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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to ask things you have in house that are not low maintenance

342 replies

Newdonewhugh · 09/10/2020 11:25

Hi

I’m building a house and I really want it to be as low maintenance as possible. Can you talk to me about things that have made your home life easier and things that are a nightmare.

Some examples:

A friend told me not to get a handless kitchen as the scoop bits to open the doors are always filthy.

Another thing I want to talk about are these new black taps? Will they save me from the grind of constantly filthy, finger marked stainless steel or will they just be covered in limescale instead?

What about a shower screen? They drive me insane. Shall I just build a wall instead I f shower screen?

Robot hoovers.... are they worth it?

Please help me live a life where I can sit down and relax on a sofa one day.

OP posts:
BasiliskStare · 10/10/2020 23:00

@Wicketwoo - I agree with you. We had by accident an upstairs washing machine and drier ( prior to renovations) but it was so much better we kept it and now in new house have done the same. Good shout

spookmeout · 10/10/2020 23:38

Instead of wiring lamps into a separate circuit use smart sockets. I just tell Alexa to switch x room on

Thurmanmurman · 10/10/2020 23:42

Just thought I'd mention that the pink stuff paste is great for cleaning butler sinks

dotoallasyouwouldbedoneby · 11/10/2020 01:03

Always consider how easy something would be to clean or keep clean.
E.G No to open shelves in kitchen, always look cluttered and attract dust. Closed doors much better.
Yes to robot hoovers especially those which mop as well - didn't know these existed until recently: Roborock S6MaxV is great.

Don't overdo the LED ceiling lights - they cost a fortune to replace and are quite hard to get hold of.

dotoallasyouwouldbedoneby · 11/10/2020 01:09

Attached garage for ease of storage/putting out wheelie bins.

Standandwait · 11/10/2020 01:10

Haven't RTFT -- though close.

Underfloor heating in any room without wall-to-wall carpet; cheap, more eco, and lovely and warm. In bathrooms ALSO have heated towel rails.

YY to multiple electric sockets everywhere. Don't forget the bathrooms -- before you know it you have three electric toothbrushes plus two electric razors sharing one bathroom all needing to charge.

While we're on it, if you or anyone you know might EVER need a hair dryer or curling iron or straightener, make sure you have outlets near a good mirror.

Full-length mirrors near every closet, and by the door you use most often.

More bathroom tips: put the loo flush directly behind where the seat goes up so men are forced to put the lid down! If you have a shower in the bath, still have panels instead of a curtain, and try to get the shower head put on the opposite side from the drain so you're not standing on the drain to shower.

For general ideas, look at public bathrooms in places like hotels -- ideally, yes, you'd have the counter be one with the sink or at least have the sink underslung: you DO need a counter around the sink even if you also have a cabinet because you have to put things like makeup remover or toothbrushes down briefly no matter what. And for goodness' sake have the cabinet flush to the wall, not projecting out like those annoying little glass trays I always hit my head on. Similarly, in showers, build a large nook for bottles etc but at shoulder height above the splash level so they don't continually fill with water.

If it's a stand-alone shower, make it large off-white matte ceramic tiles that neither stain nor require re-sealing. And make the shower tray a single custom-made ceramic piece -- not at all expensive. Either way at least one shower head in each shower comes off its bar so you can wash off cleaning products easily.

Kitchens: a stainless steel sink large enough for your largest oven baking tray. Or better still, American-style, two side by side -- at the very least the second is good for putting in the dish drainer which you will need even with a dishwasher, because some things always end up being hand washed. And the sinks are of course (like bathroom sinks) underslung from the counter so the counter runs right up to the sink edge. The tap in the kitchen has a spray option. Do NOT have grooves cut into the counter, they don't help drain water but just accumulate grunge.

But an appliance garage for things like kettles and toasters is great. At the least zone common activities like tea-making so tea leaves and coffee beans, kettle, cups, sugar etc are all in same place. Same for breakfast stuff -- toast, tea, cereal...

Dimmer switches in every single room. Especially including bathrooms -- nothing more relaxing than a bath in a half-lit glowing bathroom.

If you live in a hard water area, a water softener before the boiler will save you a fortune on the life of all appliances as well as a lot of cleaning. You can still have a tap with hard water in the kitchen -- it does taste better.

I once found a rather extreme and rather out of date book by an American professional cleaner called Don Aslett called "Make Your House Do the Housework" and I strongly recommend it!

dotoallasyouwouldbedoneby · 11/10/2020 01:10

Siemens appliances have been very reliable for in my experience.

dotoallasyouwouldbedoneby · 11/10/2020 01:13

Underfloor heating downstairs to avoid need for radiators.

Anordinarymum · 11/10/2020 01:14

If this were me, i would have a hall with built in cupboards for coats and shoes, and a downstairs wet/room. No excuse for dirty footprints anywhere

I would have plug sockets everywhere, you can never have enough of them.

I would have a utility room for the washing machine and tumbler, and an ironing station, and somewhere i could bring my dogs into and towel them off after we have been out.

Kitchen as minimalistic as possible. Kitchen are filthy places. I spend far too long cleaning mine.

A massive warm airing cupboard for sheets and towels

A cupboard upstairs for cleaning products vacuum cleaner

White bathroom, and built in storage for shampoo/spare loo rolls. Shelf in shower built in to the wall.
That's for starters

Standandwait · 11/10/2020 01:17

Oh, and -- have at least one bin for paper and bits in every single room. It is much easier to empty them all once a week than to have to tidy up the rooms where no one could be bothered to walk to the nearest bin.

