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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

She won't let me in her house

438 replies

Xmasdread22 · 02/01/2024 22:15

I have a friend I met through work. We've been friends 5 years. She doesn't let any friends in her house. We've been on nights out and to meals together but she won't let anyone in her house. I dropped her home the other day and I was desperate for the toilet and she wouldn't let me in to use it. Has anyone else had this before?

OP posts:
Goldenbear · 03/01/2024 09:48

SmellyNelliey · 03/01/2024 09:38

I don't allow people in my home,my house is bleached everyday it's not messy ect but it's the germs of others for me!
The thought of somebody using my toilet makes me feel sick 😫
This dose have the neighbours thinking tho 🤔 not one of them have been in!

If you use bleach every day, you would illuminate all germs from your friend though? Isn't that the logic behind your use of bleach?

Goldenbear · 03/01/2024 09:51

Goldenbear · 03/01/2024 09:48

If you use bleach every day, you would illuminate all germs from your friend though? Isn't that the logic behind your use of bleach?

Also, using bleach everyday does not equate to a clean house, you could just spray bleach everywhere- the smell must be horrendous!

NonPlayerCharacter · 03/01/2024 09:52

Perhapsanorhertimewouldbebetter · 03/01/2024 09:47

Sounds like hard work, I agree, but equally it's really nothing to do with you.

Another one who doesn't understand how public discussion forums work.

Goldenbear · 03/01/2024 09:55

Perhapsanorhertimewouldbebetter · 03/01/2024 09:46

Feel free to reflect on the 'morality of your values', I am fine with how I live my life.

(Also did you miss where I said I would let someone use our easily accessible loo?)

The current obsession with 'boundaries' is perpetuating a selfish society, reflection is something I do anyway, it is important in order to be happy so yes I am fine with that.

ManateeFair · 03/01/2024 10:06

Hermittrismegistus · 02/01/2024 22:32

No, I'd be thinking that OP just wanted a chance to snoop around .

Why on earth would you be thinking that, though? Why would you imagine anyone is that interested in the contents of your home?!

The OP and her colleague are friends, and have been for years. Why would you be convinced your friends were going to 'snoop' if you let them use your bathroom? If you think as negatively as that of someone, why would you be friends with them in the first place?

Of course, the OP's friend is entitled to refuse anyone entry to her home. She is allowed to have that boundary. But is very unusual to be scared/hostile in response to a good mate who you've known for five years (and has been kind enough to drive you home) asking if she can run up to your bathroom for a wee, and I don't think it's unreasonable for the OP to be puzzled by her friend's behaviour.

I would echo others and say that her friend probably either has a hoarding problem or some kind of issue with keeping the house clean and is embarrassed to let anyone see it. Or it's possible she has some sort of OCD/phobia issue around people being inside her property or even specifically using her loo. The OP says in her follow-up post that she also lives with broken appliances rather than allowing anyone into her home to mend them for her, so there's obviously something going on here that's far beyond just 'boundaries'.

Perhapsanorhertimewouldbebetter · 03/01/2024 10:14

NonPlayerCharacter · 03/01/2024 09:52

Another one who doesn't understand how public discussion forums work.

Not quite.
This discussion is about OP not being allowed to use someone's toilet and wondering why, and has moved on to a general discussion regarding allowing others access (or not) to your house. You decided to make a personal insult, which doesn't really add anything useful to the actual discussion.

Perhapsanorhertimewouldbebetter · 03/01/2024 10:15

Goldenbear · 03/01/2024 09:55

The current obsession with 'boundaries' is perpetuating a selfish society, reflection is something I do anyway, it is important in order to be happy so yes I am fine with that.

Not respecting boundaries creates an equally (even more) selfish society.
Our house, our space, our choice who enters or not.

StockpotSoup · 03/01/2024 10:19

Why on earth would you be thinking that, though? Why would you imagine anyone is that interested in the contents of your home?!

But the OP IS interested! Why else would it be an issue for her that she’s never been in the house?

Perhapsanorhertimewouldbebetter · 03/01/2024 10:20

StockpotSoup · 03/01/2024 10:19

Why on earth would you be thinking that, though? Why would you imagine anyone is that interested in the contents of your home?!

But the OP IS interested! Why else would it be an issue for her that she’s never been in the house?

I completely agree.

NonPlayerCharacter · 03/01/2024 10:24

Perhapsanorhertimewouldbebetter · 03/01/2024 10:14

Not quite.
This discussion is about OP not being allowed to use someone's toilet and wondering why, and has moved on to a general discussion regarding allowing others access (or not) to your house. You decided to make a personal insult, which doesn't really add anything useful to the actual discussion.

As I said, another one who doesn't understand how public discussion forums work. Comments don't need to pass your personal approval. It does help for them to be relevant, though, so you can continue this derail on your own.

Dis626 · 03/01/2024 10:28

I don't let anyone in my house either. I absolutely hate it when I have to have workmen in and will put it off for as long as possible.

