Thinking someone may have been at my flat when I was away. What to do.

[RougeGum]

Went away on Friday afternoon. Was the last person to use the loo and the bathroom bin at home. Came back Sunday later afternoon, DD goes to wee then asks have I had any gum (as in I had some and didn't share). I said no, why. She says there is some gum in the bathroom bin. I said it must have been one of the sitters we had that week. She says the last one never chews and the one before just wraps it in the little paper and takes it home. I roll my eyes and go to have a look at the bin. Indeed there are two pieces of chewed gum, smelling quite strongly, on top of the panty liner back paper that I put in the bin last Friday.

I think it odd but there must be a sensible explanation. We do not chew gum almost ever so must have been the sitters. It's all a bit funny so I text the one from Thursday saying - silly question, etc. blah blah, did you leave the gum in the bathroom bin. Answer: no. So I ask the other one - nope.

Right so then I'm starting to panic slightly. The panty liner was the last thing I put in the bin, underneath was a petrol receipt from Thursday night - I must have put it there after the babysitter went home. So the receipt, my pantyliner and then the two pieces of gum.

Also the timer for the water heater was pushed in when I went to turn it on. I had checked twice that everything was off before we went away: all the radiators, the cooker, the bathroom heated rail, the water heater - ran my fingers around the dial that the "teeth"(?) were not pushed in. If this happened on its own I would have thought that I had already mindlessly went to the cupboard and turned the water on and then tried to do it again but I don't think so??
Also the water was so hot when I opened the tap - it wouldn't be so hot after 2,5 days of no heating and me turning it on 40 minutes earlier or so. It was as hot as if it was on once per day. I can stress enough how I am sure the timer was off before we left .

What I'm asking - do I just assume it a non-event or would you be worried. Change the locks? Would insurance cover it? 101 would be an overreaction (just to log it and say I kept the gum)? I know I nor DD put that gum there .

Name changed as I had to ask the managing agents if they sent anyone here plus the sitters obviously know the story.

Would you need the heating button on to use shower or bath?

Im definitly leaning towards arsehole contractor. There was a similar thread on here were it happpened.

The way its placed as well is weird

DontBite the water would have been hot even on Friday at lunchtime but I would expect it to be cold on Sunday late afternoon we came back.

Life Whether it's DD - she's 9, we came back home after 6pm, she went to the loo for a wee, sometimes she amuses herself playing with her foot with the bin pedal so that's why she would have opened the bin. She wasn't there long enough to chew two gums separately, must have been in there for half a minute? I mean I don't know exactly but she went in, weed, flushed and called me. I was in the hallway unpacking. The gum wasn't slimy with saliva but had a strong smell.
If she wanted to chew a gum she acquired without my knowledge she had an opportunity all weekend and she could have hidden it. I did ask her if it was hers because otherwise we have a problem and she said no plus it wouldn't take sense for her to bring my attention to it - could have wrapped in the loo paper, I would be none the wiser.

somuch actually we don't have shower gels just use bars of soap which we took with us. So whoever it was would have struggled to find something to wash - I do have gazillion old shampoos and body moisturisers though. Towels looked dry but to be honest I wasn't really looking. DD didn't have a shower on Sunday evening, neither did I in the end with all that.

Sorry if I didn't reply to everyone with their name mentioned, I'm reading all the suggestions.

Oh and I haven't seen the Parasite. I think I know the gist though - we're a first floor flat - there's no storage/ loft/ cellar.

I'd get a camera. However, if you want to have a chance at actually solving it, you'd need to not change the locks straight away.

Do you have a balcony?

Do you live in a terrace? Do any neighbors have access through the loft?

Have you changed the locks since moving in? I would change locks personally. I mean , it’d be nice to know if/who came in, but the main thing is safety and peace of mind going forward.

the prick contractor

the mind boggles.

Check your pants drawer for missing underwear

There have a been a few of these sorts of threads over the years. The only way really is to get a camera, and then go away again.

People do do nasty things with other people's keys.

