Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Chat

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

Am I just being hormonal or am I right to be mad?

22 replies

Whatisgoingonere · 03/10/2021 18:47

I’m pregnant, my hormones are flying as it is so I’m struggling to differentiate between whether I’m being unreasonable lately. But today DP has done something that I called him out on and he thinks I’m trying to belittle him.

Last night we had curry, we ate late because DD didn’t go down for ages. I cooked and we decided to deal with the dishes and cleaning up this morning, all fine. We cleared up this morning but decided to leave the stove top as we’d just get it immediately dirty cooking today’s lunch. - Firstly I noticed DP started wiping down the work top with a wet wipe Confused I asked him why he was bothering using a wet wipe and to just use hot soapy water with the sponges, he said he wasn’t going to and that’s how he always clears up… with a wet wipe. I thought this was pretty gross and asked him to please either use the spray or hot water; he huffed but I ignored it. Then when cooking dinner, he dropped a potato onto the stove top right onto a little apologetic of last nights curry sauce, he went to put the potato back into the water?! At this point I was thinking what on earth else does he do when he cooks and ‘cleans’ so I then said it was absolutely disgusting that he dropped it onto last nights debris and intended to put it back in the pot. He said the water would kill any germs and that by me calling him out made him feel small and shit. I didn’t even shout I just said I want him to understand how gross that is and to please think about what he’s doing while he’s cooking and cleaning and think if that’s how his food was treated in when we’re out would he eat it.

Now, I will fully take responsibility for the fact the stove was dirty because I didn’t see the point in wiping it down right before we cooked again, if I had done that then the dropped pot wouldn’t matter. But I just can’t get over the fact he thought it would be ok.

Am I just being hormonal and irritable (and lazy for not cleaning the stove!) 😂

OP posts:
HouseOfFire · 03/10/2021 18:51

Hormonal

Why can't he use a wet wipe on the sides
www.homerev.com/blogs/home-revolution/the-many-uses-of-baby-wipes

The potato, well it won't kill you, it was being cooked, maybe I would have rinsed it but it wouldn't have bothered me (although saying that I think my dh would have chucked it)

Whatisgoingonere · 03/10/2021 18:54

I don’t know, I guess I just thought a baby wipe wouldn’t kill any germs. After cutting raw chicken up, albeit on a chopping board but it still feels weird to not want to wipe down the sides with something a bit more robust than a wet wipe. I’m not sure their antibacterial and I always go round with an antibacterial spray on the worktops.

Maybe I’ve actually just a got a mild issue around germs 🙈

OP posts:
SmileyClare · 03/10/2021 18:59

I keep seeing "hormonal" on here used as a reason for all sorts of behaviour. In general, raised hormones might make you feel more irritable or emotional but you should be able to think logically.

I think you're being germ phobic. None of the things he did would cause illness or food poisoning. Surfaces that have had raw meat on need more careful cleaning but otherwise he's done nothing wrong.

Perhaps you've always been squeamish about hygiene or it may be because you're pregnant and feel the need to be hyper vigilant.

In the grand scale of things, it was a silly row. Dh and I often squabble on a wet sunday, he just gets on my nerves!

It's probably best just to forget it rather than trying to establish who was right or wrong. Smile

SmileyClare · 03/10/2021 19:03

Oh right I see you were cutting up raw chicken on the work surfaces! In that case, yes go over them with hot soapy water after he's fannied about with his wet wipe.

The potato was fine though.

I've given up cooking together with dh if it makes you feel better. I'd rather just do it my way and he's a bit slap dash with everything and gets all bossy and interfering Grin

Whatisgoingonere · 03/10/2021 19:06

Ah yes, we had the row and that was that. I’m not still mad, he’s fine as I am. It just got me thinking if I am in fact just being oversensitive as he was pretty baffled as to why I thought it was so wrong.

I think I’ve always been quite careful to wipe things down, but I don’t think being pregnant and just coming through the pandemic helps either.. I think I am more squeamish now than I have been before!

OP posts:
pickingdaisies · 03/10/2021 19:10

I'm with you OP, I know in my head that the potato would have been fine but I'd probably have binned it. But the wetwipe - yuck! That's apart from the environmental impact.

Mariell · 03/10/2021 19:11

You have turned into his mother. He will either be enthralled or turned off. The latter I suspect.

The problem with kitchens is that no big they are their is only room for one chef. A bit like their only being one fat controller at the station.

As annoying as you may have found his way of doing things you should either agree for one person to in charge of running the meal prep or keep shtum.

MoreThanAnOffDay · 03/10/2021 19:11

Potato fine.
If was raw chicken on side. You can't really moan about a wet wipe. If you were that bothered at least the raw chicken part should have been cleaned straight away.

