Because wearing them inside the house is gross. Don't agree? I'll fight you.

We are a shoes-off household.

All my kids know it. My three-year-old is so well trained, he asks our guests to remove their shoes when they walk in the front door.

Once he saw a character on TV wearing their shoes inside and he looked at me in surprise and said, “Shoes? In the house?? Yuck.” True story.

I suppose it’s partly a cultural thing – I’m half Filipino and people across Asian countries, from Japan to Pakistan, consistently take their shoes off when they enter their own, or someone else’s home.

But I know plenty of people from countries all over the world who do it. My husband, who is of English descent for many generations, also takes off his shoes when he comes into our home (even though his parents don't).

Why? Because he knows that if you wear your shoes in your house, you might as well pick up dog poo with your bare hands and smear it on the floor.

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And think of all the other disgusting things you see on the footpath when you go for a walk. Wads of spit? Old chicken bones from someone’s KFC lunch? Chewing gum? On a Sunday morning in the city, I’m sure we’ve even seen splats of vomit.

It’s inevitable that residue from one or all those disgusting items will make its way onto the sole of your shoe.

Why would you want to track it around your own house?

And don’t even get me started with people who keep their shoes on when they stretch their feet out on their bed.

I know my views aren’t extreme because 126 million Japanese people with dedicated house slippers can’t be wrong.

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However, it’s clearly a contentious topic. A woman took to the Mumsnet forum to ask members if they thought guests should take their shoes off in people’s houses.

“Is it unreasonable to ask visitors to remove their shoes? I have pale cream carpets and no one in the house wears shoes in the house,” she explained.

“My niece recently called in and it was heavily raining, she had cork sole shoes on which sucked up lots of water which she tramped over my carpets.

“I asked her to take them off as wet, soggy prints were being left behind. I do not have to ask some people, but feel awkward when I do ask.”

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The responses were split, with some who believed it was rude to leave your shoes on, while others said it wasn’t welcoming to ask someone.

Other people thought asking your guests to remove their shoes was low class.

“With my family I just say shoes off!!” someone wrote. “And they do it but with my in-laws, I stare at their feet and if they then don’t get it I say, 'can you take your shoes off please!'”

“I didn’t know people still wore shoes in the house, certainly not other people’s houses,” wrote another. “First thing I do when I get home, or go to someone’s house, is take off my shoes. It’s automatic.”

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But not everyone felt the same way.

“I hate ‘shoes off’ rule, it’s unwelcoming,” one person said. “Don’t have light-coloured carpets if you’re that worried! Carpets like that get grubby despite all this shoes-off nonsense! They are dirt magnets."

“If you must insist on such a silly rule, let your visitor know in advance so that they can bring slippers," suggested another. "I hate having to take my shoes off and walk around in my socks. It looks bloody ridiculous. Or get some biodegradable shoe covers.”

From their comments, we know two things about these inside shoe-wearers: 1. They have bad manners, and 2. They like having dog poo on their floor.