Uni flat dishes - who is in the wrong?

[Poiuytrewql]

DD is in her first year at a London Uni.

Her flatmates (and I’m sure DD) leave the sink full of dishes constantly. Not unsurprising. Student 1 made a bolognese and was going home for the weekend. The pan they washed got food bits and fat over the dishes that were left in the sink. Student 2 found this foul and printed off a note and stuck it to the door reprimanding this behaviour.

I believe my daughter is in the right but dh thinks she is not. Not sure if my bias for my child is clouding my judgement.

Who is in the wrong?

I'm curious as to when parents stop using 'August baby' to infantilise their grown kids. Isn't the reasonable limit 7yrs old or something?

@Mojodojocasahous

This is a chat site, she's chatting. Things like this are interesting to see everyone's opinions. She doesn't necessarily 'care'. But even if she does, do what? Just scroll on by if it's no interest to you

But presumably the dishes left in the sink were already dirty? So what difference does it make if they got made more dirty by someone washing up over them?? I feel like I've missed something!

@BettyBardMacDonald

NOOOOOO
Don't leave your manky dishes 'soaking' in a sinkful of water. That's REALLY disgusting.🤢 🤮

I agree. By 18 the max difference in age between eldest and youngest in a cohort is about 5%.

[12÷(18×12)] x 100

The student who didn’t wash their dishes and left a sink full is the one in the wrong. If their dishes has been washed rather than left to fester they wouldn’t have got dirtier.

Just to answer your specific question:

if the were just plates from toast & mugs/glasses, that's a different level of 'dirty' than covered in meat, tomato sauce & grease.

which is why I wouldn't leave my dishes in the sink!! (Aside from the fact it's inconsiderate )

Are you kidding washing up is SO much easier if you've soaked them for a bit! especially if like me you tend to burn stuff on a fair bit.

"leaving them soaking" is however used an awful lot as an excuse to leave your unwashed washing up in the kitchen for too long.

Right?! She needs to sort it out for herself and not run to mummy.

I'm with your daughter on this one...along with notes to flatmates to clean their hair out of the bath and emptying their uses san-pro from the bathroom bin.

Plates from toast and mugs (assuming they're not old mouldy mugs) are so quick to wash up that it really is lazy and a false economy to not give them a quick wash up when you take them to the sink.

At 7 it's 14%
At 4 its 25% (obviously)
At 2 its 50% (obviously)
At 1 it's 100%

I enjoyed that. Might draw a graph.

Student 1 is in the right. She washed up her pan promptly and before leaving. Student 2 should not be surprised that if she takes the sink out of full use leaving her crockery there then the crockery might get dirtier. Also it's a bit early in the term for passive aggressive notes!

Sorry to say but this will probably just get worse and more messy and irritating but that’s student living. Some people are cleaner and tidier than others..

Well I think if people don’t want their dirty dishes being even more dirty then they should just wash up as they go instead of expecting other people to do it for them. Presumably the dishes had been dirty for at least one mealtime prior to your DD making her food? It’s antisocial for anyone living in any sort of shared accommodation to not clean up as they make mess.

Student 1 should get a cheap box or washing up bowl (£1.50 from Dunelm), put the unwashed crap in it, leave it on the floor and do her own washing up. Unwashed dishes stay there until there are no dishes left.

This is a great idea. You can also get collapsible washing up bowls at a bit more of a cost but they have handles to move them about and can be easily stored without taking up much space when not in use.

I think another time or grot-saving measure would be to use a paper towel (which goes in the bin) to wipe any properly greasy plates/pans before putting them in the sink.

Anything to save a plumber's bill to unblock the sink.

So did student 1 wash her dishes in a sink full of dirty dishes? I'd have left them to one side. Student 2 was annoyed because her dirty dishes were more dirty? That's just weird
Student 1 was right as they washed up but they don't sound like compatible flat mates.

Everyone has their own washing up bowl, that they leave their dishes in.

Student two needs to get a grip, maybe communal living isn't for them.

Next time she should empty the sink and put all dirty crockery etc into a black bin bag.

This is why my dd had her own washing up bowl. Removed the bowl of manky, soaking dishes then washed up her own stuff in her own bowl.

I voted YABU because you should not even be getting involved in a dispute about washing up in a student house. They need to sort it out themselves.