Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Second hand Lego with shit in it. Literally. WWYD?

139 replies

JesusInTheCabbageVan · 21/12/2015 15:19

We bought a huge box of Lego for DS for Christmas a few months ago on eBay. Had a quick look inside at the time and it seemed fine.

I got it out today to wrap it and noticed that the blocks were a bit grimy, so filled the bath with hot water plus a lot of bleach and spent a good long while stirring it round, then took it out and left it on a clean duvet cover to dry.

While sifting through it I found quite a lot of detritus - fluff, sweet wrappers, chewing gum, a dead battery, a drawing pin Hmm... By this point I was less happy but thought at least I'd sorted out all of the nasty stuff.

Then I found two small 'nuggets' of what was unmistakably shit. I know, unfortunately, because I smelled it. Either human or cat/dog is my guess.

So now I'm just fucking disgusted. It's been dripping all over the carpet upstairs and touched god knows what else. I've been sorting through it with my bare hands all day. DH thinks it will be fine if we give it all a good clean again, but I feel sick at the thought of DS playing with it. I want to at least contact the fucking animal that sold it to us and try to give it back to her, and get our money back.

In this situation, would anyone consider keeping it? I am just not looking forward to giving it to DS now. Feel horrible.

OP posts:
lozster · 21/12/2015 16:08

I am big on bleach and hygiene but I wouldn't bin it. Maybe you can rationalise yourself happy?? The poo is now out; your wash and bleach did it's job. Once through the dishwasher or washing machine to put your mind at rest. Don't soak in bleach overnight as bleach is not a friend of plastic. It's not nice but by comparison soft play, play group, childrens centres, schools etc may even be worse... Heck I just stood in Boots and spotted a mouldy sweet festering amongst the Benefit cosmetics. Someone once told me too to always wash the top of a drinks can before drinking as mice/rats have almost certainly been in contact - I don't know this is a fact but I'm just trying to provide a little context Blush

theycallmemellojello · 21/12/2015 16:08

I actually reckon I'd go back to ebay with this one. I know that it was a few months ago, but actually they're a huge corporation with a reputation to keep up. I'd go to the seller and say that if he doesn't give a refund you'll report. And if they are not responsive just report to ebay. It will be against their rules to sell shit-smeared things (especially toys ffs) and the cost to ebay of just refunding to you what you paid vs the potential cost of bad publicity is nothing. Even if you get a dismissive reply at first, just keep emailing, escalate up the chain of commant -- tweeting them is an excellent way to get a response. Just explain the situation clearly (as you have here) and be prepared for a bit of frustration as you navigate their massive numbers of support staff.

UkmmTheSecond · 21/12/2015 16:11

I'm not squeamish but I think I'd contact seller and or bin it.

I would be paranoid I'd missed a bit, and I'd think about it every time I saw ds playing with it.

I'm prob in the minority though but if I had to give it to him,I'd be doing every cleaning option a million times, and then again on Xmas day to be sure (kidding - kind of) :)

shoeaddict83 · 21/12/2015 16:14

Have to say this would make me very queasy! Me and my little brother played with lego non-stop as kids, and we used to use our teeth to pull bits apart that were stuck fast together....so the thought of a child doing that with previously poo-covered second hand lego is a little Shock
Completely understand the cost aspect, and im sure another bleach and machine wash will get rid of any hygiene issues...its just the thought!!

Although perhaps we were just weird kids who put lego in our mouths...Hmm

bimbobaggins · 21/12/2015 16:19

How much did it cost you at the time? Id say as the onus is on you to check it at the time i wouldnt bother contacting ebay. Sold as seen.

Just bin it.

Gileswithachainsaw · 21/12/2015 16:22

just give yur dh a tenner if he's worried about the cost. seriously he expects his wife to clean up shitty lego just to save a few bucks?

who's to say it even cane from the person who sold it. could have been out buy the bins on the street for all he knows. would explain why it's been used as a trash can.

bin it. then leave an even shittier review

Original poster
JesusInTheCabbageVan · 21/12/2015 16:22

lozster I know, I've heard some grim things about ball pits in soft play centres.

I am going to insist that DH contacts the seller (he was the one who bought it). I at least want her to know what I found. Probably a bit too much to hope for that she feels ashamed, as I don't see how she can have been completely oblivious in the first place to what was in there. Just... how the hell does something like that happen, anyway?

OP posts:
specialsubject · 21/12/2015 16:27

grim, and not what should happen, but cleanable.

you change your baby's nappy. You wipe your own backside. You have probably touched animal excrement at some time. You survived.

don't bin it, that is unnecessary plastic in the landfill and that is a dirty thing to do.

Thaila · 21/12/2015 16:30

That is so disgusting. I would bin it as you're only going to worry in case you've missed a bit and feel uneasy about your son playing with it. I would contact the seller if I were you. If it's too late for a refund, you should definitely leave a bad review on the website.

HPsauciness · 21/12/2015 16:30

I would bin it but then I bin my children's pants if they get really pooey as well, no point trying to rescue things with poo IMO.