HighlandCowSaysBooNotMoo · 03/01/2024 10:28

I used to rent a house that was falling to pieces, smelt of dog piss (we didn't have a dog), was damp and mouldy and I was so embarrassed I never let anyone visit either

Perhapsanorhertimewouldbebetter · 03/01/2024 10:30

NonPlayerCharacter · 03/01/2024 10:24

As I said, another one who doesn't understand how public discussion forums work. Comments don't need to pass your personal approval. It does help for them to be relevant, though, so you can continue this derail on your own.

Sure, I understand, you think discussions work by insulting people and then accusing others of 'derail(ing)' when they mention that that isn't how discussions work.
It's not about my personal approval, it's about insults not being discussion.

Goldenbear · 03/01/2024 10:30

Dis626 · 03/01/2024 10:28

I don't let anyone in my house either. I absolutely hate it when I have to have workmen in and will put it off for as long as possible.

But you would be happy to accept a favour of a lift but not return the favour to a friend for a momentary visit to your loo? Do you think that is fair or kind?

grooveraidiator · 03/01/2024 10:32

i have severe and long-term 10 years plus contamination phobia but i am very open about it. that's why i have no guests. i have austism traits too so that contributes too.

maybe she has a mh disorder and doesnt want to disclose it?

NonPlayerCharacter · 03/01/2024 10:32

Dis626 · 03/01/2024 10:28

I don't let anyone in my house either. I absolutely hate it when I have to have workmen in and will put it off for as long as possible.

Would you not even let them in to use your loo after they've gone to the trouble of taking you home?

newnamethanks · 03/01/2024 10:35

It's full of grot. Dont harass her, let her be. And don't offer to help clear it unless you're Stacey. It's not simple and would exhaust the patience of all the saints.

letmechange · 03/01/2024 10:38

Perhaps the issue is hoarding. This is the advice given by Mind:

Helping someone who is hoarding - Mind

  • Don't pressure them to let you into their space. They might feel really anxious about visitors, so it's important not to take it personally if they don't invite you in. If you'd like to spend time together, it might help to consider other places you could meet instead.
Newbalancebeam · 03/01/2024 10:40

Wouldn’t be giving her another lift anytime soon!

newnamethanks · 03/01/2024 10:43

I'd give her a lift. Given what I'm imagining about the state of the bathroom I wouldnt be asking to use it at all.

Watchthedoormat · 03/01/2024 10:55

I'm guessing she's embarrassed.
My bathroom has peeling paint and mould and I wouldn't want my friends to see it.
I'm desperately in need of new carpet throughout the house.
Skirting and doors desperately in need of paint.
Old fashioned fire and surround.
I am generally well-presented and like nice things and I would not like my friends to see my home that does not reflect the person they see. Iyswim.

LittleMissSunshiner · 03/01/2024 11:05

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 03/01/2024 08:08

I dare say she was afraid of the OP finding out that she’s got a toilet brush - 🤮! - and shunning her for ever more.

Is 'toilet brush' an MN thing? What are we supposed to have instead?

I'm not fond of toilet brushes myself and would welcome an alternative

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 03/01/2024 11:12

LittleMissSunshiner · 03/01/2024 11:05

Is 'toilet brush' an MN thing? What are we supposed to have instead?

I'm not fond of toilet brushes myself and would welcome an alternative

You must be fairly new to MN - they are an object of extreme disgust to many on here.

I don’t know what they use instead - personally, while I can’t say I love them, I have one, and use it, in all our 3 loos.

Cleanbedsheets · 03/01/2024 11:15

OP I have a friend exactly like this. I have known him over 20 years. in 2019 he finally let me in to help him clean it. OMG it was a hovel.

He was really embarrassed about it, but he didn't realise how bad it was even then. I helped him clean but no amount of scrubbing was touching the surface and its back in the same state again I bet.

LittleMissSunshiner · 03/01/2024 11:16

If I have someone I consider a friend, we have got to know one another over the years, we hang out and share personal information and confidences, they have been in my home etc and are always welcome, I would be very disturbed if that person would not allow me in their home and had never explained why.

My friend I mentioned way up thread (had never been in her home but gave me her key and asked me to do something in an emergency - found squalor, filth, stench, infestations, floor to ceiling, hoarding for 20+ years) should have told me about the state of her home IMO as it was dangerous and badly infested in a way that could have affected me and my life and my home. Also she had her son and cats living in there. I can't believe she herself was living in there - it was like one of those extreme hoarding USA progs.

Obviously I have total empathy and there's been many times in my life that my flat has been so messy or unkempt that I'd be mortified if anyone needed to come in (but, personally I would let someone in to use the loo as I feel it's a medical need).

It's a massive part of someone's life when they're living like that and clearly they're in denial or something but for me it would be a game changer and put the friendship in a whole different light. Especially as this one in my example was quite bitchy and grandiose and snarky. When she said 'never come to my home unexpectedly' I assumed she was being snobbish and lording it over me like she did sometimes.

Instead she was actually profoundly mentally ill and I would have been kind enough to try and support or help her. It ended our friendship as I refused to go back into the house (due to infestations and other hazards) and she bizarrely and incorrectly assumed I'd lost her door keys so we argued and drifted apart after that, never seen her since.