Mud causing huge drama in my building

[Welshiegreen]

Today I came back to my flat to see the cleaner has collected mud from the corridors and staircase of the general building and emptied it outside my flat! She has then put an angry note on the building noticeboard downstairs asking people to be more considerate with bringing mud indoors and to take off boots and wellies outside and carry them to their flats.

I live in an old mill building which has been converted. There are probably 30 flats in all, each rented. The building itself is owned and managed by a company who employs a cleaner. The cleaner is an old lady who lives in the building.

Do I put a complaint into the management company? Or am I wrong and should I be removing my boots?

I live on the fourth floor and don't feel it's reasonable to be expected to remove my shoes at the entrance of the building and carry them four floors. Especially in the cold of winter, with my young child, carrying shopping etc..

No one should be bringing clods of muds into a residential place. If the residents of all 30 flats did that it would look like a wet Glastonbury all the time.

Why does the cleaner think it's you?
Why are you bringing so much mud in?
Is there an area to leave muddy boots near the entrance?

No, she is being very unreasonable and sounds unhinged! Those communal buildings can be very cold so no way I’d be tramping through them in stocking feet! I would try to knock excess mud of shoes/boots if they were particularly dirty but they’d be going back on.
Invest in a door mat for the communal front door and maybe put up a sign saying ‘please be considerate and remove any excess mud from shoes before entering’.
Also how often is she cleaning? It can’t be very often as I wouldn’t expect outside dirt to accumulate as much as you are describing over just a few days and the floors should be getting cleaned every few days surely? Especially in winter.
Also that’s horrible she left it outside your door! I’d have to be asking why and stating very strongly to do that in future.

I'm assuming you don't walk great clumps of mud in the building and this is just normal levels that get stuck in the treads of shoes. That being the case, I'd dump it all back outside hers. And then complain to the management company about the attitude of the cleaner, whose job is to, well, clean! This is why you pay a shit ton of management fees to cover cleaning.
Can't be doing with passive aggressive shit.
If you were minded, while complaining to the management company, you can suggest boot scrapers/better mats.

Yes, take your boots off at the door if they're muddy (ie if you've been to the park, walking the dog etc. If you've been to the shops, no) It's being respectful to your neighbours and the woman who cleans. Just because it's her job doesn't means it's OK to make more work unnecessarily. More so because she lives there - she may feel responsible for keeping it nice all the time, she may feel mud traipsed through makes it look as if she's not doing her job properly. It's disrespectful OP, keep the communal area nice for everyone.