Gileswithachainsaw · 21/12/2015 16:30

There's a huge difference between wiping your own babies backside and cleaning up someone else's poo.

I'd have massive suspicion that someone found this lego thrown out and thought they could make sone money from it

bin collection is fortnightly so could he two weeks worth of drunks or dogs pissing iver the box and someone taking a shit in it.

HPsauciness · 21/12/2015 16:32

And the reason I would bin Lego is you won't get inside the bricks properly to clean it out. It's not that accessible, which is why stuff gets stuck there and is very difficult to clean.

Even a swirl in a washing machine won't get stuff embedded up the brick out sorry!

Just tell your husband you don't care what he thinks, you are driving out to get some nice Lego set, there are sales on already, perhaps look about, for £30-50 it's just not worth a day of bleach!

19lottie82 · 21/12/2015 16:32

eBay won't be interested at this point in time, so absolutely no point in contacting them.

You should still be able to open a PayPal case tho.

You can contact the seller and see what they say. If they don't resolve the matter to your satisfaction then feel free to leave appropriate feedback.

Helenluvsrob · 21/12/2015 16:34

Dishwasher in a washing net. it'll be sterilised then !

messystressy · 21/12/2015 16:34

Bit different, but bought baby playmat from ebay. It came with dried vomit on it. Literally, a biggish circle of it on the mat. Buyer completely denied it. I threw it away - couldn't think of letting my baby on it, even after washed as the experience completely ruined it. Never bought baby stuff on ebay again.

Notimefortossers · 21/12/2015 16:34

I'd be pissed off too and would have to at least send the seller a message telling them exactly that. Just to make myself feel better, but not because it would do any good!! And leave negative feedback!

I agree though, that with the amount you've already cleaned it, a run through the dishwasher will make it ok to give to your DS

Original poster
JesusInTheCabbageVan · 21/12/2015 16:36

bimbo it cost £50. Which would have been a bargain without the shit, as there was a huge amount of Lego.

Ordinarily I'd agree with you - didn't check it at the time, so tough luck. The thing is, I almost certainly wouldn't have found it even if I had checked really carefully at the time. I only found it after over an hour sifting though. There's enough Lego to completely cover a double duvet cover, and it's all shapes/colours/sizes.

I've had another chat with DH. He's going to do the double-clean and disinfect using Milton sterilising tablets, but if I'm not feeling any happier about the situation in a couple of days, we're going to buy some new stuff instead.

OP posts:
Mrsfrumble · 21/12/2015 16:37

If it was cat poo I can see how it could happen... If the Lego was boxed up ages ago and the box has been sitting around, unsealed for a while. Cat does a stealth crap in box. Seller takes a cursory glance inside before taping it up and sending it to OP and doesn't notice the offending shit.

We have an eBay box of Lego for DS of Christmas. I'll be checking it carefully for hidden turds after reading this!

stopfuckingshoutingatme · 21/12/2015 16:41

just rationalise it

the water that comes through our taps every day that we drink, and cook with was literally filled with shit a few months ago

a bit of sand, a bit of alum, some other chemicals- bingo- ready to drink

we are surrounded by it, peace out OP

Original poster
JesusInTheCabbageVan · 21/12/2015 16:42

special For some reason, there's an infinite additional 'ick' factor with unknown shit. Possibly it's an inbuilt survival mechanism, who knows - it would make sense (avoiding disease and contamination etc). If so, I do not know how DH's lineage wasn't cut short back at the Neanderthal stage, as he's upstairs now happily sloshing it around and listening to Walking in the Air on the radio.

Now, whenever I hear that song, I will think of shitty Lego.

OP posts:
Original poster
JesusInTheCabbageVan · 21/12/2015 16:47

stopfuckingshoutingatme Grin This thread is turning out to be as polarised as the towel washing ones.

I am just so pissed off at feeling like I've wasted a day though. It was my first day off, and I was really looking forward to relaxing, doing some present wrapping. Instead I've spent the first half of it faffing with tiny nits of plastic, and the second half compulsively washing my hands and silently screaming inside my head.

OP posts:
Original poster
JesusInTheCabbageVan · 21/12/2015 16:48

Mrsfrumble YY, check for turds. Do it now.

OP posts:
Mrsfrumble · 21/12/2015 16:51

I must be of your DH's mutant missing-the-survival-instinct lineage. I'd just slosh round in the bath with some bleach, then put it in a hot wash in the washing machine.

It's good job there are others who can cope with the shit of strangers, or else there would no one in the caring professions.

DisappointedOne · 21/12/2015 16:52

YANBU. I bought a load of second hand Lego last year for DD's class. Washed it all in the washing machine in washing bags and soaked it in Milton. Then dried and sorted it. You wouldn't believe how many bits were broken, bitten or mixed in with meccano etc. Oh, and shed loads of cat hair (DH is severely allergic so that was fun!). Sets sold as complete turned out not to be. The teachers and kids were thrilled with it, but I'm never doing it again!

Gileswithachainsaw · 21/12/2015 16:52

Well usually they have gloves, up to date injections and knew what they were signing up for when they applied Hmm