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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

New man’s house is filthy

605 replies

merrygoroundsss · 17/08/2025 22:53

Not really sure what to do here!

The new guy I’ve been seeing is lovely. We really hit it off and have a lot in common. He treats me well and puts in a lot of effort.

Just to give you some background, I have some OCD tendencies, especially when it comes to cleanliness. My house isn’t perfect, but it’s clean and tidy. He knows this.

He currently has 2 dogs, but he used to have 9 (not sure why, something related to his ex) and they trashed the house. His ex moved out at the start of the year. I'm not sure if things were like this while she was living there or if it started after she moved out. He told me prior to my visit that his house wasn't as clean as mine, but he was making an effort to improve it, though it might take some time. I didn’t expect much, but when I visited his house for the first time yesterday, I was gutted. It was filthy.
Picture dirty, grimy, and sticky. There were dog hairs everywhere. They’re allowed in every room, on the sofa, beds, you name it. He attempted to clean up before I arrived, which is probably why I feel bad for feeling this way, but his whole house needs several deep cleans!

I don’t think he hoovers, so when he mops, he’s just pushing the dirt and dog hairs around. The bathroom was especially awful. I don’t think the toilet had been cleaned in months (there were skid marks, the bowl was black, and the toilet seat was dirty too). The bathroom also had a strong smell of dog urine. He does mop up any accidents but I guess the urine has just soaked into the floor or something?! I kept my socks on while I was there, but he was walking around barefoot and his feet were black! The back garden was a mess too with dog shit and rubbish everywhere.

If I want to keep the relationship going, I need to spend more time at his house because of the dogs. I wouldn’t mind it if the house was actually clean. I’m supposed to stay there again next week, but just thinking about it makes my skin crawl. I feel terrible though, because he’s said he’s trying to sort it, so he’s not in denial or ignoring the issue. But when I left early this morning to come home, he said he was just going to have a lazy day before he had work tomorrow, which showed no effort to clean up or even start tackling the mess.

WTF do I do? I really like this guy, and aside from this one issue, he's great!

OP posts:
merrygoroundsss · 17/08/2025 22:55

Just to add, I did offer to help and gave him some gentle suggestions, but he insisted on sorting it by himself.

OP posts:
cestlavielife · 17/08/2025 22:55

You are not compatible
It is a massive issue

CalmTheFuckDownMargaret · 17/08/2025 22:56

His house speaks volumes about him. Even a poor person can be clean and try to take pride in what they have. He is just bloody filthy and lazy! An uncleaned toilet when you have a new date round?! Brace yourself for washing his skiddy undies and him leaving rubbish everywhere if you stick with him.

EVHead · 17/08/2025 22:56

Gross.

You're not compatible. He’s not a project for you to fix. This is who he is.

Dump him.

AgingLikeGazpacho · 17/08/2025 22:57

Run

Gingercar · 17/08/2025 22:57

I’m not being horrible, but it’s not going to work. Don’t waste your time. Dog hair on things is understandable if he has many dogs, but skid marks and a black toilet - when you’re having someone you like come over for the first time?? Yuk!! And especially if you are a bit of a clean freak. You’re just not compatible.

QPZM · 17/08/2025 22:58

Gross.

There is no way I would've stayed there. What was the bedroom like?

You say 'aside from this one issue' but I'd be very surprised if his laziness and very low standards don't surface in other areas of his life and personality too.

RampantIvy · 17/08/2025 22:58

Throw him back.

Saponarium · 17/08/2025 22:58

Yuk. This would be a complete deal breaker for me. How's his personal hygiene?

No way would I spend time in such a disgusting place. The fact that he didn't even think to clean the toilet before you arrived says it all..! I would almost guarantee that any words of intention around getting it sorted are just talk. If he really had the capacity to have basic standards then he would have done it by now.

PartingGift · 17/08/2025 22:58

You stayed the night in his house with dog hair everywhere and shit stains on the loo? You shared a bed with his filthy feet? Did he shower before bed? What were his sheets like?

i don’t have OCD, but there’s no way I could sleep somewhere like that.

OffTheHookAtLast · 17/08/2025 23:00

This would be a dealbreaker for me. You sound incompatible and that it would be extremely stressful.

thefanisblowing · 17/08/2025 23:02

The house might be a mess but it doesn’t sound like he made any effort at all to disguise it. Why didn’t clean his toilet as a bare minimum? Honestly, it sounds horrific and as though he just doesn’t see filth. That’s a red flag to me!

