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Original poster

Mortified by painter

29 replies

hopeishere · 02/05/2023 12:24

We have a painter in to paint the kitchen.

He seems to have spent the whole morning cleaning it and has just asked if I want the tops of the units cleaned as they are filthy apparently.

I'm obviously a slattern.

OP posts:
Cupcakequeen75 · 02/05/2023 12:27

Paintwork does need to be cleaned to ensure a good finish, even moreso in a kitchen where with the best will in the world, a greasy residue can be present.

I would say it shows a good tradesman.

Original poster
hopeishere · 02/05/2023 12:30

Thank you for helping me feel better! I'm absolutely mortified.

OP posts:
Magenta82 · 02/05/2023 12:42

This is totally normal, it means you will get a good result. Personally I'd take him up on the cupboard cleaning if you can afford it.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Home improvement
YouNeverSeeTheRealMe · 02/05/2023 12:44

😂Clean the tops of cupboards? I haven't done ours for years, filthy slut that I am. I'd jump at the chance if someone (anyone) offered to clean them.

glassespet · 02/05/2023 13:14

I never clean the tops of the cupboards... I presume he's painting the units?

Scaryshepherd · 02/05/2023 13:22

He's offering because he has the ladders in place and knows people generally don't bother. It may make painting easier if the dust is out of the way.

Whiteroomjoy · 02/05/2023 13:24

Why oh why do we insist on cupboard that stop short of the ceiling? This has always been a bug bear for me. They then catch all the crap greasy particles that circulate up in convection air movements and then get tapped between ceiling and top of cupboards. They’re in a place and with fancy moulding usually that makes them extremely difficult to clean . Plus you have a useless space at the top of the, you can’t use.

why don’t we put in ceiling high cabinets as standard. Solves the problem of muck accumulation, difficult to clean and gives a bonus storage boast

I have no wall cupboards now 🤣🤣🤣🤣

gamerchick · 02/05/2023 13:24

They always get either greasy or dirty. They just do. I get the sugar soap out twice a year and do all the tops and work my way down. It's amazing what comes off.

Timeforabiscuit · 02/05/2023 13:25

Dust, grease, steam, hard to access = dirty = muck = brass!

Don't feel bad about it! I'll bet he's on a better hourly rate than a cleaner too.

Magenta65 · 02/05/2023 13:26

When he’s all done line the tops with something, I’ve used newspaper, spare wallpaper and even a paper table cloth. Makes it easier next time to clean them

EarringsandLipstick · 02/05/2023 13:27

gamerchick · 02/05/2023 13:24

They always get either greasy or dirty. They just do. I get the sugar soap out twice a year and do all the tops and work my way down. It's amazing what comes off.

What exactly is sugar soap (sorry to be thick?!) & does it work better than ordinary cleaning products?

I do this once a year too & hate it. The grime is mank & I seem to have to scrub forever!

EarringsandLipstick · 02/05/2023 13:27

And where would one get it?

EarringsandLipstick · 02/05/2023 13:27

Magenta65 · 02/05/2023 13:26

When he’s all done line the tops with something, I’ve used newspaper, spare wallpaper and even a paper table cloth. Makes it easier next time to clean them

Oh that's a great tip. My mother used to do that & it never dawned on me till now why!

loislovesstewie · 02/05/2023 13:32

I can outdo your mortification. I'm having my kitchen replaced and, bloody hell, you should see the filth behind the old units! I felt like the worst slattern ever. And the stuff from the kitchen is in the dining room and I'm falling over that. It's a bloody tip!
Sugar soap is liquid soap bought from DIY stores. It cleans paint etc really well.

LibertyLily · 02/05/2023 14:00

I think my mortification trumps yours @hopeishere and @loislovesstewie!

Years ago we were having a new central heating system installed in our Victorian house. The heating engineer was someone my parents had used for years and was considered almost a friend of the family. One day he was upstairs in the guest bedroom where the airing cupboard was, fitting some new pipework in said cupboard. He'd previously asked me if I could clear out anything in the cupboard - which was where we tended to dry washing as well as storing linen etc - so I did this before going to work. At the end of the day when I came home he asked me to come upstairs to see what he'd done that day and on the bed was what looked like a pair of blood stained knickers!

