To think it’s not normal to have thick grey dust on skirting boards?

[GosPort]

Went around to SIL house today and I’m by no means a neat freak but just thought it was unacceptably dirty. Not cluttered, just nothing was cleaned. For example her skirting boards had thick grey dust on them, on top and falling down like snow. Paw marks on them from the rabbits as well so it was so obvious. And the hair that had built up on them too was visible and a bit gross.

AIBU to think you should regularly clean and dust your house if you are inviting others into it?

I'm drawn to SIL more than OP.

OP comes across as a terrible snob.

Sometimes my house is sparkly clean, other times meh. I just can't get myself worked up over it.

Years ago I overheard a conversation on a bus. It stuck with me for the sheer horror and incomprehension.

woman 1 “ I don’t know where the time has got to today, I seem to have been chasing my backside all day”

woman 2 “ I know what you mean, I realised this morning that I haven’t wiped down my skirting boards this week.”

The bold italics are mine. If I had been woman 2 my response would have been more along the lines of “I haven’t wiped down my skirting boards this decade.”

As the late great Shirley Conrad observed, life is too short for stuffing mushrooms

( and wiping down skirting boards.) My bold italics again.

I agree with those posters who said that it's poor form to silently judge and then come to tattle on MN.

But I do think twice about visiting people in their dirty homes. Dust like this (or technically the shit of dust mites living within it) is likely to trigger my asthma.

You are very naive to think you can come on mumsnet and not be slated for your post criticising another woman's skirting boards 😂

Your high standards are purely your own problem.

It's however always incredibly rude and tactless to go to somebodies home and then slag them off (either to their face or behind their back).

Did you miss out on learning manners?

I used to be meticulous about my skirting boards. However I stopped doing them a while back and they rarely need doing. It may have something to do with my worsening eyesight though.

My inner city terrace gets really dusty, it backs onto a main road and I am sure the amount of traffic, plus the age of the house is the reason for this. My front door opens onto the street, no hall and this makes it hard to keep clean too. I dust regularly, it looks ok for about 2 days then the dust piles up again. We all have different standards, I personally would love a spotless home but lack the motivation so feel at war with myself!

Is SIL still with your brother? If so surely the dust issue is also a DB issue as well. Either way I'm not really bothered by dust and definitely wouldn't judge anyone!

You've come to the wrong place OP.

People on here get a kick out of being competitively opposed to cleaning. I was on a thread recently where people thought cleaning your bathroom once a month was enough.

There are some very tetchy posters here - presumably the non dusters 😂YANBU, but I agree with those asking what about DB too.

How other people chose to live is none of your business.

Many, many people chose to live in houses that dont meet other people standards of cleanliness or organisation. As an adult that is there choice. There may be reasons why they cant clean, there may be reason why they wont clean, they may just not GAF when they look at a room.

I can see past mess. It doesnt bother me at all. I keep my house clean and tidy purely because my teenagers have friends round often and i dont want them to be embarrassed by our home, so it is always done. But if they didnt have their friends round daily, i wouldnt bother half as much as i do.

This is me, began to do a big clean today and just wasn't feeling it so I stopped. The one thing you can rely on housework for is to always be there waiting for you.

And you think that should be dealt with just for your benefit? Really?

I have dusty skirting boards. I have limited time and patience dealing with cleaning and skirting boards are not really a big ticket item to clean. Toilets, floors, tables - yes. But skirting boards - pretty low on the list. And the problem with dusting is that things get dusty again. It's not a great pay off!

You sound a bit anal.

fourquenelles

I am grumpy ignore me
It’s hump day- I think we’re all there!! Have some 🎂

Our skirting boards get done when we feel guilted into cleaning them eg my youngest is coming to visit

I’m very clean but even I can’t be bothered with skirting boards much. Maybe once every 6 months or so I might give them a quick wipe but they’re so chipped and battered it barely makes any visible difference. My whole house needs re painting etc really but that’s a different topic. I have a friend who is obsessed with skirting boards. She literally moves into a new house which to me has hardly anything wrong with it and she immediately replaces them all 😳 To me it’s such an insane waste of money.

Was it your SIL house after she split up with your brother or do they live together? Not sure why you mentionned her not him. You grew up together I presume so you would know why your cleaning standards are high and his are low..
I love they have rabbits 😊

It takes literally seconds to dust a skirting board, anyone with thick grey dust on their skirtings/furniture are idle stinkers - probably turns her grundies inside out to get a couple of days wear.

I’m with you op - really don’t mind a bit of clutter or some dust on bookshelves + picture frames etc. but I doesn’t take 5 mins to whizz a duster round the skirting boards before you hoover. Especially if you have pets!

I get quite hay fever-y in the summer + when my system is already irritated then dusty places make me SO itchy + sneezy. I hate it.

really don’t think it takes a killer amount of time to do a decent vacuuum once a week.

I’m imagining OP sneakily putting on a white glove and running it along the skirting board, Kim Woodburn style, before gasping and clutching her pearls.

Skirting boards are for Spring cleaning aren't they.

OP your post is literally my inner voice every time the PILs come to visit and I have to compulsively clean behind the radiators. 😅

What's with all the nasty replies? Critiquing someone's dusty skirting boards is hardly the crime of the century 🤔