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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To report this cleaner?

123 replies

queensonia · 30/04/2025 17:37

My daughter has just got a job in a pub restaurant. Part of her job is cleaning and laundry and she has been trailing the regular (senior) cleaner to learn the ropes. She came home today horrified, because after watching the other woman scrub the toilet bowls and urinals with a micro-fibre cloth, she then chucked the dirty cloth into the washing machine along with all the restaurant's tea-towels and other kitchen cloths as well as all the other cleaning cloths that she'd been cleaning the basins and furniture with. She said it would be OK at 90 degrees but my daughter isn't convinced and neither am I. We certainly wouldn't do this at home, and you'd expect a restaurant to have higher standards of hygiene. My daughter also realised that this woman has been using the same rubber gloves that have been down the toilet every day for the entire week (and presumably before that as well) without ever washing or disinfecting them. This woman has worked there for years and has apparently always done this. My daughter wants to bring this to somebody's attention, but knows it will cause trouble. She says that the guy who runs the pub seems pretty clueless about domestic matters and probably wouldn't care anyway. We looked on the Food Standards website to see what the official guidelines are and the idea of washing toilet cloths and tea-towels together hasn't even occurred to them, because they have nothing to say on the subject. On the days when she works on her own, my daughter's plan is to use disposable cleaning wipes for the toilets (which she'd have to buy herself because the pub doesn't use them). Should she just keep her mouth shut? Is anybody else disgusted by this or are we over-reacting?

OP posts:
WomenInSTEM · 30/04/2025 17:38

90 degrees? I think it's fine, but maybe I'm just gross! 😆

Icanttakethisanymore · 30/04/2025 17:39

"She said it would be OK at 90 degrees but my daughter isn't convinced and neither am I."

Well maybe find out before 'reporting' anyone?

pikkumyy77 · 30/04/2025 17:40

Ugh! Of course food related and toilet related leaning supplies should be kept separate. Hiw is that even a question?

BeardOToots · 30/04/2025 17:41

What would ‘reporting’ entail? There’s a lot of this kinda talk on Mumsnet and I always wonder. Would you like this lady to lose her job?

Eggsinthewhoopsiebasketalready · 30/04/2025 17:41

I turned down a job offer at a high end boutique hotel a few years ago.. They dried shower cubicles and cups etc with used towels...
Gross.

WomenInSTEM · 30/04/2025 17:42

Eggsinthewhoopsiebasketalready · 30/04/2025 17:41

I turned down a job offer at a high end boutique hotel a few years ago.. They dried shower cubicles and cups etc with used towels...
Gross.

I agree, that is gross.

pimplebum · 30/04/2025 17:42

Get a different job? And don’t eat there

high temp should kill all the bacteria it’s just the thought of it that’s not nice

some people on MN think it’s gross to wash knickers with other clothes ?

if there’s nothing you can find that officially says this is wrong then I’d assume it’s fine

ThisMustBeMyDream · 30/04/2025 17:43

I don't see an issue with washing them together.

Topseyt123 · 30/04/2025 17:47

I'd probably bleach the toilet cloth out in a bowl.

SparrowFeet · 30/04/2025 17:49

No I wouldn't have a problem with this if it is a 90 degree wash.

sciaticafanatica · 30/04/2025 17:51

its Honestly fine!

FuckityFux · 30/04/2025 17:54

Not disgusted in the slightest. They’re getting a boil wash which means they’ll be thoroughly and hygienically cleaned. In hospitals, all the linen is washed together and some of it will be smeared with blood, shit and vomit. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Do you suffer from health anxiety OP because I don’t understand why you’re so worried?

faerietales · 30/04/2025 17:54

I fail to see the problem here.

skippy67 · 30/04/2025 17:55

faerietales · 30/04/2025 17:54

I fail to see the problem here.

Me either.

BobbyBiscuits · 30/04/2025 17:57

It's not your place to be 'reporting' staff at your daughter's workplace because you don't consider them to be good at their job.
Did the owner of the pub say she shouldn't wash them in that way?

If your daughter wants to clean them separately then she should ask if she can do so. Otherwise I'd say just do as you're told.
I don't think it's got anything to do with food hygiene though if it's not stuff that's used in the kitchen? Plenty of places probably put all their washing on together at 90.

So no I don't think you should report the cleaner. And I don't know who you'd report them to either? Other than the boss so it's them that's at fault. If anything your daughter can choose to do what she feels is best. But it's not really for you to say.

Calmdownpeople · 30/04/2025 17:57

So Google AI says…

Yes, washing toilet cloths and tea towels together at 90 degrees is generally recommended to kill bacteria and disinfect them. However, it's important to ensure the washing machine is clean and that the detergent used is strong enough to lift grease and stains, especially from tea towels.

SurfeitofLampreys · 30/04/2025 17:57

I think you should report it to the Daily Mail. They might take a photo of you and/or your daughter pointing at a microfibre cloth or a urinal or both with a sad face.

ArtTheClownIsNotAMime · 30/04/2025 17:58

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

senua · 30/04/2025 18:00

Washing machines either work or they don't. Which version does OP want to go with? Or does she want a machine that goes to 110°C !?Grin

queensonia · 30/04/2025 18:00

BobbyBiscuits · 30/04/2025 17:57

It's not your place to be 'reporting' staff at your daughter's workplace because you don't consider them to be good at their job.
Did the owner of the pub say she shouldn't wash them in that way?

If your daughter wants to clean them separately then she should ask if she can do so. Otherwise I'd say just do as you're told.
I don't think it's got anything to do with food hygiene though if it's not stuff that's used in the kitchen? Plenty of places probably put all their washing on together at 90.

So no I don't think you should report the cleaner. And I don't know who you'd report them to either? Other than the boss so it's them that's at fault. If anything your daughter can choose to do what she feels is best. But it's not really for you to say.

But the rest of the cloths in the machine ARE all used in the kitchen - that’s my point. Tea towels, oven cloths, kitchen cleaning cloths. Would you want random piss and poo mixing with food preparation cloths?

OP posts:
Gustavo77 · 30/04/2025 18:01

You really need to take a long hard look at yourself and start setting a good example to your daughter instead of this load of nonsense.

faerietales · 30/04/2025 18:02

queensonia · 30/04/2025 18:00

But the rest of the cloths in the machine ARE all used in the kitchen - that’s my point. Tea towels, oven cloths, kitchen cleaning cloths. Would you want random piss and poo mixing with food preparation cloths?

But the washing machine will clean them!

I hope you never stay in hotels.

MissJeanBrodiesmother · 30/04/2025 18:06

I wash all my underwear and towels in the same wash as my tea towels. I wouldn't even consider this as an issue because they have been washed...

Phoebepeeby · 30/04/2025 18:06

Report to the police and the government and the teachers union and the papers and the farmer and the dog and the tulips.

The gloves is yucky though.

BacktoBeginnersFran · 30/04/2025 18:07

We looked on the Food Standards website to see what the official guidelines are and the idea of washing toilet cloths and tea-towels together hasn't even occurred to them, because they have nothing to say on the subject.

They have nothing to say on the subject, because there is nothing to say Confused . Everything will come out clean, especially on a 90° wash.
What do you think a washing machine does???

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