Taking off your shoes - would you accept muddy boots?

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heavenlywild

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#64262 12-Jul-2010 11:57

I had an inspector come over this morning to look at a water damaged cupboard in the kitchen. Anyway, he's not a maintenance guy, only an assessor of sorts.

Anyway, at our place we take off our shoes before coming in. So I asked him kindly to take the boots off, especially when I saw how dirty and muddy it was - if it looked half decent I would've let him walk in with it on.

He seemed reluctant. He said, "If I get hurt you will be liable for it according to health and safety". However, he eventually did take his boots off.

Seriously, this is just health and safety gone mad. There is no common sense anymore. You are an inspector here to look at the water damage to a cupboard in the kitchen. You aren't climbing into the roof or drilling any holes. Show some respect before coming into someone else's house!

I take health and safety seriously but honestly, it doesn't give any person the right to enter a house with muddy boots on.

OK, rant over, time to carry on with my day... :P

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Semaj

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#350582 13-Jul-2010 12:08

You can buy 'Please remove shoe signs' in hardware/trinket shops. Some are quite humorous. After all it is your house, your carpet, your rules.!

Klipspringer

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#350589 13-Jul-2010 12:21

This is just one of the reasons I hate carpets. You end up policing them more than they worth. Why on earth kiwis put carpets inside there houses, at the front door, with mud just outside, is beyond me. Carpets should be limited to the bedrooms. Not the high traffic areas. Here in NZ i have even seems some houses with carpets in the bathrooms - disgusting. Entrance halls, passages, kitchens, BATHROOMS should all be tiled or at least wooden. One of the first things we did to out house after purchase was ripping out those dirty carpets. Its either that or having these people walking through your house with their stinky feet or smelly socks on your carpet. I personally would rather have some mud to deal with.

Not sure what you complaining about, this guy did after all remove his boots? Is it the fat that you had to ask him? He removed them, so what!!!

There is my rant!!!

Kaos36

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#350632 13-Jul-2010 13:18

Its your house your the boss.

We have vanished floors no need for the boots off thing, no dirt is too hard to clean with wooden floors, no fleas will survive on vanish floors either! lol

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heavenlywild

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#350654 13-Jul-2010 13:48

BraaiGuy:

Not sure what you complaining about, this guy did after all remove his boots? Is it the fat that you had to ask him? He removed them, so what!!!

There is my rant!!!

It was his attitude to my comment that was annoying more than anything else :)

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nakedmolerat

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#350931 13-Jul-2010 17:15

heavenlywild: I had an inspector come over this morning to look at a water damaged cupboard in the kitchen. Anyway, he's not a maintenance guy, only an assessor of sorts.

Anyway, at our place we take off our shoes before coming in. So I asked him kindly to take the boots off, especially when I saw how dirty and muddy it was - if it looked half decent I would've let him walk in with it on.

He seemed reluctant. He said, "If I get hurt you will be liable for it according to health and safety". However, he eventually did take his boots off.

Seriously, this is just health and safety gone mad. There is no common sense anymore. You are an inspector here to look at the water damage to a cupboard in the kitchen. You aren't climbing into the roof or drilling any holes. Show some respect before coming into someone else's house!

I take health and safety seriously but honestly, it doesn't give any person the right to enter a house with muddy boots on.

OK, rant over, time to carry on with my day... :P

1. I would definitely said NO to dirty boots.

2. I have heard similar explanation by the plumber that came over to my house. Apparently, they must wear the boots in order to be covered by the insurance (as per health and safety guidelines). He explained to me that his boots can be very dirty when at work. So he used clean socks that he put over his boot before entering my house. I was personally pleased with his move.

1gkar

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#352473 16-Jul-2010 21:26

As a plumber of some 30 years operating mainly in the domestic market, I usually use soft soled, rubber shoes as they give better feel, especially when walking over roofs, & are more comfortable. I only use boots when working at industrial sites.

I occasionally get caught out with mud on the soles & take them off volunteerily, as I check before entering. The main reason for asking from clients is religious reasons. If in doubt, I will ask. I can usually work out pretty quickly if a client prefers no shoes. However, I won't take them off if working around demolition timber (ie. nails) or with heavier tools/plant. Dirt/mud will be the least of the worries in instances of alterations, anyway.

As for carpets, NZ villas/bungalows/traditional attached units are designed for carpets. If you look at the underfloor structure, you can see originally there was no facility for insulation (it wasn't even a consideration prior circa mid-1970s when silver-backed sizlation was introduced: which wasn't really an insulation, at all). The main reason, though, besides the comfort level, is for the insulation properties it can give. Bare, polished, wooden floors -as preferred by housing speculators- are cold (even with insulation), noisy, & still require similar cleaning requirements ie. mopping, as well as vacuuming to keep clean of dust. I grant they are beneficial for asthma -& other sufferers of allergies.

