Guest ruined carpet

[DeedlessIndeed]

OK, logically I know that this is a minor problem in the grand scheme of things. I know people are facing real issues in the world, but this has really annoyed me.

We have just had new wool carpet fitted in the whole of the upstairs. Saved up for a while as it was expensive (for us). After 5 years of renovation, we finally have the upstairs finished! I was so so happy.

Had parents stay this weekend and left yesterday. They've seen the house in all stages of building site and they know how excited I am to have the upstairs done. I explained that we are being careful to keep it looking nice. And they know we are a slippers only house apart from the hard floors in the hall etc.

Well, I went into their room to do the bedding this morning and can see that they've rolled their dirty suitcase wheels all along the carpet. A bit annoying, but oh well. It's dried so I can hoover it up hopefully. Then I see they've spilled a coffee or dark tea next to the bed. There is a huge splatter mark all over the carpet in front of the beside table. It's also on the skirting board and wall, but I can touch that up at least.

I'm just feeling a bit gutted. If they had an accident then why not say and I could have got on it and stop it staining. I'm regretting not getting a easily cleanable carpet but the fact they didn't mention it is the worst part IYSWIM?

Would you say anything to your parents? They do mean well, but they just don't "get" having nice things and looking after them.

A decent professional will get the stain out. Annoying but if you buy expensive things it’s worth paying to have them stay nice. I don’t think I’d ask them to pay and I wouldn’t want them to start scrubbing at a new wool carpet themselves.

Then next time say you don’t take tea and coffee upstairs because it’s very expensive to get big spills out of the carpet. Also if you have room make sure you have something for the suitcase to sit on (we use a nice old dining chair in our guest room) and then carry it upstairs and bring it back yourselves again - we have always done that for parents anyway.

Nice carpets upstairs are lovely and worth looking after but they are a menace too!

I think the biggest problem is that they didn’t tell you and this is really not on. If they had have done you could have blotted the worse of the stain out.
Going forward, I would not allow them any drinks other than water upstairs. I don’t like house guests ( except the grandchildren) and I don’t wait on anyone who stays. They should have the same house rules as everyone else. When visiting, I always prefer to stay in an hotel. My sister has a case with dirty wheels but my husband always carries her case upstairs.

Absolutely this. Do it, OP, there is nothing wrong in bringing this up.

Doesn't sound like they would have had nice stuff!

Yanbu OP. Do they stay often?

Yes. Not to them directly perhaps, but I don't have the type of relationship where we are all in and out of each other's houses every day. We've lived over 300 miles from each other since I left home to go to uni.

Guests are still welcome to make themselves at home, help themselves to whatever from the kitchen etc, have a key, come and go as they please.

Do by 'house guest' I dont mean to be rude to them, but merely mean that they are people staying over but not living here. I didn't realise it was controversial.

How to remove a coffee stain from a wool carpet?
☕ The process to treat a coffee stain on wool carpet is straight forward. The key ingredients are time and patience. Here's our step-by-step process: 1) Treat the stain with water and white vinegar and blot 2) Use a combination of dishwashing detergent and warm water and blot 3) Rinse with fresh water and blot dry.18 Nov 2024

This may do the trick!

Best thing I ever did was tear up all the fitted carpets in the house. Wooden floorboards and rugs for me!

Why do you put up with this? They don’t sound very nice. Don’t have them to stay.

Vanish carpet cleaner spray is not bad. Be careful not to rub too much or it may make the pile fuzzy looking.
Cheap rugs everywhere when they come next

If you’d saved to buy nice things, of course they are important to you, and yes, it does really matter!

I don't get why they'd be more important than the peolem you love though.

If something's so expensive (to me) that I'd have to worry about it, I'd rather not have it.

Sil and h stayed one time,(we lived near Gatwick and inevitably housed and collected folk) she put her coffee cup on my beautiful William Morris stationary holder, coffee all over the desk and pouring down the side. Her h was unable to lift the toilet seat or stop himself peeing all over the floor.

We did this when we first moved in. But it is an old, cold and draughty house. It's a bugger to heat and the floor boards made it feel colder. So I've comprised on mainly hard floors downstairs and lovely thick carpet and underlay upstairs.

Agree that wooden floors and a nice rug look absolutely lovely!

I am sorry but think it is likely they didn't notice. Things like that happen all the time and we often don't see until later, then wonder how and when it happened. If they had been aware they'd spilled they would have tried to clean it up and told you. I get that you are pleased with your new carpet but it isn't going to be new forever and you will stain it sooner or later.