Arlanymor · 17/08/2025 23:02

You said he's not in denial or ignoring the issue - but he's doing both of those things isn't he? The denial comes from the fact that he thinks his house is decent enough to invite another person into when it's not and the ignoring the issue is having a day off when he has shedloads of housework to do to even bring his place up to a decent standard. And you say he puts in a lot of effort - not enough to clean his toilet to even a basic standard. He's none of the things you say he is and I think you need to face that.

It must be very triggering for you and to be honest, even though I am fortunate enough not to have OCD, I couldn't have stayed the night there. Dog hairs everywhere is one thing, but basic hygiene being ignored is another. Cleaning the loo is such a bare minimum thing to do - it's genuinely gross for him not to even bother getting his toilet up to standard. I couldn't stand it. You shouldn't either. And don't start offering help to someone who couldn't even muster the energy to make it nice for you the first time you went there.

PiggieWig · 17/08/2025 23:03

It takes less than 5 minutes to clean the loo and you didn’t call round unannounced. It sounds like he doesn’t think it matters.

I wouldn’t want to stay there so that would be the end of it for me.

Lindy2 · 17/08/2025 23:03

Nope. I couldn't put up with that.

I don't think this relationship is the right one OP. Living in filth is grim.

glittercunt · 17/08/2025 23:05

I massively ignored the red flags and am living with a man who was happy in a place as bad as you describe. I'm disabled and can't perform the cleaning tasks necessary... And he apparently can't compute when something needs doing.

BMW6 · 17/08/2025 23:05

Good grief OP, I definitely DONT have any tendency to OCD and I adore dogs, but his situation is way, WAY out of control. He isn't even trying.

Run. Run very very fast. Don't be that fool.

Amazingstoke · 17/08/2025 23:07

Why are YOU disrespecting YOURSELF?

Your gut is screaming at you that this is all wrong - but you are trying to justify it - why? What was your upbringing life - were you taught to swallow your feelings and tolerate the intolerable?

charlieandthechocolatfactory · 17/08/2025 23:08

That’s fucking disgusting

run.

MounjaroMounjaro · 17/08/2025 23:08

He either looked around and thought "Fuck it, I'm not cleaning it for her" or he did clean some of it but it's still absolutely filthy.

I don't know how you stayed more than a few minutes. I would've been off like a shot. And nine dogs? Seriously? Who thinks the average house is a good place to keep nine dogs?

MuckFusk · 17/08/2025 23:09

If you have OCD, sorry to say that it's probably a no go. IMO you're never going to feel comfortable around somebody that unhygienic. If you stay with him you'll end up cleaning up his home for him just so you can be there. No matter how nice he is, there's no getting around the reality that a man who leaves skid marks in the bathroom and dog piss on the floor, yet actually thinks he has cleaned adequately enough to bring a date over, is both lazy and disgusting, even to people who don't have OCD. He's also being dishonest, as he claims to be making an effort but you've seen irrefutable physical evidence he hasn't. Then he decides to take a "lazy day" (which is obviously every day for him) yet you're feeling bad about judging him? Don't feel bad about that. Being messy is one thing, but leaving actual shit and piss on surfaces is vile. For him not to be able to see that tells me there is either something wrong with him psychologically or he's leaving it filthy on purpose on the hope of getting a woman who will take care of his house for him.
Personally, I couldn't possibly overlook it, but you must make your decision based on your own feelings.

MuckFusk · 17/08/2025 23:10

glittercunt · 17/08/2025 23:05

I massively ignored the red flags and am living with a man who was happy in a place as bad as you describe. I'm disabled and can't perform the cleaning tasks necessary... And he apparently can't compute when something needs doing.

I'm so sorry. That's terrible.

MoonWoman69 · 17/08/2025 23:12

🤮🤮🤮 That would be a no from me, no matter how compatible you are, the filth, the toilet and the black feet? God no! That sounds like years of grime, so his ex must have been a mucky bitch too. The loo alone doesn't happen overnight. And if they had 9 dogs, they obviously went noseblind to the smell!
Back out now!

Monty27 · 17/08/2025 23:14

It's not for you to fix this. I wouldn't be back in it

Gladysknightjustwalkinmyshoes · 17/08/2025 23:14

No way would I've put my head on a pillow in a house that state let alone anything else happening in the bedroom.🤢🤮