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AIBU?

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Wiping cooker when baby bathes

87 replies

Pormbk · 24/09/2024 16:23

My sister just had a baby. My sister and I are only a year apart so very close. I’ve moved in for the first month into the spare bedroom. Just so I can help cook meals, walk the dog and keep things in order.

My sister is a bit of a neat freak. Ie she will need to do a quick vac and fold blankets etc before sitting down and watching telly. No problem. She doesn’t expect others to do anything so my family has always just ignored this anal retention side of her.

Anyway, sister has started insisting that whenever the baby is bathed (kitchen sink) we clean the range cooker which is on the same side. As it makes her feel gross and it’s cosier once cleaned. I think this is mental as her cooker is never THAT bad, mostly it’s just a bit of oil from a fried egg at breakfast.

Normally I would tell sister that she’s the only one bothered so she can crack on. But she’s had a difficult labour and pregnancy so it’s falling on me. I just want things to be nice for her also.

Im not crazy for finding this crazy, right?

OP posts:
teatoast8 · 24/09/2024 21:16

Nothing wrong with a sink bath!

harrumphh · 24/09/2024 21:12

I would have more of a hygiene problem with washing a baby in a sink than I would seeing some cooking oil on a hob. People are weirdly inconsistent.

rainbowunicorn · 24/09/2024 21:09

SeptemberSunglasses · 24/09/2024 18:26

I thought this was going to be about someone leaving a baby alone in a bath in the bathroom to go and clean the oven in a kitchen. So I'm relieved!

Yes, that's what I initially thought when I read the title.

JackJarvisEsq · 24/09/2024 20:59

Don’t end up being more hindrance than help.

all these saying yes to bathing the baby in the sink are the ones saying they don’t clean their hobs after each use so I doubt your sinks are clean either

theeyeofdoe · 24/09/2024 20:52

SnowFrogJelly · 24/09/2024 16:34

Agree with this.. kitchen sink not great for baby bathing

Definitely would not be putting a baby in the kitchen sink.
We did wash the dog in ours though when he was a puppy.

sandyhappypeople · 24/09/2024 20:42

Pormbk · 24/09/2024 18:21

Unnecessary. My sister expresses gratitude everyday for my home cooked meals (her husband cooks but is not that good at it). I’m not messy. Just don’t think wiping down an entire hob is necessary for a few splashes of oil. Especially when it’s basically out of sight when the bath is being given

Your sister is only asking you to clean up the mess you made (during the morning) before the end of the day.. you don't have to do it while bathing the baby, obviously, but she is asking that it be done before the end of the day, she's trying to tactfully tell you to clean up after yourself if you make a mess.

Just because you are happy to leave splashes of oil on the hob, everything you have said about her indicates that she isn't* *happy to just sit down in the evening until everything is neat and tidy, I'm not one of those people, but she obviously is and she is the person you are supposed to be helping here.

She's probably finding it really hard having people there that make a mess and don't clean it up the same way she does, but appreciates your help so doesn't want to say much. She's asked nicely, so just clean up the oil after you've fried food in the morning.. or go home and leave her to it if you feel that strongly about a 30 second wipe down after cooking.

CharlotteBog · 24/09/2024 20:32

I clean my hob every day.
I accept others don't. I don't think I'm that odd.
Bathing a baby in a sink is fine. Even a bath on a table is a pain as you have to go back and forth with jugs of water.
Either way, if you're there to help your sister you need to accept her house rules.
Life as you knew it can feel precarious when you've just had a baby; keeping up with certain household tasks can help you feel you're in control.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 24/09/2024 20:24

DrinkElephants · 24/09/2024 20:03

This. I find it odd too especially as the sister is a clean freak.

If sister can’t bend down yet then surely a baby bath on a table is more hygienic?

You have to fill / empty move the bath, there is nothing wrong or unhygienic with bathing a baby in a sink.

EilonwyWithRedGoldHair · 24/09/2024 20:23

I wouldn't while the baby was being bathed, but would before or after.

Though my hob is cleaned once a week, unless it gets very messy.