So, dependign on when locks were last changed - previous managing agents, previous land lord, previous tenant, anyone who has had access and had a predeliction for copying keys.

Do you have a chain on your door? I would use it.
Do any of your neighbours/outside of the building have cameras? Someone opposite might have a camera you cuold look at to see if anyone you know came to visit over the weekend. Don't worry if you don't know them, when someone threw a stone at our window we just went and knocked and asked if we could see if the perpetrator was on their footage, they were delighted that their camera came in handy!

Due to the positioning of the gum, could it have been used to stick whatever it is it’s sitting on to whatever is above the bin, say by a prick contractor, perhaps?

Then your DD has been opening the bin with the lid knocking against something which has caused it to fall into it?

It’s weird but if someone had stealthily broken into your flat I doubt they’d leave something so obvious.

Surely if someone had broken in, for whatever reason, the last thing they would do is leave chewing gum in the bin? I'm sure there is a rational explanation for this. One of the sitters had a friend call round briefly, perhaps, or a family member?

I think its the contractor too, if the lettings people have sacked him you can bet your bottom dollar there have been other complaints. I would be checking my underwear drawer and stuff sorry OP

I will guarantee it’s the contractor, similar thing happened to my fiancée in her old flat, contractor wanted to come to the flat to repair something, fiancee wanted one of us to be there when he came as she had a Bengal cat that was liable to escaping as soon as anyone opens a door or window. Contractor didn’t want to wait so got keys from the landlord and went in anyway while she was out. We only found out because he left dust and mess on the floor. Confronted the landlord who admitted it and said it was his right to get his property repaired, wouldn’t mind if it was a leak or what not, but it was a kitchen cupboard door that came loose off the front of the dishwasher. I do not miss renting at all!

If you left lights off while you were away someone could have noticed that the flat was empty.

Unless you have more than one lock it is relatively easy to open a door with a card or a screwdriver. Unless the contractor had a key.

It seems likely to be the contractor, or someone that knows how to pop a lock without it showing. Have you looked at the outside of the door for any little marks near the lock, the width of a largeish screwdriver? The door would still close normally if one had been employed to open the door.

Has anything been moved, underwear drawer touched? I am thinking he has been for a snoop around. On that basis he may come back.

The (prick) contractor had nothing to do in the flat anymore so the gum wouldn’t be used to hold anything up in the bathroom. He was sent away, the landlord came in to fix what was needed at the weekend 2,5 weeks back.
I’m only suspecting the contractor because he was the only person who was given the keys to my flat to paint it over Easter a couple of years back. Maybe he made a copy then so it’s easier for him/ his team and now lost a client (my landlords) “because of me” he thought he’d unnerve me.
The blatant gum in my mind would point to him - leaving something that would unsettle me but I wouldn’t be able to prove whose it was?

The babysitters always take their rubbish with them - they never even leave their snack/ drinks rubbish/recycling at ours. So don’t think they would leave the gums so stupidly.

I ordered the camera.

Waiting for DD now who’s at her activity. Had to do some parenting earlier after achieving sod all apart from this thread today
Will catch up properly a bit later.

Having to place mark as my mind is going a mile a minute!

I’m now thinking what’s really odd that there was no attempt to hide the gums. Just plonked neatly on the liner paper - evenly distributed almost. If you chucked them in, they wouldn’t land like that?

You say the gum has a strong smell. Can you identify what it is? Wondering if it's anti smoking gum

How would the contractor have known you were away? Big risk to take if you could have just nipped out.
If someone came in, then it would be someone who knew you were away, wouldn't it?

A “fruity” bubble gum smell. I’m not a connoisseur anymore but it wasn't Extra or Doublemint (had to google brands to refresh my memory) - just a sweet bubbly gum smell, nothing minty/ refreshing. JuicyFruit?

I am NOT tasting it.

If you left any toothbrushes out, give them a good bleaching.

Did the ironing board ever turn up!!

How unnerving!

@GrockleRock the fucking ironing board!! Drove me mad for weeks..