To not wish to be called OCD?

[BlueButTrue]

Every day I:

Clean my floors with floor wipes (twice a day, more if I see any mark etc).

Wash up as I go.

Make my beds first thing

Hoover all rooms (about 3/4 times a day)

Wash on, put a wash away

Clean kitchen surfaces (3/4 times, more if I'm using kitchen more).

Clean cupboard doors/draws

Hoover sofa

Hoover living room rug (twice)

Wipe down living room surfaces (3/4 times)

Clean toilet (3/4 times a day, sometimes more)

Clean bathroom (about twice a day top to bottom, and little wipe downs etc whenever else).

Empty bin

Wipe down bedroom furniture/dust surfaces

Every other day I:

Steam clean bathroom and kitchen. Sometimes this is every day too.

Hoover behind sofas (will do this each day if any actual messes are created).

Twice a week:

Clean out fridge

Clean inside cupboards

My Nan is apparently "worried" at the extent I'm cleaning, but I think it's healthy and normal. It keeps me calm and makes me happy. I don't believe it's extensive. "Cleaning isn't good for the soul" says DNan.

MIL has hinted I should be checked for OCD.

Personally, I find this quite offensive. OCD is a serious health issue and not one to joke about.

AIBU to clean the way I do and think it's healthy? AIBU to think it's offensive to others who really do suffer that it isn't acceptable to go around, throwing the term 'OCD' about?

Morphene depends how bad it is.

Hot soapy water (soapy because it contains washing up liquid), could well do the trick. Washing up liquid is fab for removing grease etc.

Can you use bicarb? If so, hot water and bicarb for a more extreme case. Apply a paste like solution of the stuff first, if you like. Then leave it for 30 minutes.
It'll be more thorough when wiped away.

I would also suggest a spray called Elbow Grease but not sure if that's too chemically for you?

You're very welcome

bicarb is a genius idea! Food stuff - but doesn't smell...

So bicarb plus water paste? Then leave on and wipe off?

I actually want to run home from work now and try it!

Should probably get on with the urgent programming task I need to finish though!

How long will you stick around on this thread - because I feel I may be able to supply you with a semi-endless list of questions for the clueless plus limited cleaner :)

How can I clean my oven? I’ve tried bicarbonate, I’ve tried dishwasher tablet .. nothing working.... electric oven, the element at the top is particularly grim.

Morphene definitely, it should work a treat. If you're okay with doing both, I'd do the bicarb paste first and then do a final clean away with a sponge and the hot soapy, washing up liquid trick. I promise they're both very quick to do!

Of course, come back to this thread whenever you'd like. It's on my 'active' list so I'm unlikely to miss it!

I don't know the clinical diagnosis criteria for OCD however the extent to which you are cleaning is definitely obsessive.

I can absolutely see why people close to you are concerned. I would be concerned about anyone close to me if they were carrying out that amount of cleaning.

Have you spoken to a GP or professional about it?

I have literally never EVER felt actually excited about cleaning before.....all the people coming to the thread adamant that cleaning = OCD are going to be unimpressed by this development

Anat Have you tried white vinegar mixed with bicarb? Instead of just water and bicarb?

If yes, and not working, it may be a case of trial and error BUT I would suggest -

Elbow Grease

Ciff Cream (the original white one, not the one with the tacky lemon scent)

If I were you, I'd apply the Ciff cream, leave for 10 minutes and then scrub away with a scrubber soaked in hot water.

Then I'd go over it with Elbow Grease spray. Should work quite well

Morphene DH has seen thread and thinks I should stop encouraging people into such a ridiculous pass time

well its a million miles from a pass time for me...more like self-esteem life line....

Must go get programming - I'll report back with bicarb progress later though!

Is your cleaning excessive? Yes, in the sense that you clean a lot more than is necessary for things to look nice and/or be hygenic.

However, my concern reading this was not with your mental health. When I am feeling energetic I often do similar bits of cleaning. Thanks to having small children I very often clean the loo at every visit. Most of the women in my maternal family are like you to a greater or lesser extent.

BUT: It does sound as though you might be getting through a lot of wipes and chemicals though (You mentioned using floor wipes a lot and said I also get a real kick out of sharing cleaning tips with others, and recommending cleaning products/trying new ones out.

Generally (and definitely once you have a baby) it is actually pretty important not to use chemicals too much, especially anti-bacterials, and to keep the house aired. Plus, endless cleaning with strong products is not very green. So I would go easy on any of that.

p.s. top tips-
Barkeeper's Friend
Magic Eraser

I think that sounds excessive.

Hoovering or cleaning things several times a day or even daily when not needed would be a cause for concern to me.

