To be annoyed at DMIL for putting a wet towel in the dustbin?

[FloralFantastic]

DS peed on the bathmat this evening - the in laws were kindly babysitting. When we got home we were told that DMIL had thrown away the bathmat - in the outside bin, drenched with both water and pee. Rubbish won't be collected for another week. I was livid at 1) the wastefulness as would have just washed in, and 2) why on earth she'd put it in wet, as whilst I'm not gonna eat my dinner from my outside bin I'd also rather not needlessly invite bacteria and mould to it. She said she put it in a bin bag if that helps.

DH is telling me I'm being needlessly irate and should 'just' be grateful for the babysitters - thoughts?!

The point remains. If you need to be pedantic, take any item you do throw your trash bin and replace banana peels with it.

There's no need for anyone to talk to the MIL.

I get the waste business, it could easily go in the washing machine but it would do no harm to the bin if it was in a bag. People put bagged nappies in the rubbish bin and goodness knows what else, it hurts no-one! Odd to throw it away but hardly worth a fight.

That’s if you have a food waste bin

The last bath mat I bought cost £8 and was by no means the cheapest one I could get. How much do you think a night of babysitting costs?!

While I wouldn’t bin peed on clothes (or bath mats), I have on several occasions binned a pair of knickers when my daughter was going through a phase of pooing her pants during potty training.

The OP needs to get some perspective here. It was an unusual thing to do I admit, but hardly the end of the world especially when they were doing you a favour.

This sounds more like an anti-inlaw rant. Just wash it, and stop the histrionics.

I'd be annoyed that a perfectly good item that just needs a wash was binned (and the need to go bin diving). Wee washes out very easily.

DS had food allergies and had regular neck to knee poonamis. No way could I have sustained binning every single outfit he was wearing until he filled a nappy. Then there was laundering the washable nappies (which were far better at containing his output than disposables).

What we buy has an environmental cost of production as well as the point of disposal. Treating things as disposable because we're icked out by the thought of washing them is expensive, wasteful and an unnecessary drain on the planet's resources.

I have binned leggings after particularly nasty poonamis

This reminds me of when my MIL used the baby vests to wipe up a poonami saying it was what she always did and used less wipes. Just meant I had a load of shit stained vests to deal with!

Do you think it was a mistake based on being a long time out of the baby/little kid stage? Pee on the bathmat wouldn’t bother me at all because I have young children but pre child me would be horrified.

It's nothing like that though

Just take it out the of the bin and wash it. It's a complete non issue.
If you need to, calmly ask her to leave it for you to deal with next time.
And price up a babysitter vs a bath mat.

Retrieve the bath mat from your obviously "squeaky clean, highly polished, germ free, super-santitized rubbish bin" and wash the bloody thing!

DO NOT confront your MIL, next time she might feel inclined to not tell you when the child has wee'd on something and then you really will have something to moan about when it starts to stink and grow mould!

I get that it's annoying that she threw out a bath mat that would be perfectly fine if washed, but you do realise purchasing a new one (not that you have to since you can wash it), would be a lot cheaper than paying for babysitting?

i would feel really annoyed that the bathmat was put in the bin
i would have to take it out and wash it

but if towels are wet and you arent doing a wash, they have to go in the laundry basket surely

Bins always carry bacteria, as do many other things. We all survive. 🤷‍♀️

Mildly annoyed, but not livid. Just get it and wash it

MIL might accidentally throw our something of sentimental value in the future so just let her know kindly not to throw anything out in the future and that you appreciate the baby sitting and DS enjoys seeing her. Throwing out a perfectly good mat no matter how cheap for a bit of wee is ridiculous and wasteful and not great for the environment and she modeling this to DS as well as potentially making him feel bad. Get it from the bin and then wash it on a hot wash. How sad that we live in a world where things are so easily thrown away. Just because you disagree doesn't mean you don't appreciate her caring for you DS.

You’re being ridiculous.

Its a waste throwing it out but it being wet is neither here nor there.

I would be so grateful that she babysat.
I wouldn’t say anything and just thank her for being so kind.

If this is all she’s done wrong then you are very fortunate indeed.

Take it out of the bin and just wash it, it’ll be fine.

If I was her and read this I wouldn’t babysit again.

Do you often look for things to complain about?

I'd think it was odd that she binned it instead of putting it in the washing machine but getting upset about a wet towel in the outside bin? Now that's weird.

Yeah I’d be fuckwd off too. It’s so wasteful! My mother in law went through a phase of throwing my sons pants when he weed himself potty training. I always got them out the bin and washed them and kept them. Fuck buying new pants every week

Odd to chuck it, odd to be pissed off about it being wet in the bin!

I'm glad you asked because I'm totally confused. I've been putting wet towels in my laundry basket all my life and nothing untoward has happened.

So you would forgo seeing your DGS for a bit of healthy criticism. Yes OP had ' free baby sitting' but the MIL also spent previous time with her DGS. Everything doesn't have to be so transactional. OP needs to be able to speak her mind in a kind gentle way and appreciate family support and nurture the relationship between DS and his grandparents but that doesn't mean she can't ever speak her mind to them!

The clash of 2 Mumsnetters! The type who are bizarrely paranoid about very specific bacteria and the type who won't touch something "unclean"!

I wonder which one washes chicken.