Give the guy a break.
And fwiw I'm a 'clean freak' and dh does loads of things I wouldn't do but I cba not Picking at them all. Just because he hasn't done it 'my way' doesn't mean it's wrong

Mariell · 03/10/2021 19:11

No matter how big ^^ there not their

Plotato · 03/10/2021 19:18

Neither is in any way a big deal. Best to stay out the kitchen and let the person cooking get on with it; if you don't like how they do things then do them yourself.

PaperDolphin · 03/10/2021 19:22

Potato was absolutely fine, wet wipe less so but doesn't mean you should have made him feel bad. I think just speak like you would want to be spoken to in general but especially with your partner.

Fallagain · 03/10/2021 19:33

I would be more worried about the germs growing inside the sponge.

EileenGC · 03/10/2021 19:39

Wet wipe wouldn’t bother me as a quick solution, if you’re going to be cleaning with hot soapy water in a couple of hours anyway. But definitely not after meat or anything greasy. That needs a proper clean.

The potato - I would have rinsed it and checked that it was clean, but no need to throw away food just because it fell on the stove, or the floor. Rinse, check, back in the pot it goes.

I would’ve pointed out he could do either of those things next time, but calling it ‘gross’ is a bit of an overreaction for me. And I’m very picky when it comes to hygiene!

Insertdeadcatsnamehere · 03/10/2021 19:44

Wet wipe weird and wrong (but harmless tbf). Potato fine.

SmileyClare · 03/10/2021 19:45

@Fallagain

I would be more worried about the germs growing inside the sponge.
Washing the sponge out with hot soapy water will remove debris or juices containing bacteria. I assume Op wasn't going to wipe with a sponge and leave it to fester like a Petri dish.

Antibacterial spray and disposable wipes are overused. Often they're not necessary.

Inagony234 · 03/10/2021 19:47

I mean.. How does your stove top get so messy, can you not just be a little bit more careful?
I think you're being a bit pernickety.. My house is v v clean but if last nights dinner was on the stove top and a potato fell on it, it wouldn't bother me to put it back in boiling hot water.
It's really not the end of the world.. Least he's trying.

girlmom21 · 03/10/2021 19:53

You're not being hormonal, you're just being a pain.

I hate when women blame their behaviours on their hormones. That's what makes men think they can use our hormones against us and it's really not the case.

If you don't like the way he cleans then do it yourself.
Dropping a bit of potato on some dried on curry for all of 3 seconds isn't a problem. Of course the boiling water would destroy any germs.

SweeneyToddler · 03/10/2021 19:57

I don’t understand how you can claim you’re germ phobic when you happily let a dirty chopping board that had been used for raw chicken sit unwashed for what sounds like 16 hours or so?

Envy No envy.
Newmum29 · 03/10/2021 19:57

Also think you were overreacting. I’d be very conscious of using words like gross and absolutely disgusting as well. It’s really unpleasant and one if not two of the four horsemen (criticism and contempt).

Inagony234 · 03/10/2021 20:02

You're overreacting.. Please don't be a person who blames everything on hormones.
If the tables were turned and your husband made you feel the way you made him feel we'd all be saying he was being a critical pr*ck.
I think you should just give him a break. If he was sat there doing nothing at all no doubt you'd be saying he's useless for doing nothing.. Sounds like he can't win.

Shelddd · 03/10/2021 20:14

It's really normal for 2 people living together to not have the same ideas around cleaning, hygiene, germs, etc.

it's not even necessarily that one person is more of a germaphobe than another but it's just as likely that he thinks you using a sponge is disgusting and using a wet wipe is more hygienic.

We have these little arguments from time to time over this type of stuff and neither of us is worse than the other we just have different views when it comes to these things so we try to give eachother as much space as possible and try not to share jobs or dictate to one another how to do something... but still occasionally it happens... we are human after all.

Whatisgoingonere · 03/10/2021 20:31

For what it’s worth he tells me I’m hormonal, I’m not blaming the hormones but DP literally says that since I’ve been pregnant I’ve been a lot more irritable so I did just wonder if that’s what it boils down to.

Can see how rinsing off the potato and chucking it back in would have made more sense.

R.E being more careful > getting the stove dirty. For some reason with chilli or curry (or anything saucy to be honest) I can’t help but make a mess, every single time a little bit always plops over the side when I’m stirring - Mabel I need to be a more gentle stirrer.. or a bigger pan 😂

Happy to accept I’ve overreacted and will apologise when he’s off the PlayStation and comes up to bed Halo

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page