Likewise laundry baskets: put them where people undress -- in bathrooms or in bedrooms, plus one in kitchen for all the tea towels and if you have children flannels and wipes that accumulate. On the same principle: easier to round up all these bins just before starting the laundry than to have to guess about what's been dropped on the floor, I find.

One of the things I love is having only ONE key for all the door locks we have two outside doors with five locks between them. But only if no one in the family is a key-loser or at least not the kind of fool who keeps their keys with their address because then one lost key will mean replacing all the cylinders in a hurry and at considerable expense. I am just dying for Banham and our insurers to approve a code lock or phone-operated lock for the front doors!

Standandwait · 11/10/2020 01:24

PPS (sorry -- you have got onto one of my passions Grin )

before the builders get paid or leave the premises, make sure you have a written list of all the paints (names, codes, and finishes eg satin, eggshell, whatever) written down. Preferably ditto also the kind of light bulbs for all the different fitted lights though do try to have the same bulbs as much as possible everywhere. Also the name and supplier of any fitted carpet, and at least a few extras of any tiles used in the bathroom every single run of tiles produced in a given factory ends up slightly differently coloured, and it's a mad problem to match even half a year later, as we learned. There are usually a few over-ordered anyway.

bungaloid · 11/10/2020 06:27

The thing with USB sockets is that a lot won't put out enough juice to fast charge more recent USB C phones or tablets. Just be careful!

IHateCoronavirus · 11/10/2020 06:32

Get a bloody big kitchen sink.

thelegohooverer · 11/10/2020 08:00

Thank you for this thread. I’m a lazy housekeeper but my head is turned by all kinds of impractical fashions and this was just the stern talking-to that I needed!

cheeseychovolate · 11/10/2020 08:03

Hi. Cleaner here, high gloss kitchen cabinets show every finger mark so I'd avoid those. If you're having a tiled floor with white grout, the grout will turn grey no matter how much you clean it.

cheeseychovolate · 11/10/2020 08:14

Forgot to mention, tiled skirting boards in rooms where you're not having carpets. They're easier to clean and don't normally chip like painted ones.

christmassausages · 11/10/2020 08:33

Drawers in the kitchen. My kitchen is from Ikea and we have hidden drawers within the drawers. They hide so much stuff. Also a big larder, again with drawers in the lower part so you can see exactly what is in there. If you have a garage maybe think about putting washing machine and tumble dryer out there. No dirty laundry all over the kitchen floor and less noise as well.

userxx · 11/10/2020 08:36

No stainless steel anywhere.

Fluffycloudland77 · 11/10/2020 09:35

@fabulousathome

Where did you get your polyflor from please?. Thank you.

S00LA · 11/10/2020 10:21

@orchidsonabudget

Ha! I started that kitchen thread in 2007 and I used all the advice to plan my kitchen which is now of course 13 years old. I still love it.

Best things ever

Two dishwashers and hidden recycling bins
Small number of very large cupboards / storage areas so no hunting for things.
Boiling water tap
Granite worktop - easy to clean and looks the same as the day it was installed
Wood worktop ( varnished not oiled ) has some dents but otherwise great, looks amazing in my country kitchen

I also got shaker style cabinets, despite the advice on the thread. Yes the grooves do need cleaned but OTOH the painted doors and the wooden knob handles don’t show marks so I think it balances out on cleaning. Glossy slab doors wouldn’t have looked right with 90 year old Aga and wooden floors.

RandomMess · 11/10/2020 13:13

@S00LA I love that you love the 2 dishwashers Grin

Still waiting for a kitchen big enough to implement it myself Sad

Roselilly36 · 11/10/2020 13:31

Shower panels are fantastic OP, no way would I go back to tiles.

A black tap would be a nightmare here we have hard water, we have a Brita filter taps, but still get limescale, a black tap would be impossible to keep pristine.

S00LA · 11/10/2020 15:01

[quote RandomMess]@S00LA I love that you love the 2 dishwashers Grin

Still waiting for a kitchen big enough to implement it myself Sad[/quote]
It’s not even that expensive, because it’s a dishwasher and decor panel INSTEAD of a cupboard. I know that seems obvious but so many people think it costs a lot more.

Extra plumbing costs are negligible ( assuming they are both side by side ).

You don’t need as much cupboard space as most of your everyday dishes will be in one or the other for a lot of the time.

We bought quiet ones and put noise reducing material on top so we hardly hear them.

IME dishwashers are very reliable - of the two we have now, one came from our old kitchen ( so it’s at least 14 years old ) and one is 12 1/2 years old, both going strong .

They are used at least Once a day each, probably Twice over the last 7 months since we have 5 adults home most of the day, every day . And we cook all meals at home . We also fling everything in them - glasses, pots and pans.

RandomMess · 11/10/2020 15:14

Yeah it just wouldn't work, 2 internal corners either side of the sink unit 😢 2nd one would have had to be instead of super wide drawers which basically are the kitchen storage 😂 it would have had to be underneath the hob too...

S00LA · 11/10/2020 15:54

YY. Too many houses are designed with small, awkwardly shaped kitchens.

They are a bugger to plan.