacteria on people's shoes, including E. coli and meningitis.
- They're also covered in toxins, like pesticides and herbicides. Especially if you've been in a garden.
- It's better for your feet. For most people, walking around without shoes makes your arches stronger.
- And it can also relieve stress, because taking your shoes off when you get home subconsciously tells you it's time to relax.
- It ruins your carpet. And that's even if your shoes aren't dirty. Walking on a carpet in shoes messes it up faster than walking in socks or bare feet.
Is that rude of me to even ask my visitors to take off their shoes?