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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to not wee in the hotel kettle?

377 replies

greatauntfanny · 30/05/2021 19:21

Summary of events:

  • In hotel room with new(ish) partner.
  • Go to make myself a cup of tea, ask if he wants one.
  • His eyes widen and he yelps 'No! Don't use that! People wee in them!'
  • I have never heard this and say something along the lines of 'What? Why would anyone wee in the kettle? There is an ensuite.'
  • He says that everyone knows you should never use the kettle in your hotel room because people wee in them 'and worse'.
  • I tell him I'm going to take my chances and make a cup of tea (although I boil it out once first to be on the safe side).
  • He looks repulsed and says 'I can't believe you're doing that, that's disgusting, I didn't think you were like that' (basically how I'd expect him to react if I actually did a wee (or 'worse') in the hotel kettle myself.
  • We go out later for an after-dinner walk and he points at a dog poo and says 'look, there's your dessert.'
  • We are getting ready for bed and he picks up kettle and asks me if I want a cup of wee to take to bed.

So, question, in case you haven't guessed: is weeing into the hotel kettle 'a thing' (in which case IABU for making a cup of tea in what is essentially a toilet) or is my partner being weirdly OTT about this? Girls group chat theories have so far ranged from he's an extreme germophobe (red flag) to he's testing my reaction because he's 'into' poo and wee related 'activities' (also a red flag) to he wees in hotel kettles himself (also a red flag).

The only non-red flag is that he's right and people are weeing into their hotel kettles left right and centre which would be a a green flag for him but a red flag for the rest of society. I'm not really sure what outcome I'm hoping for here. Help me out?

OP posts:
Tzimi · 01/06/2021 05:48

I'd drop this guy if I were you, he sounds weird to me!

Ddot · 01/06/2021 06:45

Well maybe sometime somewhere it happened so just (like you did) boil it a couple of times to clean. Need tea! I heard you should never use blanket and always bring your own pillowcase as gets missed in the wash routine.

bishbashbosh99 · 01/06/2021 07:13

I've heard it's poo! I've working in many a hotel and the chat is it's a particular religion for religious reasons. Can't say any more than that in case it sounds racist but that's what we used to hear

MagicSummer · 01/06/2021 08:28

This thread has really opened my eyes (and not in a good way) to the truly disgusting things which humans are capable of. Do they not have any self-control or thoughts for future users when doing something so awful? I really cannot comprehend how people can act in this way.

Barney60 · 01/06/2021 08:48

What?????? weeing in kettles, what s wrong with people, gross!!

BBOA · 01/06/2021 09:05

Agree that kettles are least of worries. Did 1 shift cleaning at an expensive hotel when I was a student. It was so disgusting as posh tossers had no shame, so I never did it again!

Diva66 · 01/06/2021 09:17

I have stayed in many hotels and never heard of this. Why wee in the kettle when there’s a bathroom on hand? I think he’s weird. Do he and his friends and family make a habit of weeing in kettles?

Diverami · 01/06/2021 09:17

Many months ago, my daughter brought her uncle to a holiday home (inherited, belonged to the whole family). On the next visit, she had to track down a horrible smell. She went mad for a while as she could not discover the source. Eventually, it proved to come from a vase of artificial flower in the room the uncle had slept in. It had been used as a urinal. The uncle was gradually declining with dementia.

It is possible that some hotel guests could suffer from dementia and use the same remedy to avoid having to get up at night and find the way to the en suite.

skirk64 · 01/06/2021 09:20

I've never pissed in a hotel kettle and it had never crossed my mind anyone would.

I have used them to boil eggs though, you just need to hold the power button down while it cooks.

Poptasmagorical · 01/06/2021 09:48

Well he's a twat, isn't he?

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 01/06/2021 09:50

Why wee in the kettle when there’s a bathroom on hand?

The oddballs who do this might ask why use a kettle for heating up water when there's an electric power shower in the en-suite!

Not quite the same thing, but I did read once of somebody for whom popping a towel or dressing gown in their suitcase wasn't enough: they reversed a truck up to the window and completely emptied the entire room, including the bed.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 01/06/2021 09:52

It is possible that some hotel guests could suffer from dementia and use the same remedy to avoid having to get up at night and find the way to the en suite.

I'm sure that must happen quite a bit; but I'm guessing it's multiples to 1 with guests who are hammered as opposed to those with dementia.

CrazyAllAroundMe · 01/06/2021 09:53

I've heard of it, but I don't know anyone who's done it or admitted it at least. I'd believe it of a lads weekend/stag do along with far worse. Lots of girls are rancid too though.

Pinkfluff76 · 01/06/2021 09:53

Never heard of that and he sounds nasty by the things he said to you. Red flag!

TayceOnToast · 01/06/2021 10:33

Even though this is funny on the surface I am seeing some other potential red flags. Him saying:

“I didn’t think you were like that”

He sounds like a gas lighter

I dated a guy once who started out gently teasing me about things like that, at first it seemed like banter and I would laugh it off, then it very gradually it morphed into him treating me very poorly and suggesting that the reason we were falling out was because I had mental health issues, he even offered to pay for therapy for me (bear in mind we only dated for a few weeks). It sounds crazy now but I was attracted to him and sucked in so a part of me believed he was right.

As this is early days for you as a couple I would keep a close eye and an arms length with this guy for a couple of weeks. Does he do this a lot? How does he react when you criticise him? Can he take it or does he lash out? Whether he’s joking or not, I don’t think it’s right for him to be putting you down and making you feel awkward about yourself so early in a relationship. He should be going out of his way to impress you and make you feel relaxed. You deserve no less than that.

Designerly · 01/06/2021 10:55

Sorry, are you dating a teenager?

Shell4429 · 01/06/2021 12:21

I would be a lot more concerned about your boyfriend’s reaction than whether people wee in kettles or not.

pomers · 01/06/2021 12:46

End the relationship now. The ‘wee’ thing is odd; the dog poo dessert vile, nasty put down.

Posieandpip · 01/06/2021 13:20

@Jizzonmy

I have heard this before but I still use the kettles.

Piss kettle or not, I can’t live without a cuppa Grin

Exactly this
Posieandpip · 01/06/2021 13:20

@Shell4429

I would be a lot more concerned about your boyfriend’s reaction than whether people wee in kettles or not.
Bit extreme
Merlin3189 · 01/06/2021 13:32

Red flag, full stop!

Beline4u · 01/06/2021 14:51

This lad sounds like he has done a few weeks in the kettle! I've never about people doing this.

Beline4u · 01/06/2021 14:51

Wee's*

PierrethePenis · 01/06/2021 15:34

The kettle isn't the problem. At least you boil the kettle. Its the cups and glasses that you need to watch for. I was chambermaid at various hotels and B&Bs one summer. Large chains and small local ones. In most you are given one sponge to do the cleaning. That is clean the bathroom and the cutlery and crockery. I never uses glasses at hotels now, I always take a bottle. I rinse the cups and teaspoons with boiling water before use.

Don't get me started on the hotel kitchens...

Creamteasandsunshine · 01/06/2021 15:45

Until today I have never actually heard about this before until reading another mumsnet thread where it was mentioned. It was about the unpleasant things people see in their work. Several people reported it happening when they worked in hotels.