Much of the world takes their shoes off at the door. Most Americans do too — they just won’t ask you to. Welcome to the most awkward moment in your new roommate’s living room.
You walk into a friend’s apartment in Allston. There’s a pile of sneakers by the door. Nobody says anything. Do you take yours off?
If you grew up in much of East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, the Balkans, Scandinavia or Canada, the answer is obvious: of course you do. Walking into a home with outdoor shoes on can feel almost rude. If you grew up in a lot of American homes, the answer is just as obvious the other way: why would you?
Boston is where those two answers end up sharing a lease.
What Americans actually do
Here’s the twist: most Americans already take their shoes off at home. In a YouGov poll, 87% said they remove their shoes in their own homes, at least occasionally. But half said they never ask guests to do the same.
That’s where the awkwardness lives. When YouGov asked again in 2022, 59% of hosts said guests should just do whatever they’re comfortable with. Only 24% said they’d prefer guests take their shoes off, and 17% preferred shoes on. And as guests, 55% said they’ll simply follow whatever the host wants — if only the host would say it.
It’s also a generational thing. Younger Americans are much more likely to ask: 64% of millennials ask guests to remove their shoes at least sometimes, while 64% of people 55 and older never do.
The case for shoes off
Think about where your shoes have been today. The T. A Fenway sidewalk after a game. Boston slush in February, full of road salt.
Researchers have found fecal bacteria like E. coli on the bottoms of everyday shoes, and in one small test, 90–99% of it transferred onto clean flooring. University of Arizona microbiologist Charles Gerba puts it simply: the first three or four steps inside your door are the dirtiest part of your floor.
Plus, your floors last longer, your rugs stay clean, and your downstairs neighbor in the triple-decker hears less.
The case for shoes on
That bacteria study was small, not peer-reviewed, and funded by a shoe company. Vanderbilt infectious disease specialist William Schaffner says there are no documented cases of people getting sick from germs on shoe soles. Your hands are a much bigger risk.
And there’s comfort. Some people need the support, it’s cold in an old Boston apartment in January, and nobody wants to be the guest standing at a party in mismatched socks.
So who’s right?
Probably whoever owns the floor. But that only works if they say so.
Shoes off or shoes on?
