Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

? Cleaner helping self to a tipple. What would you do ?

38 replies

Popsythe1st · 24/02/2017 09:34

Dh commented last night ' when did you hit that gin? ' I hadn't. Treated myself to a bottle of Sipsmith and had a small measure last weekend. There is now a good 2 inches off the level. Thinking about it , a bottle of whiskey left from Christmas has virtually been finished off. The only person it could be is the cleaner and funny how we noticed it the day she has been. What would you do?

OP posts:
tigerdriverII · 24/02/2017 09:35

Get a new cleaner, obvs. Do you really need to ask?

Vanillamanilla1 · 24/02/2017 09:36

Mark the bottle and check it after she's been . Then sack her

SeeMyVest · 24/02/2017 09:41

Are you absolutely, 100% sure it was the cleaner?
I have a friend who had a drink problem and when she left after staying for a couple of days I would find previously full/half-full bottles completely empty. (She has since had some help for her addiction) but we had no idea at the time that she was drinking even a little.

Also, when I was a whipper snapper (around 14/15) my friends and I used to sneak into our juice bottles some gin/vodka whatever and take it into school and share it... Confused seems absolutely crazy now, especially as we went to a naice, all girls, grammar school.

So basically I'm saying, if you ever have house guests or if you have teenage children please don't assume it's the cleaner !!

Original poster
Popsythe1st · 24/02/2017 09:52

I do think it is the cleaner but can't be 100% I do have a 14 year old son but he can't even stand the smell of booze so not sure about that. Cleaner came yesterday when we were all out and we noticed at tea time. We have had said cleaner for years but it's only recently that a couple of bottles have been left on kitchen top, left from Xmas

OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 24/02/2017 09:56

Mark the bottle and then check after he/she leaves. Not much more you can do to prove it.

KingJoffreysRestingCuntface · 24/02/2017 09:59

She may have a drink problem. In which case she needs a massive hug.

AquaLatte · 24/02/2017 10:00

Please don't just assume it's the cleaner because your 14 year old hates the smell of booze.

My parents were convinced I hated the smell of smoke whilst I was smoking 10 a day!

OnHold · 24/02/2017 10:03

I bet it's your son.

Original poster
Popsythe1st · 24/02/2017 10:22

Whoever it is likes the hard stuff . There's always a half bottle of wine about and that doesn't get touched .

OP posts:
Wishiwasmoiradingle2017 · 24/02/2017 10:23

Would be tempted to replace the bottle with a bottle of wee!!

PickleSarnie · 24/02/2017 10:28

Surely every teenager has siphoned off their parents drinks at some point? I hated the smell of alcohol too. Didn't stop me drinking the stuff. Not saying it's definitely your son off course. I just don't think you can be totally sure its the cleaner.

hollyisalovelyname · 24/02/2017 10:30

Mark a bottle and wait.
Do not tell the 14 year old.
It might be the 14 year old
It might be one of their friends.

Original poster
Popsythe1st · 24/02/2017 10:34

I know Pickle. That is why I don't want to jump to conclusions. We have had cleaner for years and nothing has ever gone missing. I don't want to believe it is the cleaner because I will be disappointed as we treat her well , always pay her when on holidays. We had building work done and couldn't access the house for a month and still paid her etc. If it is her - she may have a drink problem and then I feel bad at sacking her

OP posts:
llangennith · 24/02/2017 10:56

If you want to keep your cleaner then make sure you put the alcohol out of sight.

timeforabrewnow · 24/02/2017 11:04

You've had the cleaner for years and nothing has ever gone missing.

Why would she start stealing from you now???

Figglesticks · 24/02/2017 11:29

I also went to a naice girls grammar and we used to thieve our parents vodka/gun/whisky and put it in with pure orange juice/lemonade/squash and take it into school. I remember being 14 and tipsy possibly trolleyed on a school trip. It was always spirits never wine because that didn't taste nice and you could make spirits taste good by mixing it with a fruit drink.
I wouldn't tell either of them and test your son out first over a few days. Then maybe see if it's the cleaner. If he thinks for a second that he might get caught, he won't do it. I also spent years convincing mum I hated alcohol so she never suspected a thing. to this day she still thinks she has a large bottle of vodka in the drinks cabinet that is completely empty thanks to me.

IHaveAnOutie · 12/03/2017 07:44

At 14/15 I told my parents I hated the taste of alcohol, played up to that story whenever the subject came up, but would often take swigs of their spirits with friends... a swig of a spirit is less noticeable and more effective than having to down some wine (which to me tasted even worse than spirits back then). I would put money on it being your son who is the drink thief!!

stonecircle · 12/03/2017 08:44

Did you find out who it was op? My money's on the 14 year old too! We've had similar incidents in our house. We don't have a cleaner but we do have teenagers!

ElspethFlashman · 12/03/2017 08:48

Sorry OP, but it's your son. He's the age when they start experimenting with the drinks cabinet.

He might not be even drinking it in the house, he may be nicking some to bring it to his friends house to mess around with.

LevantineHummus · 12/03/2017 09:01

If it is your cleaner and she has developed a drink problem, but is otherwise good at her job, I don't know you need to sack her straight away. You could give her a warning and set out boundaries that she can never be drunk at work (like any other job), or drinking on the job. You highly recommend she go to her GP/AA and then give her a chance. If it's her, she's clearly going through (or has gone through and suffering from it) a hard time and she's been with you for ages AND is good (i.e. difficult to replace).

Then keep the alcohol away.

But my money's on DS. Because my friends and I did similar!

stonecircle · 12/03/2017 09:12

It's so not the cleaner! Grin

WarmFunKindStrong · 12/03/2017 09:18

Remove it from view. Place the alcohol under lock and key.

My money is on the culprit being your teenager OP.

rainbowstardrops · 12/03/2017 09:21

So you've had the cleaner for years with no problems whatsoever.
You have a 14yr old son.
You think the cleaner is suddenly drinking your alcohol.
Ok! Grin

stonecircle · 12/03/2017 09:32

I do have a 14 year old son but he can't even stand the smell of booze so not sure about that

Maybe the Sipsmith didn't agree with him? A gin-induced hangover prompted me not to touch the stuff for years!

When DS3 was about that age and 'didn't like alcohol' he eventually admitted to having consumed 4 flavoured vodka shot miniatures which had been languishing in the fridge. When DS2 was about 16/17 and 'hated spirits' he took a bottle of gin to a party. It was a few weeks before I noticed its absence, but he finally fessed up during the family inquiry!

Original poster
Popsythe1st · 12/03/2017 10:13

Thank you everyone for your replies. I can confirm that it is the cleaner. My son was away on a school residential so this excluded him. I measured the levels on a bottle of whiskey and the gin and roughly a cm had been had. I think she must have a drink problem as nothing has ever been a concern over the years. This week we removed the booze until we decide what to do

OP posts: