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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to ask husband to clean layers of dust?

74 replies

ImmyMc · 20/09/2021 15:57

For context, I am five months pregnant and exhausted. I work full time (this week, I worked 5.5 days, as I sometimes have to work Saturdays), and I am also studying for a masters part-time, which I am trying to complete before the baby is born. This masters is 20 hours a week. I work, at my actual job, between 40 and 55 hours a week, depending on the week.

My husband is not currently in paid employment, but he is working unpaid on developing his own business, and he is often working 10-12 hour days or more on this. He also wants to launch the business before the baby is born, so he is trying to get it completed before then.

The house has not been properly fully cleaned since the beginning of July (no judgements, please). By cleaned, I mean dusted, floors washed, bathroom washed etc. There are quite thick layers of dust on all the furniture, and some cobwebs in the corners.

My husband does clean the kitchen more often than me, but usually the kitchen is a state. I often leave dishes, especially at the moment as I am falling asleep at night on the couch and getting up early for work, and he usually does those dishes. He also cooks every night for us. He sometimes gives the house a tidy once a week, and often it is my clothes etc. that is lying out. However, he never actually cleans the house, and he leaves things lying out as well, for example dishes etc. all over his work desk. I don't keep the house tidy or clean either on a weekly basis, but I always give it a thorough clean during my holidays (I work term times, so I have holidays every 5 or 6 weeks or so).

Basically, his parents arrive to stay with us on Wednesday. I have been asking him for about a week to start cleaning the house, as it needs a proper clean for them arriving. It is really dirty and dusty, and I feel like I just don't have time to clean it properly, but that it's not fair on them to arrive to stay in a dirty, dusty house. For example, the tiles in the bathroom are thick with limescale that has gone pink, and the floors badly need to be washed. However, we had a big fight tonight where he said he isn't going to be "pedantic" and dust "random bits of surfaces" for his parents coming out. But I'm not talking about a normal once a week dust that isn't obvious. I'm talking about surfaces that haven't been dusted in weeks.

We had a two-hour argument about it. It seems he thinks that I was unreasonable for pointing out things that he hadn't cleaned yet, for example, the cobwebs and the tiles. I did not mean it this way - he often doesn't see dirt and dust, so I just meant to point those things out to him for him to do, but he has taken it as me being a dick about it. Perhaps he is right about that, even thought it wasn't intentional.

However, the other part of our fight is my anger that he believes that he is doing more than me because he is working sometimes 12 hours a day on his business. He thinks because I take breaks while I work that I am working less than him. I am angry, though, because I am working full time, doing my masters, pregnant, and because I also do almost everything for preparing for the baby, i.e. sorting out the welfare applications, leasing a new car, getting our documents together etc. It takes up a lot of my time, plus midwife appointments etc.

I understand my husband also has a deadline of January, but my "deadlines" (i.e. the hours I have to be at work and the essay deadlines for the university this month) are immovable. But he makes his own hours. To my mind, he could easily take a day off his work, clean the house, and then make up the hours after his parents have gone by working an hour or two extra a day. I just can't do that.

Who is being unreasonable here? Or are we both being a bit unreasonable?

OP posts:
Cocomarine · 20/09/2021 16:51

Are you in the UK? Just thinking maybe not as I’ve never heard of “welfare applications” when pregnant. If you are in the UK, you’d only just have finished your last holiday if you work term times - so I’d be more inclined to think you had as much opportunity as him recently.

Mostly I think: FFS get a cleaner!

But I’m curious about this business that needs 12 hour days and won’t even launch until January. Is this something viable? Because I’m waiting to do a 360 if this is some vanity project to avoid doing real work - seen that on MN! As a family, do you want him to launch to those timescales?

I don’t really understand what’s taking up your time with the pregnancy - there’s not that much to do at 5.5 months! But I totally understand wanting to get the masters done first - good luck with that!

Slippy78 · 20/09/2021 16:53

Why does it matter if your house is clean or not?

GinIronic · 20/09/2021 16:57

Get a cleaner or lower your standards even more.

Floralnomad · 20/09/2021 16:58

Unless you live in a mansion it would really only take a couple of hours max to get on top of the surface dirt / dust so set aside 2 hours when you are both there , agree which rooms you are doing and crack on with it . The time you’ve spent arguing about it you probably could have done a room . Once it’s done put stuff away as you use it , washing up in the sink / dishwasher and stop being a pair of slobs .

Floralnomad · 20/09/2021 16:58

Alternatively get his mum to do it when she arrives .

Motnight · 20/09/2021 17:00

Op as others have said this really needs to be sorted before the baby arrives. A bathroom that hasn't been cleaned for over 2 months is a health hazard. A health visitor or midwife would likely pick up on this too.

It sounds like you either need a cleaner or for at least one of you to cut back on other work to make time for cleaning. Change your priorities - either you and /or your partner.

