When you visit another person's house as a guest, do you take your shoes off and leave them by the front door? And if so, do you enforce the same no-shoes rules in your own home? That's the latest debate erupting online after one mum said she always asks her guests to take their shoes off before they enter her house.
The mum insisted she isn't a "clean freak" but doesn't want people wearing shoes indoors for "hygiene reasons" because she walks around barefoot and doesn't want her feet to come into contact with any germs or other nastiness that could be brought into her house on the sole of a shoe.
And while some people have agreed that wearing shoes inside a home is "disgusting", other people have taken the opposite stance - claiming they don't want other people's "scabby" feet on their carpets, so they'd much rather have guests keep their shoes on.
The debate was sparked after the woman uploaded a post to Mumsnet which said: "I don't think I am being too unreasonable by asking visitors to my home to take their shoes off at the front door. I am house-proud but by no means a clean freak. Just my personal preference for cleanliness and hygiene reasons as I walk around indoors in my bare feet.
"Some visitors, particularly friends, are fine with it. But some family members or other visitors roll their eyes and seem awkward. I take my shoes off at other people's houses when I visit them as I like to practice what I preach.
"Do you enforce the same rule in your home?"
The mum's post evoked some strong reactions from several people who were firmly against the idea of having people take their shoes off indoors, with one person even claiming it was "bad hosting and bad manners" to insist on it.
One person said: "I'd prefer people walking around in shoes than barefoot in my house. Shoes on doesn't bother me downstairs because we have all hard floors that are easily cleaned.
"While I'm totally respectful of other people's shoes-off rules, I think it's bad hosting and bad manners to insist on it from guests. I know a few people with diabetes who are advised to wear shoes or slippers and people's foot care is more important than my floor."
While another added: "I hate being asked to balance awkwardly in someone's hallway to remove my shoes, then leave them there for everyone to see and then sit around with my socks on display. All very inelegant and embarrassing and I don't usually visit again."
And a third wrote: "Only on Mumsnet do I see this. None of our friends would dream of asking. I don't want your scabby feet on my floors, thanks, keep your shoes on."
But many others were in favour of the idea, with some claiming they even have a box of slippers to offer guests who feel uncomfortable in socks or bare feet.
Someone posted: "Having just cleaned our carpets and seeing the colour of the water that came out of them, we are definitely enforcing no shoes! Just a breezy 'Just leave your shoes here' is fine, in my opinion.
"We have a two-year-old daughter who is just learning to crawl and it's so hard to see ingrained dirt on carpets, unlike hard floors, so I'd rather not have mud or dog s**t or whatever else being trampled in."
As someone else commented: "Shoes off here too. I have slippers for guests if they'd rather not wander in socks or barefoot."
"Every single person I know takes their shoes off when they come to my house. I've never had to ask!" another said, "I do the same when I go to other people's houses. I'm quite surprised so many people have a problem with this."
Regardless of what side of the fence you're on, many people were civil in the debate as they correctly pointed out that whatever decision you make on shoes in your home is up to you - as it's your home at the end of the day.
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