He made no reference to them initially but obviously saw me looking at them in horror (I knew they must be mine as we'd bought the house from an elderly lady in her nineties so unlikely the skimpy things were hers!) and at that point he casually remarked "oh, I found those in the cupboard". I just grinned like an idiot, all the while wanting the floor to swallow me up.

Of course when I examined the knickers more closely later, I realised that what looked suspiciously like blood stains were actually just dust/dirt from where they'd been in the cupboard a while, no doubt pushed against a dirty old pipe. However, I never managed to look him in the eye again after that day.

Don't get me started on the removal guy I walked in on while he was taking a dump on our loo!

Original poster
hopeishere · 02/05/2023 14:06

Magenta65 · 02/05/2023 13:26

When he’s all done line the tops with something, I’ve used newspaper, spare wallpaper and even a paper table cloth. Makes it easier next time to clean them

This is a great tip!!

OP posts:
loislovesstewie · 02/05/2023 14:18

I'm just hoping I didn't leave any knickers down the back of the immersion heater where we used to live now!!

ZeroFuchsGiven · 02/05/2023 14:19

Whiteroomjoy · 02/05/2023 13:24

Why oh why do we insist on cupboard that stop short of the ceiling? This has always been a bug bear for me. They then catch all the crap greasy particles that circulate up in convection air movements and then get tapped between ceiling and top of cupboards. They’re in a place and with fancy moulding usually that makes them extremely difficult to clean . Plus you have a useless space at the top of the, you can’t use.

why don’t we put in ceiling high cabinets as standard. Solves the problem of muck accumulation, difficult to clean and gives a bonus storage boast

I have no wall cupboards now 🤣🤣🤣🤣

I had my kitchen wall units boxed in, just done the same with my wardrobes. So much easier to keep clean!

Mortified by painter
Mortified by painter
ehb102 · 02/05/2023 15:48

My cleaner lines the top of the cupboards with clingfilm. Top tip there.

FeltedDogs · 02/05/2023 15:53

ehb102 · 02/05/2023 15:48

My cleaner lines the top of the cupboards with clingfilm. Top tip there.

So does mine. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the expenses scandal when I recently changed the newspaper while she was on leave, shows how long its been!

FeltedDogs · 02/05/2023 15:53

Sorry not cling film but old newspapers. Once every 15 years or so apparently

tommika · 02/05/2023 15:55

EarringsandLipstick · 02/05/2023 13:27

What exactly is sugar soap (sorry to be thick?!) & does it work better than ordinary cleaning products?

I do this once a year too & hate it. The grime is mank & I seem to have to scrub forever!

Show quote history

It’s a detergent, which gets its name from small white crystals that look like sugar

https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice/what-is-sugar-soap#

What Is Sugar Soap and How and Where You Should Use It

You may have heard the name, but what is sugar soap? We tell what it's made from, what to use it for, where you can use it and how to make your own DIY version

https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice/what-is-sugar-soap#

billyt · 02/05/2023 15:56

EarringsandLipstick · 02/05/2023 13:27

And where would one get it?

Sugar soap, from Screwfix or B&Q etc.

It's liquid in a bottle.

billyt · 02/05/2023 15:58

Whiteroomjoy · 02/05/2023 13:24

Why oh why do we insist on cupboard that stop short of the ceiling? This has always been a bug bear for me. They then catch all the crap greasy particles that circulate up in convection air movements and then get tapped between ceiling and top of cupboards. They’re in a place and with fancy moulding usually that makes them extremely difficult to clean . Plus you have a useless space at the top of the, you can’t use.

why don’t we put in ceiling high cabinets as standard. Solves the problem of muck accumulation, difficult to clean and gives a bonus storage boast

I have no wall cupboards now 🤣🤣🤣🤣

When we had our new kitchen fitted we opted for additional units on top of the standard wall units. Now they fit up to the ceiling.

No great trap and even more storage for rarely used items.

Win-win.

billyt · 02/05/2023 15:59

Grease trap not great trap...doh!!