Personally I would be really unimpressed at my husband spending such a huge amount of time doing unpaid work, but that is your decision.

Wexone · 20/09/2021 17:00

You are both being a bit unreasonable here . You both live in the house so therefore both need to clean. Some things need to be done every day . You need to figure out what works for you before the baby arrives and also lower expectations. I was very particular about cleaning before i moved in with my partner and he was very lax. I leaned to live with its not perfect but its done and he also learned to see things. We drew up a list of what needed to be done and how often it should be done. You soon learn who does what better . Himself is great at cleaning windows i discovered where i am great at bathrooms. If people are coming over we both work together depending on on our schedules to clean, only what people will see mind you. As we progressed with work we were able to afford a cleaner every two weeks which is a huge help. Yes there were rows at fits but as someone said above we both grew up and worked it out like adults . For the up coming visit i would get a cleaning company in and then sort out what you want to do long term

Cocomarine · 20/09/2021 17:01

@Floralnomad

Alternatively get his mum to do it when she arrives .
Where was the bit in the OP that explained her FIL’s disability? I missed that.
Jarstastic · 20/09/2021 17:10

Assuming you can afford it, book a one off deep clean in for 2 days before his parents arrive.
Review after that.

ChristmasPlannier · 20/09/2021 17:20

I felt squeamish just reading this post. Pregnancy is exhausting, studying is hard as is setting up a new company.

BUT hygiene is really important, more important than things necessarily being tidy. My DH and I work full time, some weeks it seems like no matter how many times we've tidied there is another pile of of stuff to get put away. But my house is always clean and by most people's standards fairly tidy.

Having cobwebs in corners and surfaces with heavy dust is completely unhygienic and unacceptable. As others have said if you are both tired now wait for the baby to arrive with constant needs around the clock!

Based on urgency to get your house clean I would agree with others of getting a cleaning company in to clean all rooms. Then each of you commit to 15 mins daily or a chunk of time weekly to declutter. Decluttering may help you both keep the place tidier and cleaner going forward before all the baby stuff arrives/more baby stuff arrives. If you can't the ongoing service of a cleaner then you'll both need to find time to declutter AND clean. If you both don't think decluttering is the answer then spend the time tidying/organising and getting into better habits. Ie it's easy to throw a work pair of jeans that don't need washed yet into the floor, but it's better to put them away properly.

Basic hygiene is really important - even more so with a newborn! If you are FF then things need to be sterilised.

TempName01 · 20/09/2021 17:25

Cobwebs and dust is not unhygienic 🤣

EatYourVegetables · 20/09/2021 17:28

Get a cleaner.

Also note two points:

  1. This WILL get worse when the baby comes. Babies take up a lot of time, make a lot of mess, and husbands often tend to find a lot of urgent things to do (such as reorganising their office shelves during witching hour).

  2. Your in-laws will, absolutely, judge you for the state of the house. (Even though DH is flexible, you asked him, you are bringing in the ££, and it’s 2021 - every speck of dust will be YOUR FAULT because their poor little baby has been working 12 h days).

Seesawmummadaw · 20/09/2021 17:31

You both need to do it!
Everyone has things to do and busy lives but you still have to clean!

You sound like you are cross that he’s not picking up after you.
What happens when the baby comes?

Seesawmummadaw · 20/09/2021 17:33

If my in-laws were visiting we would both be cleaning. Stick on some music and start cleaning.

2 hours of arguing could have been 2 hours of cleaning.

Comedycook · 20/09/2021 17:35

@TempName01

Cobwebs and dust is not unhygienic 🤣
Dust is not good for you and dust mites live in it and you have dust mite faeces in it. Lovely
Samafe · 20/09/2021 17:38

@TempName01

Cobwebs and dust is not unhygienic 🤣
My bathroom would be a f health hazard after not being cleaned for 10 weeks honestly
TempName01 · 20/09/2021 18:41

I’m not arguing on the bathroom: bathroom and kitchen should be priority. I can’t get upset about some cobwebs and dust on picture rails and shelves.

ImmyMc · 20/09/2021 18:44

For those of you saying get a cleaner, believe me, I'd love to. We can't afford it, though, as we currently live on one salary and pay my fees for uni. The aim is for me to make myself more employable with the qualification and for my husband to make money from his business, but we're not there yet and have no spare cash at all, unfortunately.

We have also been together for 21 years, so we are not going to split up over some arguments about cleaning! I just want to know if I am being unreasonable by wanting him to do more of it than me right now. I do clean when I have more time, i.e. when I am not studying AND pregnant AND working full-time! But right now, there are just other priorities that put it to the bottom of the list. Also, the idea is to be finished with the other things by the time the baby arrives, as obviously the baby will then be taking up our time (and thankfully I will also have maternity leave).