This thread is so frustrating!!

I think quite a few people who suffer from OCD (including me) have explained the broad criteria for OCD - that you perform rituals or have compulsive behaviour based on obsessive thinking (sometimes called ruminating). This compulsive behaviour is performed in order to satisfy the obsessive thought and not performing the behaviour of ritual makes you incredibly distressed.

OCD - I must wash floors three times today because if I don't there will be germs, my family will be ill and they might die. If I try not to wash my floor or not think about it the thought will still go around and around in my head, it will gather speed and I will feel panicked and sick that somebody will be seriously ill unless I wash it.

NOT OCD - I really want to wash my floor again because I love when it looks so clean and shiny. If I can't do it again today I'll do it first thing but won't worry about it until then.

There is no cif in my country (I know, I know..,)
I’ll give the vinegar a crack.

Oh wipes, antibacterial shit - I’m a scientist and they’re not great to use, they can contain chemicals that are hormone disruptors which isn’t fab. They’re also implicated in aiding resistant bacteria and actually, they don’t clean (kill bacteria) any more than just a good scrub.

Also paper above is spot on. None of us can diagnose you: at the same time, if it’s not causing you mental distress it doesn’t scream ocd.

And one thing I’ve learned from my time on Mn is that there’s an astonishing range of what people consider to be an appropriate level of cleaning of houses, bedsheets and one’s person ;)

Anat I don't worry about germs or germ killing really. I just like things smelling and looking lovely!

Can you come round to mine? I’ve got a toddler who is a small adorable chaos monster 😍 it’s a tip..

( messy, but clean. Bathrooms done and kitchen clean and laundry done and beds changed regularly...)

Sounds like you're doing a very good job on your own! I know it must be so difficult with a DC around

But I would of course come and blitz for you anyway!

To everyone 'diagnosing' or not Ocd.

To have OCD is one of the most disabling mental health issues you can have....

It is a serious and very distressing issue.

It's really shit bandying about: ' I'm a bit OCD as I check my door lock twice... '

No... And no again...

www.ocdaction.org.uk/ocd-in-brief

OP, making beds as soon as you get up is a filthy habit that prioritises tidiness over hygiene.
You should let your beds air so as to discourage the bacteria that thrive in the warm, moist environment you create between the sheets and on your pillows by lying there for hours on end.
Apart from that, I wish I was a bit more like you.

I drove 200 miles last week to help my OCD ds make the right decision about going into a mental health unit rather than being sectioned.
Please don't marginalise it by claiming you have symptoms when in fact you're just a bit faddy and like the place clean or like to double check you've done something. OCD is so much more than this. It's debilitating and destructive. There are various forms including a particularly destructive and more or less hiddenform called Pure O. Information

I'm so sorry to hear that Gilead. There is hope though: I remember once coming home and throwing away a whole bag of food shopping because on the way home I had become convinced that it had become contaminated with some glass that I had seen on the pavement. I couldn't risk giving any of the food to my family. I came home and sat on the same spot on the sofa, unable to move and sobbed for hours and hours.

After a lot of CBT and hard work using the strategies I was given I can say that I am almost back to normal. Your son can and will get better too. Lots of love.

My dd has it. She doesn't always display pure o though does when at her most stressed. Most of the time, it manifests itself in excessive handwashing. You can (and we did) recognise signs a long time ago. I can see it in my dh and in me slightly with germs.

So I really wouldn't poo poo anyone noticing red flags. Mine here is the 3-4 x per day hoovering and the crossed out bit of op needing to with her dh , indicating she perceives things never to be quite clean, which is exactly how my dd is even if she's washed her hands more than once.

Some of us do have experience and know our stuff. Ocd is really common and i reckon many aren't diagnosed because it is one of these with a wide spectrum . And I wouldn't necessarily look for pure o for a definitive diagnosis. Dd has a good handle on her intrusive thoughts. It's the cleanliness she finds tough to get under control even though that is milder

Thank you paper

Gandalf yes I agree, I can see this from a long way back, he was diagnosed some years ago and has managed to get through uni with a good degree. However he is very change resistant and I've been suggesting a meds change for a couple of years. This has finally tipped it and he had a med review over the weekend and they've been changed. It's also unfortunate that the mental health services in his uni town have more or less left him to get on with it until crisis point. That comes down I suspect, to funding. He actually has no visible rituals, unless you count days when he won't leave the house. He is in the right place at the moment.
I'm not dissing anyone who is noticing red flags, only those who do the I wish I had a touch of ocd thing!
For you and your dd too.

Thanks, Gilead. I hope ds gets sorted soon. It took us ages to see someone and we're still waiting for cbt