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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:
OnTheBoardwalk · 05/09/2025 21:51

I must admit during lockdown I was by myself and let some clutter slip as no visitors. I did snap myself out of it. My bathroom and kitchen were always clean though

to invite you over for the first, or anytime, to this filth is just wrong. It’s absolutely nothing to do with you and all about him. I dnt understand how he thinks this would be acceptable

Peanutbutterand · 06/09/2025 08:28

Its best that you step out of this one. There are underlying issues going on which if you go further into the relationship are going to surface.
I also suspect that if his property was given a deep a clean it would go back to how it was because of the root cause not being accounted for and with your OCD its going to be very stressful if you continue in the relationship.

SpecialMilkMonitor · 06/09/2025 11:29

The OP was last on this thread two and a half weeks ago

Curiossir · 09/09/2025 09:40

SpecialMilkMonitor · 06/09/2025 11:29

The OP was last on this thread two and a half weeks ago

doesn't mean she's not reading it

Bleachedlevis · 09/09/2025 15:55

Curiossir · 09/09/2025 09:40

doesn't mean she's not reading it

Maybe she is bored to death with all the holier-than-thou crap about OCD. These boring posters don’t realise that most people DO understand that diagnosed OCD is serious. What the yawn-inducing posters don’t understand is that when someone says ‘a bit OCD’ we know it’s a short cut to saying they are very tidy, very clean, a bit fussy etc. A poster LillyPJ put it succinctly.

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