One final thought on bare floors: don't ever live in an attached unit where the neighbour's floor is above your own, say around head height. Noise will pass straight through the adjoining wall. especially if the kitchen doors & drawers are of cheap manufacture, & not of the soft-close variety.

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Lockcode027

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#352479 16-Jul-2010 21:36

i thought it was just the "Done the thing" it's like manners. to remove your foot wear before entering someone Else's home. just the same if your a smoker you always ask if it's ok to smoke inside.
I don't think anyone should have to put up sign's it's the done thing people should know.

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Dratsab

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#352489 16-Jul-2010 21:50

Lockcode027: i thought it was just the "Done the thing" it's like manners. to remove your foot wear before entering someone Else's home. just the same if your a smoker you always ask if it's ok to smoke inside.
I don't think anyone should have to put up sign's it's the done thing people should know.

+1 - except smokers should know to not even bother asking, unless they know the person they are visiting is a smoker who smokes inside.

1gkar

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#352498 16-Jul-2010 22:11

Lockcode027: i thought it was just the "Done the thing" it's like manners. to remove your foot wear before entering someone Else's home. just the same if your a smoker you always ask if it's ok to smoke inside.
I don't think anyone should have to put up sign's it's the done thing people should know.

Traditionally, that is not the case, in this country. Ask your parents if they automatically took their shoes off back in 1960. It is a relatively recent advent, for varying reasons.

lapimate

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#352504 16-Jul-2010 22:52

heavenlywild: ... So I asked him kindly to take the boots off...

Might it not be more diplomatic to provide suitable overshoes at the door? That is probably more culturally acceptable than being asked to remove an article of attire, and may deal with the issues relating to necessary safety footware.

Lockcode027

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#352506 16-Jul-2010 22:58

1gkar:
Lockcode027: i thought it was just the "Done the thing" it's like manners. to remove your foot wear before entering someone Else's home. just the same if your a smoker you always ask if it's ok to smoke inside.
I don't think anyone should have to put up sign's it's the done thing people should know.
Traditionally, that is not the case, in this country. Ask your parents if they automatically took their shoes off back in 1960. It is a relatively recent advent, for varying reasons.

well my parents were born in 1964 and they said they got a smack if they didn't take there shoes off in side by there foster parents.

Fraktul

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#352524 17-Jul-2010 00:55

lapimate:
heavenlywild: ... So I asked him kindly to take the boots off...

Might it not be more diplomatic to provide suitable overshoes at the door? That is probably more culturally acceptable than being asked to remove an article of attire, and may deal with the issues relating to necessary safety footware.

So you are proposing people buy shoes for visitors to their own house to use because that's culturally sensitive? The mind boggles..you have a promising career ahead as a civil servant.

@HW: You should have told him fine keep your shoes on but you will be liable for the cleaning costs.

heavenlywild

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#352526 17-Jul-2010 01:24

Fraktul:
lapimate:
heavenlywild: ... So I asked him kindly to take the boots off...

Might it not be more diplomatic to provide suitable overshoes at the door? That is probably more culturally acceptable than being asked to remove an article of attire, and may deal with the issues relating to necessary safety footware.

So you are proposing people buy shoes for visitors to their own house to use because that's culturally sensitive? The mind boggles..you have a promising career ahead as a civil servant.

@HW: You should have told him fine keep your shoes on but you will be liable for the cleaning costs.

Hahaha great idea, shame I didn't think of that!

Seriously, what's wrong these days with respecting people's property? There seems to be nothing but "it's all about me me me".

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1gkar

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#352597 17-Jul-2010 10:30

Lockcode027:
1gkar:
Lockcode027: i thought it was just the "Done the thing" it's like manners. to remove your foot wear before entering someone Else's home. just the same if your a smoker you always ask if it's ok to smoke inside.
I don't think anyone should have to put up sign's it's the done thing people should know.
Traditionally, that is not the case, in this country. Ask your parents if they automatically took their shoes off back in 1960. It is a relatively recent advent, for varying reasons.

well my parents were born in 1964 and they said they got a smack if they didn't take there shoes off in side by there foster parents.

OK. I stand corrected; in your case. I still back my original statement. As someone who has been entering people's premises professionally for about 30 years, I have noticed that until mid-ninties or so, it wasn't an issue, if you used your common sense with respect to dirty footwear. I use slippers in areas of cold surfaces, like tiled bathroom floors thesedays.

Semaj

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#352631 17-Jul-2010 12:40

1gkar.
Thank you. It's nice to know that there are still folks out there that respect other people's property.