Caught Cleaner clipping her Nails in our Bathroom..

[Naliny]

…with my nail clipper.

AIBU to fire her over this?

(Also - have never done an AIBU before and can’t figure out how to do the poll).

It’s disgusting but if she’s otherwise a good cleaner (and you trust her to babysit which says a lot) then I would give her a nail kit and ask politely that she doesn’t use yours. Say you’ve got a fungal infection if it makes you feel better!

She could have broke/damaged a nail and was clipping the others down to a similar level so that (a) she didn’t break any more and (b) she didn’t just have one short nail and others at a longer length.

Either way I think you need to separate out the issues here:

• Clipping nails = not a sackable offence
• Being bad at cleaning = a valid reason to let someone go
• Being a good (and sometimes emergency) babysitter = not a reason to make them your cleaner.

Well my nail clippers are certainly personal to me - kept in a drawer in my bedroom. And other family members also have their own nail clippers kept in their personal space.
You obviously have a different view.
It's not for you to tell OP they are not a personal item if that is how she regards them.
OP is entitled to her own boundaries in her own home. You are entitled to your own boundaries in yours.

I think sacking would be a massive over reaction. This would not bother me.

Some of the comments on here and on other similar threads make me feel a bit sad tbh
People talking about cleaners as if they are somehow ‘lesser’ or ‘inferior’
Many unrealistic expectations.
how much must the op have been listening to hear the clear sound of nails being clipped?

when my cleaner is in our bathroom I wouldn’t dream of trying to listen - it almost seems like spying. Perhaps she needs to use the toilet for its intended purpose or attend to a personal issue such as adjusting tights. Or even if she is getting with the actual cleaning I like, trust and respect her so I’m not hovering and listening. I couldn’t imagine hovering so closely I could hear the nails being clipped!

My former cleaner borrowed my slippers, I wasn’t massively happy but I never said anything as in every other respect she was excellent. I resolved it by buying new cheap slippers for me AND for her and chucking the old ones. I think in her case she didn’t realise it was inappropriate.

No, she never asked, and that was absolutely fine.

There is a every chance she used my nail clippers at some point in the 6 years she's been coming here, they sit out on the dresser. I've no problem with that either, and I imagine she'd know that.

I do have OCD, an actual diagnosis so thay may count towards my POV.

I've also been a cleaner myself, I wouldn't use someone elses personal hygiene equipment, even if it were an emergency I'd ask first and replace it if given permission.
I keep a travel set in my bag anyway.

It's surprisingly common to find people actually don't keep things like brushes, combs and make up equipment clean, so yes we have barbicide at home.

Omg what is wrong with people it's a nail clipper not like she made a used tampon effigy or something ffs just move on

I can't say I'd be the least bit bothered about this. I don't find nails offensive. I touch other people's nails when shaking hands etc. The cleaner's nails presumably come into contact with your household surfaces during her visit, even if she wears gloves during the heavier duty cleaning.

I presume she disposed of the clippings so what honestly is so disgusting about her nails???

Clearly. We have shared household nail clippers and I don’t view every person I know as dirty, fungal disease vectors at all times. She’s entitled to her boundaries, but when those boundaries involve trusting someone with your children but not your nail clippers, forgive me for looking askance at it.

I can never ever lay hand to a set of clippers in this house when I need them so I would probably find the temptation of happening upon some whilst cleaning too much to ignore.

I don’t view every person I know as dirty, fungal disease vectors at all times

You clearly don't belong on Mumsnet 😂😂😂

I sort of get it op. It’s a bit gross to use someone else’s clippers. I don’t like to share tweezers either since I lent them to someone and they picked the head off a spot.

I wouldn’t lend lipsticks, makeup brushes, nail files, they are all a bit personal aren’t they.

If this happened to me, I’d probably just say
‘Jenny, I noticed that my clippers were used the other day. Not sure if it was you or not, but can I ask that personal items aren’t borrowed without checking first.” And I’d leave it at that. No need to sack anyone unless you are really concerned about her standards.

Jesus Christ - get some standards babe.

A cleaner is an employee. I wouldn't walk into my employer's office and borrow their nail file without asking. It's called manners and boundaries and it's actually reasonable for different people to view things differently. You - however - come in all facist light with a MY VIEW IS THE ONLY VIEW to make an OP feel like she should be crawling on the floor, so VERY thankful that she gets to pay money to a person for clipping their nails with her clipper. THE HONOUR.

Also, it's LOSE, not LOOSE (in your next comment). Love how you've come bounding in all high and mighty, DELIGHTED to shit on another poster's perfectly reasonable question and you can't even fucking spell. Or use punctuation.

Is she allowed to breath the same air as you or is she just a peasant to you.
Grow the fuck up. Classic keyboard warrior saying this shit then a few sentences later 'try being nice' 😂

... Yikes.

I know, I don’t know what I’m doing here! Don’t even have my own barbicide.

This is really awful. Nail clippers are like razors, toothbrushes etc. you do not use other people's!
Especially when she's in your home as an employee. Clippers can carry fungal nail etc.
I could not trust someone to clean my home if they used my personal care accessories without consent. Not like consent would be given, even by someone very reasonable!

" I don’t view every person I know as dirty, fungal disease vectors at all times. "

I absolutely view everyone like this, even myself 🫠😂 we're all filthy animals imo.

Babe, breath. No need to loose your temper.

This woman cleans your sinks and loos, yet you say "So grim" when your precious nail clipper has touched her fingernails?

Just wow.

Personally, I do find it a bit gross but honestly if she would have asked me (because she had torn a nail or they were getting in her way) I would have 100% said of course, use them. She always has drinks, spends her entire time here on the phone, etc - I really couldn’t care less.

I think what adds to my irritation is that she clearly felt she was doing something wrong, otherwise she would have clipped her nails then and there, in our bathroom, next to the bedroom where I am sat working. Instead, she felt the need to remove the clippers from our cupboard, take them upstairs into the kids’ bathroom where she thought I wouldn’t notice, and then return them back to our cupboard. She exited the kids bathroom as soon as she heard me come upstairs, but continued with the clipping once I had returned to my bedroom. It’s this behavior that irks me the most.

She’s left now and I didn’t bring it up. I do think we will have to let her go soon, but that’s more because we need someone who just is more thorough (even though I do not tend to leave shit out in my toilet, as some posters seem to believe). I think the nail clipper might have just been the final straw.

Thanks to those who provided rational feedback (one way or the other) - it has been insightful!

It is grim. There is also a small risk of passing on a bloodborne virus in "sharing" personal grooming items that have the potential to break skin.

The phrase "keyboard warrior" springs to mind.

Oh wait.

Totally.

She's OK to both look after your children and clean up your, literal and metaphorical, shit, but not to touch the sacred nail clippers.

Whatever floats your boat 🤷🏻‍♀️