Not sure why bathing a baby in a sink is unhygienic. Presumably the sink is cleaned before and after.

soundsys · 24/09/2024 20:16

I think it's probably one of those things she'll look back on and laugh at how over the top she was, but - while she's in the thick of it - just wipe the blooming job. She's your sister and if it helps her feel better when she's still recovering from birth then why not?

PepaWepa · 24/09/2024 20:12

I don't see the problem? 🤨

DrinkElephants · 24/09/2024 20:03

Nogaxeh · 24/09/2024 16:30

Wait. Why are you washing a baby in the kitchen sink?

Isn't anyone else thinking that it's incredibly rank to wash a baby in the same sink you'd be washing vegetables or dishes in?

This. I find it odd too especially as the sister is a clean freak.

If sister can’t bend down yet then surely a baby bath on a table is more hygienic?

bringmorewashing · 24/09/2024 19:36

I'm probably a bit like your sister in my cleaning standards/preferences so I don't think there's anything crazy about this, but either way I'd just do it to make her happy. It's such a small thing and she needs all the love and support you can give her, even if it takes the form of extra cleaning...

Pormbk · 24/09/2024 19:29

GRex · 24/09/2024 18:40

Just drop off food instead of blocking up her house and making mess in it. Honestly, everyone says thanks for whoever cooks, that doesn't mean messy cooks aren't irritating.

Ok I’ll think I’ll listen to my sister’s wishes thanks.

OP posts:
Deadringer · 24/09/2024 19:23

I am not remotely fussy about cleaning but I would wipe the cooker if there was any oil or food on it, it looks gross and is harder to clean once it dries in. There is nothing wrong with washing baby in the sink as long as its safe.

NewbornMum243 · 24/09/2024 19:20

I'm with your sister. I'm not even that neat and my house is semi-untidy at all times. But I HATE a dirty hob. Hate it. I always wipe surfaces after cooking, literally takes 20 seconds.

JollyTallTeddy · 24/09/2024 19:19

I wipe my hob after cooking. And i was bathed in the sink when i was a tot. All perfectly normal in my experience.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 24/09/2024 19:13

It's so much easier to wipe after every use than leave it dirty.

MSLRT · 24/09/2024 19:01

You are there to help. Why are you making such a fuss about a simple job which makes your sister feel happier. You sound a bit of a moaning pain in the arse to be honest.

BeardieWeirdie · 24/09/2024 18:42

A clean Belfast sink is perfect for washing a baby in!

GRex · 24/09/2024 18:40

Pormbk · 24/09/2024 18:21

Unnecessary. My sister expresses gratitude everyday for my home cooked meals (her husband cooks but is not that good at it). I’m not messy. Just don’t think wiping down an entire hob is necessary for a few splashes of oil. Especially when it’s basically out of sight when the bath is being given

Just drop off food instead of blocking up her house and making mess in it. Honestly, everyone says thanks for whoever cooks, that doesn't mean messy cooks aren't irritating.

SeptemberSunglasses · 24/09/2024 18:26

I thought this was going to be about someone leaving a baby alone in a bath in the bathroom to go and clean the oven in a kitchen. So I'm relieved!

Pormbk · 24/09/2024 18:21

GRex · 24/09/2024 18:06

In my house you need to wipe down the hob when you make it dirty, and no baby here. Sister isn't a neat freak when she's asking for basic hygiene. It would probably help more if the dirty people just went to their own homes now.

Unnecessary. My sister expresses gratitude everyday for my home cooked meals (her husband cooks but is not that good at it). I’m not messy. Just don’t think wiping down an entire hob is necessary for a few splashes of oil. Especially when it’s basically out of sight when the bath is being given

OP posts:
NiftyKoala · 24/09/2024 18:19

Her home her rules. Move out asap and in your own home you make your rules.

GRex · 24/09/2024 18:06

In my house you need to wipe down the hob when you make it dirty, and no baby here. Sister isn't a neat freak when she's asking for basic hygiene. It would probably help more if the dirty people just went to their own homes now.