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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:
thenightsky · 09/10/2020 16:48

Big matt white tiles in bathrooms. No fingerprints and they always look clean.

Interesting one thanks am going out tomorrow to buy bathroom tiles!

Someone further down the thread said matt white tiles stained really badly (hair dye etc).

RandomMess · 09/10/2020 16:48

We have boards instead of tiles in this bathroom and previous- absolutely amazing!!! I am never having tiles and grout again...

eatsleepread · 09/10/2020 16:52

Don't get brushed steel light switches - or anything really - as the fingerprints will always show up.
A friend of mine has just lost out on part of her flat deposit for this!

Hopeisnotastrategy · 09/10/2020 16:53

Have two washing machines if there's room. It's more efficient to load and unload two at once, and if one breaks you're not stuck.

I have a laundry shute from the dressing room that goes from the master dressing room into a cupboard in the laundry room, I figured if it were easy / fun for the family to put it there it would get done. Not sure how successful that was...

eatsleepread · 09/10/2020 16:54

A glass shower screen in Scotland is no problem. English water makes them a nightmare!

Dilbertian · 09/10/2020 16:54

*4 dirty laundry baskets:
Whites/lights
Darks
Red/purple/pink

Anything else (delicates/bedding - in this house stuff DH isn't to touch)*

Yes!

I thought I was the only one - I don't know anybody else who has this. My friends all think I'm nuts (especially as I'm a total domestic slattern and far less houseproud than them). But the dc have been trained from Day One to put their laundry in the correct basket, and it works. Domestic Slatterns Rule!

eatsleepread · 09/10/2020 16:56

And never, ever, EVER get a Saniflo/macerator toilet.
I feel so strongly about this, that I shall remind my offspring and their offspring of it on my deathbed!

pigcon1 · 09/10/2020 16:57

Robot hoover is a joy that I’m grateful for every day

eatsleepread · 09/10/2020 16:58

Full sized dishwasher, not slimline.

Werk · 09/10/2020 17:00

Two dishwashers! My sister has two and it is great, whilst one is on the other one can be filled up - she has a big open plan kitchen/ dining room and so when we all (usually) go for Christmas they both go on and there is no mess on the work surface.
She has fisher and paykel ones.

Hopeisnotastrategy · 09/10/2020 17:01

Walk in fridges are great but pricey.

Newdonewhugh · 09/10/2020 17:02

Thanks for all your answers, I’m going to add somethings I’ve done in this house that I will never do again for other people looking for a stress free life.

White Matt walls and egg shell skirting. Even though it was dulux trade I hate it all. I thought I liked that chalky look but now I just think it looks disgusting. Always dirty. With fingerprints and sometimes bogies (thanks kid)

Allowed the carpenter to not do a perfect job on said skirting- I see every imperfection.

White smeg gas hob. Horrific to clean and powder coating chipped off within weeks. Replaced with a white electric hob- horrible to cook on, buttons annoying, horrid to clean.

White ceramic sink, far too small, drainer bit too slanted so nothing can stay on it.

Radiators, got posh ones, take forever to heat up.

Matt white tiles and white grout in bathroom. Cant dye my hair anymore as everything stains. Seems they’re made of sponge instead of porcelain.

Carpet - hate it. Went wool. Man in shop assured me not to as apparently we live in an area rife with carpet beetle. I muttered under my breathe he was a dick and went and purchased a wool carpet elsewhere... I have carpet beetles.

Vertical wooden blinds. White,with white tapes, omg this is a joke. Never ever again. Hate them.

Didn’t get coconut matting at door because didn’t think I liked the look of it - mistake.

Got built in bin cupboard. Absolutely hate it. Here’s where you can tell how lazy I am! It just annoys me so much going to all that trouble to put something in the bin.

Spotlights in kitchen and bathroom. Awful. So, so bright. Dazzling. I often have a bath in the dark with just the hall light on because I just can’t stand it.

White worktop - spend my entire life wiping it down.

Shower screen that folds. Not fit for purpose, even harder to clean than a normal one.

Honestly I could go on for hrs. This was my first house though so I’m determined not to make the same mistakes again.

OP posts:
Newdonewhugh · 09/10/2020 17:10

And yes to the woman who wants a seatless toilet! Me too. Why don’t they exist?

OP posts:
thenightsky · 09/10/2020 17:15

@LakieLady

Robot hoovers: my friend has one and loves it.

My lakeland terrier regards it as prey and tries to kill it.

Dog owners are advised to test the dog for robot hoover tolerance before they buy one.

My DD's lurcher sees ours as prey when he comes to our house. Grin
Newdonewhugh · 09/10/2020 17:20

I’ve just been looking up rimless wall hung toilets. They look nice but still, no matter how expensive, they have those stainless steel fixings that move about and eventually go rusty. They’re a magnet for man wee. There has just got to be a hinge design that’s not so fiddly to clean. If women made toilets, they would no longer have that hinge.

OP posts:
Carouselfish · 09/10/2020 17:27

Dont get natural wood worktops anywhere near a sink. Impossible to not stain.

RandomMess · 09/10/2020 17:29

As well as banning pets, ban children and then if he isn't a domestic God move your DH/P to the garage.

Wink
Straven123 · 09/10/2020 17:32

DSis has black shiny kitchen units. Look fab until the sun shines in the window late in the afternoon - then every fingerprint shows.

MyBiscuitspread · 09/10/2020 17:37

I think you have mentioned it already but definitely no white grout between the bathroom tiles. Turns a horrid pink and then black when it becomes mouldy. I spray anti mould dettol on mine and everything becomes clean on it's own but sometimes I still have to scrub the grout with a scourer and not everywhere becomes white again as I sometimes procrastinate the cleaning and leave it mouldy for too long Blush.

If you can, keep washing machine and dryer upstairs, ideally in a laundry room. UK houses don't make sense with the stupid utility rooms downstairs. Why would you drag all your dirty laundry downstairs if all the stripping off and changing clothes happens upstairs?

MrsHSW · 09/10/2020 17:40

Do:
Sensor light in porch - makes so much sense!
Matting in whole porch instead of a doormat.
Keep doors, so can open/close space as needed otherwise open plan so is noisy!
Sliding wardrobe doors - annoying. Big open wardobe/walk in means you can see everything.
Somewhere to store cookbooks in the kitchen
Utility room or pantry ideally
Dont:
Laminate flooring in Kitchen, looks a mess already, should have just put tiles in (but so £££!)
Wood worksurface in kitchen - pain in the arse oiling it.
Light coloured carpets when your DH has black socks for work = constant hoovering

DdraigGoch · 09/10/2020 17:41

Make sure that you go for underfloor heating. Radiators collect dust, you can't paint behind them and they make the room look cluttered.

AintPageantMaterial · 09/10/2020 17:42

Air conditioning in the bedrooms

bluebluezoo · 09/10/2020 17:56

If you can, keep washing machine and dryer upstairs, ideally in a laundry room. UK houses don't make sense with the stupid utility rooms downstairs. Why would you drag all your dirty laundry downstairs if all the stripping off and changing clothes happens upstairs?

Umm, because usually your access to outside is on the ground floor?

It’s easier to drag all the laundry downstairs still dry (or tip it over the bannister onto the floor), wash and hang out, than it is to carry clean washing in baskets downstairs to hang outside.

CorianderLord · 09/10/2020 18:03

USB sockets

notdaddycool · 09/10/2020 18:04

The laminate kitchen floor wasn't hard-wearing enough, wish I'd paid more for tiles.

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