Nappies in the bin

[stubbornhubby]

I rent out a holiday house.

Last weekend our tenants left soiled, unbagged nappies in the wastepaper bin in a bedroom

I think that is an unpleasant task for our housekeeper to clean up. .. you wouldn't do that if staying with friends

AIBU to make a charge against the damage deposit - (and give it to our housekeeper)

If that's reasonable in principle .. how much ?

(The house rental conditions do say that we can levy a charge if the house is left in bad condition)

Having worked as a chambermaid in a five star hotel and also as a cleaner when I was younger, I can state from grim experience that people are REVOLTING in their habits when given the opportunity.

I think you'll have to chalk this one up to experience, OP, but start leaving lengthy lists of do's and do nots for future renters.

This, folks, is why we can't have nice things.

Nappies in a bin cannot be compared to the house being left in 'bad condition'. That's just ridiculous. Get some bin liners for your waste paper bins so it's quicker and easier for your housekeeper to deal with - people will see a bin and put rubbish in it, that's just how things work.

It's a shame your guests didn't empty all the bins as asked, but depending on what time they had to be out by they might have been in such a hurry to get packed up and on the road they forgot about the smaller bins. (I was on holiday 2 weeks ago in a rental house and we had to be out by 10. With kids and multiple cars to pack it was a lot to get done by the deadline, and I can easily see how a smaller bin might have got overlooked. I don't think we were in your house - the bedroom bins had bin liners!)

Wash wicker?well who knew. I thought all the wood would expand and distort?

If the wicker is actually soiled and needs replacing, how much is a plastic (easier to disinfect) wastepaper bin - £2-£5? Probably not worth the hassle to chase after and maybe get a poor review.

If the wicker basket is ok, line it in future as people will throw damp things in it - if it’s in a bedroom, I would think condoms or tissues used to clean up bodily fluids may be possible.

It also says that if the property is not left in a reasonable state an extra charge will be levied for additional cleaning

What additional cleaning was required, how long did that take, and what did it cost you on top of your normal costs?

YABU to take money from a damages deposit if there were no damages.

What did it cost you? 1-2 minute of your cleaners time. The time you will have to spend dealing with the deposit deduction will be more than that.

1. Have all of your bins lined in future. Even if it wasn't getting used for nappies a non-lined wicker bin is going to get nasty with randoms using it.

1. Add into your instructions that nappies are to be placed in the bin for the sanitary products.

YANBU to be annoyed by someone leaving the nappies but its a minor thing and if your a running a business like this it will happen occasionally.

Surely she was emptying the bin anyway so no additional cleaning was required? Unless it leaked all over the bin, there wasn't anything 'additional' that the cleaner had to do

What’s happened here is that the holidaymakers changed a nappy or two in the middle of the night, they’ve chucked it in the ‘bin’ thinking ill pop that in the ‘proper bin’ in the morning and because they’re on holiday/are sleep deprived/have amnesia, they’ve forgot. Perfectly normal, not a big deal, if you charge them you’d be being a bit of a knob. They did afterall, out the nappy in the bin, not leave it somewhere for your cleaner to find.

OP, a nappy left in a bin is an oversight. It is a massive over reaction to charge them for this and you are likely to attract very negative feedback from them.
Chalk it up to experience and line your bins.

YABU
If you only wanted ‘clean stuff’ put into the bin!

It’s a bin! It’s not their responsibility to choose whether to line it or not. It’s yours. It’s a bin, it’s for all rubbish. They might have run out of bags, but they would expect to have bins in their rental and to be able to use them.

Well, obviously the overwhelming opinion is against me.
But today I found they also left a dirty nappy in the garden waste bin. Has to fish that out. Two weeks old now as well Feeling somewhat more justified

Asking as it was wrapped tightly and no contents falling out, I don't see the problem.

Your housekeeper could be sensible and use gloves to remove it as she should be wearing them anyway.

Unless you specified the nappies should be bagged I think that’s very unreasonable. I’ve never used nappy bags, they are even worse for the environment than a nappy on its own. I use biodegradable bags in my bin. It’s not much but I do what I can. A nappy in a bin may not be the most pleasant but it’s in the right place and I think if you want to have your own rules that’s fine but supply nappy bags and request they are used.

You're really looking for reasons to criticise them now, aren't you? Just ban children from your precious holiday let and your "problem" will be solved. Oh and find something really important to bitch about.

It's not great that the nappy was left but it hasn't damaged anything, just not very pleasant for the cleaner!

Surely you've seen worse than this OP?

Sounds like you're in the wrong line of work if you're going to be kicking up a fuss about this sort of thing.

But today I found they also left a dirty nappy in the garden waste bin. Has to fish that out. Two weeks old now as well Feeling somewhat more justified

No. Still not justified. I mean how do you quantify in a deduction from the deposit the cost of “fishing a nappy out of a bin”.

It’s mildly unpleasant, wash your hands.

Job done.