OP posts:
Comedycook · 20/09/2021 18:47

Is your dhs new business actually viable or a vanity project? At the moment, he has an exhausted pregnant wife who's bringing home all the money....he also has no time. Surely he'd be better off just getting a job?

TempName01 · 20/09/2021 18:47

I agree with you btw OP, that your DH should do the cleaning or the majority of it. Will he not blitz the bathroom or anything?

ImmyMc · 20/09/2021 18:54

Also, to explain, I start work at 8 am every day, which means that I leave the house at 7 am and get up at 6.30. I finish work at 5.30 to 6 pm and get home around 7. In order to even keep up with my uni work, I need to do 20 hours of work per week. This is the uni's estimate, but in reality it's more than that. So I often spend both days at the weekend working all day (bearing in mind that I also have to work Saturday mornings at my actual paid work as well), and I was doing uni work between 8 and 10 pm, but with the pregnancy, I am just shattered and falling asleep, so that's not happening right now. There really isn't much time for anything, tbh.

You guys are right that we could have done the cleaning in the two hours today, but I guess this has been fizzing over for a while and just exploded. Besides, just doing it myself wouldn't really solve anything, as I feel as though it is always me sort of juggling everything. I don't usually just leave my plates lying, but I've been passing out on the couch at night in front of my uni work recently, and my dinner plates are next to me (we eat late at the moment as my husband's sleep cycles are different to mine - there is a reason for this that I won't go into - and he does the cooking, which is inevitably at about 10 pm).

OP posts:
ImmyMc · 20/09/2021 18:58

@Cocomarine

Are you in the UK? Just thinking maybe not as I’ve never heard of “welfare applications” when pregnant. If you are in the UK, you’d only just have finished your last holiday if you work term times - so I’d be more inclined to think you had as much opportunity as him recently.

Mostly I think: FFS get a cleaner!

But I’m curious about this business that needs 12 hour days and won’t even launch until January. Is this something viable? Because I’m waiting to do a 360 if this is some vanity project to avoid doing real work - seen that on MN! As a family, do you want him to launch to those timescales?

I don’t really understand what’s taking up your time with the pregnancy - there’s not that much to do at 5.5 months! But I totally understand wanting to get the masters done first - good luck with that!

I'm not in the UK. There's a lot of paperwork to do before the baby comes, and there's also another very good reason why neither of us deep cleaned the house then, though I won't go into that as it's quite personal, but most people will never have had to experience the difficulties that we did in the summer.

Also, the bathroom has been cleaned! Just not things like the limescale on the tiles etc.

OP posts:
TempName01 · 20/09/2021 19:06

My DPs and PILs would not mind coming to the house when it is not pristine especially given your circumstances, as long as the facilities are clean. Can you and DH agree on what to prioritise? Ask him what he thinks needs doing before they come.

Lady1576 · 20/09/2021 20:52

@EatYourVegetables

Get a cleaner.

Also note two points:

  1. This WILL get worse when the baby comes. Babies take up a lot of time, make a lot of mess, and husbands often tend to find a lot of urgent things to do (such as reorganising their office shelves during witching hour).

  2. Your in-laws will, absolutely, judge you for the state of the house. (Even though DH is flexible, you asked him, you are bringing in the ££, and it’s 2021 - every speck of dust will be YOUR FAULT because their poor little baby has been working 12 h days).

Definitely agree with part 2 of this. BUT sounds like you are a teacher doing a 20hr week masters and as a teacher myself I was NEVER tempted by those masters courses. People must be insane to take on that extra work. So, much as people don’t believe it, there are things that are more tiring than having a baby. I enjoyed the first 8 months of having a baby compared to my teaching job. Both tiring but one was on my own terms, doing things in the way I wanted to do them at my own pace (being a mum) and the other was stressful and a constant never-ending to-do list where my best was never good enough (teaching). Now DS is a toddler, cleaning is tough but don’t let the ‘just wait crew’ get to you. You’re both really busy, your husband seems to be slightly less busy and you seem to contribute slightly less to the household but there’s no huge chasm of difference that I see. In your circumstance I wouldn’t invite guests to stay but as they are coming and the cleanliness of your house will reflect on you both, I would stop arguing and put aside a half day to clean the house. If there are jobs that your husband doesn’t consider so important, then you choose those in your jobs list. It really won’t take that long to get it looking decent and what’s not perfect will be forgiven you by your in laws as long as it’s not squalid. Tackle keeping house with a baby once you get to that. Your life will change and you’ll adapt in the best way you can.
Cocomarine · 20/09/2021 20:58

Is there a reason you’re not answering the questions about the viability of your husband’s business?
I know people who’ve worked all hours building a business up that they’re actually running. Not so much 12 hour days when they haven’t even launched 🤷🏻‍♀️
Why can’t he ease back to 8 hour days and launch 2 months later?