It's a home, not a museum.

Don't say anything to them, they will be mortified and scared of visiting you again in case they drop something.

They stained your brand new carpet... out of sheer carelessness... and they didn't tell you there was a coffee stain ... so you could'nt act quickly to minimise it.. Keeping quiet so they could escape before you notice is crap, that's the worst part of that to me. It doesn't matter whether its an accident or not.
Guests should treat your home as they should treat you with care and respect. Doesn't matter who they are.

Shrugging it off with platitudes about too much fuss or the house is there to be lived in ... is absolute bullshit designed to make you feel stupid or obsessive for even caring. That is actually quite disrespectful and I think that is what has got your goat about this.

They know you've spent a fortune on a nice carpet you've waited years to put down and they've stained it. How would they like it if you treated their brand new possession with similar carelessness? Except you wouldn't because you sound like a careful person.

I would take pictures of the damage and send it to them, so they can't minimise it, ,pretend you are being stupid or lie about it later... and tell them that you are going to try spot cleaning to get the stain out.

If that works, fine. Problem solved but not without unnecessary anxiety or effort on your part. If it doesn't work and you need professional cleaning. Get a quote. You'd have more grounds to ask them to contribute then. And perhaps they'd be a bit more careful next time.

I don't think this should be seen as jeopardising your relationship with your parents... its correcting course.. You are not disobeying or insulting them. You're pointing out that they didn't take care and reminding them that they need to be more careful next time... If they take offence, that's on them. They have caused offence by damaging something and making you feel silly for even mentioning it. and that's a discussion for another day, which you can do in a calm respectful manner.
Hope you get the stain out. x

I’d be upset too. My dad comes to my house and helps walk our dog during the week when we are working which I really appreciate but he also traipses through my house from front doo through the living room, kitchen and utility room with his muddy boots on before and after walking her. I did have carpets but do have a toddler and could really do without the extra dirt 4 days a week. Drives me mad but hard to bring up and moan when I know he’s doing me a favour and I just don’t think he sees it at all. Said once I’d get a back door key to make it easier for him and he’s like no I don’t need one it’s fine

That's shit of them OP. Hope the stains come out.

Years ago I let my parents stay in my house (which was being sold at the time) for a couple of nights. I wasn't there at the time. I'd just had the lounge carpeted in a beautiful wool berber. Months later, after the house was sold, they told me that my father had been smoking in the lounge (after they'd promised not to smoke inside) and dropped his lit cigar on the carpet and burned a hole right through the carpet and underlay. My mother had bodged a repair, moved the sofa slightly to hide it, and I hadn't noticed. They thought it was fucking hilarious. I was furious and gutted for the buyer. I'm NC with my parents now but they were never invited to stay in my home again after that.

Pink vanish squirty foam has saved many cream rugs for me. That’s with dried in red wine too. Test it on a hidden spot first though with it being wool.

You should be able to have nice things, some people just don’t see this kind of thing as they don’t give it any thought. It would piss me right off.

I feel your pain OP. Same here totally renovated one floor of the house, light wool carpet. Brand new everything. First guest that ever stayed wet the bed (brand new never been used before £1000 mattress 🤦🏻‍♀️) a couple of weeks later MIL walked up the stairs and ruined the carpet in shoes with motor oil on them, every single step had oil on it and we've never been able to get it out. 🤬 The ned wetter never owned up even after being challenged. She would not come out the spare room until 2pm the following day. Unfortunately we didn't discover her present she had left until several days late as she had neatly made the bed and concealed it. I would definitely say something OP it is so disrespectful.

Its their choice not to place importance on their OWN home ... not anyone else's.
Its disrespectful.

For this reason i only have wood floors.

I’m sure the tea/coffee stain will come out with the right spot cleaner. I’ve only ever had wool carpets and I’ve never yet found a stain that I couldn’t get out - including when I dropped a litre tin of black gloss paint. I wouldn’t say anything to your parents unless you can’t get the stain out - what would be the point?

Why didn’t you have a waterproof mattress cover?
The oil stains on the stairs - I’d have had the carpet professionally cleaned and sent the bill to her!

That’s grim of them OP. They must live horribly if they don’t feel necessary to clean up spills like that. Their own carpet must be filthy. Poor show from them that they are content to treat other peoples belongings the same. Their own daughter too trying to have a nice clean home.

If I accidentally damaged something in my daughter’s house I would immediately offer to pay to correct them damage. I know my mother would have done the same if she had damaged something in my home. I’d find out how much a professional clean costs and present your parents with the bill.