He is already exposed to germs every time he leaves the house. Is he going to stop going out, as well? This is a phobia, and needs to be addressed through therapy before it gets worse.

He might not realise that by asking his friends to change clothes or wear a rain thing, he implies that his friends are "dirty" and of course nobody wants to feel like that. Also, it's not very welcoming, is it? It feels as if guests are an imposition rather than a pleasure.

You can have a pristine private space, that you share with no one or a select few, or your can have a warm welcoming home. Scotchguard the furniture, drapery, rugs, carpet. Cover furniture in throws that are quick and easy to wash. Spray some glen20 where people were sitting...after they leave and have spare indoor slippers by the door which are washable and can be sanitised after guests leave. That is as extreme as I think you can get without being crazy.

YTA - you're telling people they're too "unclean" to sit on your furniture. Either you're a massive a*****e, or you have an undiagnosed illness - possibly OCD. You need to seek treatment, and you owe your friends an apology.

I'm going to say NTA, only because this person needs to seek therapy for their compulsion, which will likely only get worse.

You need a therapist. Your "rule" is not only unreasonable, but also irrational. After all, you have no idea where the clothes they change into have been either.

I'm Japanese so there's an obvious expectation of no shoes in the house, which no one had a problem with. Even my Filipino friends (and some non-Asian friends) had that rule at their houses, so it was just second nature. This is about the extent that I think any can be expected to be okay with. Wearing a raincoat or changing your whole outfit is outrageous.

Peeps, everyone is invited to my place, but you must shed your old skin and have a new skin for inside, okay? I will not have my periodicals touched by old outside skin.

I always change my clothes inside my laundry room, which is in my garage, upon returning home. Next, I scrub my hands with soap and hot water. I also never wear street shoes inside. This routine began as a result of the pandemic, and it has become what feels good to me. As far as friends go, they always remove their shoes and clothes, and we hang out naked. Ok, I'm kidding, they just remove their shoes. When they leave, I just sanitize surfaces and go on with life. There you have my 2 cents. :>)

"they keep their bathroom clean by scrubbing it “everywhere [they] can possibly reach” daily with “bleach and chlorine mixtures.”" SWEET BABY JESUS is always the people most intensely over anxious about keeping their home clean who don't GOOGLE CLEANING PRODUCT INTERACTION HAZARDS. They're lucky they aren't too dead from fumes to worry about the germs and bacteria their corpse is hosting for an all your can eat buffet.

You have to use your immune system or you get sick ,the outside is dirty' mentality is very unhealthy for your mental health. Most humans used to spend 12+ hours a day outside if germs could kill you that easily the human race wouldn't of made it a century. If your not cleaning your clothes with bleach there is still germs and other outside microbes because laundry soap is not made as a disinfectant and one of the reason towels and linens where white for thousands of years so you could boil them or more recently bleach them.

His sex life must be a blast.

Make your guests feel comfortable or don't invite them.

Those reddits posts on BP sound to me like "let's post the most unconcievable scenario" ever and see what people have to say about it...They're getting boring to me...

Op needs therapy. This goes far beyond germs. It's unreasonable to expect people to do this.

Better deal: I just don't visit you.

Has he ever been to anyone else's house his whole life and made to immediately change clothes or wear a raincoat, and having not (I assume) yet think asking others to isn't the social norm? Does he keep his own changes of clothes or raincoat handy for when he visits others? If not, he is disrespecting trying to keep them free of outside world germs. Seriously, if the outside world of germs hasn't killed him by now, barring something extreme, I doubt they will anytime soon.

Not an AH, but you need professional help, and I mean this in a kind way. I ask people to remove their shoes when entering my apartment, but that's because I don't want outside dirt on my carpet. I'm planning to move to a place that has engineered hardwood, so easier to clean.

You're just stupid.

Went to a friends house as a teen and was handed a pair of socks when I took my sandals off (never wore socks if I had a choice). Creeped me out so bad I never went over again.

It's a blessing and a curse....

Not only is he demanding people change clothes when they get there or wear a rain coat, he thinks he’s being kind by offering to wash his guests clothes while they are there but then his guests are stuck there until his laundry is done. What if they need to leave before that?

Your blog post was an excellent read! I learned a lot from your insights and found the information valuable. For those interested in learning more, click here. Keep up the good work!

Take off your shoes and coat, completely acceptable. Wash your hands right away, still kind of okay, especially when there's an epidemic going on. Otherwise, let nature be nature. If it does not kill you (or make sick) when outside, it will not be a problem coming in.

This can’t be real…

Let's spend 2 hours washing and drying clothes! wtf.

He should just buy an hazmat suit and turn the bathroom into an airlock. Problem solved.

My favorite part of people's excessive behavior is to find one person who doesn't think it's excessive as an example of how normal they are. "My girlfriend doesn't have a problem with it!". Yes, but 99% of everyone else thinks it's over the top. You're entitled to be excessive but stop inviting people over and being surprised that they don't agree with your nonsense rules.

Not an AH but yes this is unreasonable to expect guests to do this. The exception is changing out of your own clothes, you know where you’ve been so by all means change if you feel you should. Many people in our family are in healthcare and that was our rule - no hugs when coming home from work, clothes straight into the laundry and person into the shower.

Dude...just have them take off their shoes like every other country in the world does and provide them guest slippers. Also, buy or make covers for your furniture (and not out of plastic).

Even at the height of my germophobia I was never this bad. OP needs therapy and I mean that in a sincere way. This behavior is an excellent way to alienate yourself and make your family and friends feel unwelcome.

Omg!!! Seek help!! I keep my house really clean also, but that is so bizarre

He's not an arsehole, it's his home. But the clothes thing is excessive, so he should look at therapy if he can't relax the rules and be okay about something so simple.

NTA. A bit unreasonable, yes. I think OP should re think his priorities. If having people over is important to him, then he will need to find a different way (couch covers seem like a great option). If hosting people is not a priority, then c'est la vie. In this story, the so called friend's behavior is more worthy of being labeled AH. I'm not saying they have to go along with OP's policy. I'm talking about the stonewalling and not compromising. By compromise, I mean they could have gone out to a cafe together or something.

So I recently started working in a hospital and confess I’m a teensy bit of a germaphobe about it. My FIL went in there, caught MRSA and didn’t come back out. I’m very careful not to touch my face or even hair while I’m working and wash my hands on breaks, using hand sanitizer in between (when I remember because it’s so crazy busy), and I’ve touched people’s dirty health cards. Like sometimes they are actually dirty - what do they do with them, mine’s in my wallet? I do take off my clothes once worn and wash them. One person came in for a chest x-ray and the req said they had active TB. Jesus! Good thing they make us take TB tests before starting work I guess. But at home, I live in the country with animals coming in and out so whatever germs are around, I don’t worry about. But I do like my bleach spray.

Is this one of those "I'm going to invent a story for reddit and see how many peoiple believe it"?

Total idiot over concerned a*****e. You have this thing called an immune system and it needs practice.