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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

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Original poster

Things that annoy you about other people's housekeeping

226 replies

chumbler · 16/02/2016 16:38

Recently stayed with a friend, in the week we were there the hand towel in kitchen wasn't washed, there's no hand towel in the bathroom (just their body towels???) They ran out of handwash for about 4 days in the bathroom do had to keep washing my hands downstairs and ran out of loo roll!!!

Now obviously these things never happen in my home and I am vigilant about it (wash hand towel everyday, hand towels, soap and loo roll always available). But I wondered if I do anything that could potentially annoy guests? What bugs you when you stay with others?

OP posts:

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeG0es · 16/02/2016 16:50

Most of mine could be covered by one word - smells. Air fresheners, scented candles, bed linen reeking of fabric conditioner, use of bleach.

Apart from that, not having a bin in the bathroom or bedroom, freezing cold floors and a shoes off rule, no loo brush. Hosts that leap up and whisk your cup away the minute you finish your drink. None of these are major problems though.

capsium · 16/02/2016 16:56

Oh dear, we keep a big towel in the main bathroom. Except we don't use it to dry bodies, we each use our own towel for baths/showers which tend to stay slung over the banister until they need washing. Hand towel in the toilet, but you wouldn't know if I'd changed it as I've got more than one of the same kind.

What I hate is 'balcony hands' which are used to open ovens, grill, turn on taps etc. I want to shout wash your hands! And might have actually made some comment such as 'Ooh, I'll run some hot water for you' when my DC were small.

capsium · 16/02/2016 16:57

Bacony not balcony! Autocorrect.

JolseBaby · 16/02/2016 16:59

Over-use of antibacterial products and very highly scented cleaning products. Sloppy food hygiene - anyone who has ever had food poisoning knows how bloody awful it is! Badly behaved pets.

I use antibac very sparingly. I try and avoid scented cleaning products because of the formaldehyde issues. I am careful with things like raw meat because I have had food poisoning before. I have two dogs and whilst they aren't Crufts-level obedience trained(!), they don't jump up or beg for food.

gandalf456 · 16/02/2016 17:05

Disclaimer- it's up to people what they do in their own home but things I wouldn't do are:

Overfill the bin so there's rubbish all around it
Have mouldy out of date food in the fridge
Dirty hand towels (though I don't necessarily see them as needing a daily change)
Not being stricter with children over handwashing after the toilet and flushing
Being overly clean - I don't mind people telling my children to get their shoes off but I'd never ask an adult (I find it rude as I am not likely, at 45 to trail mud or dog shit through anyone's house)
Being scatty and disorganised - i.e. if lunch is at 12, make it thereabouts or the kids'll be moaning
Letting kids run riot and make loads of noise, break things etc. Mine come home expecting to do it in our house afterwards
Not telling us not to come or pre-warning us if anyone in the house has been ill

gandalf456 · 16/02/2016 17:06

I did wonder if balcony hands was a thing :)

shutupandshop · 16/02/2016 17:06

I was going to say nothing but yep its grim to run out of hand soap and toilet roll.

gandalf456 · 16/02/2016 17:08

And embarrassing if you've done a number 2 :lol:

Onlytimewilltell · 16/02/2016 18:17

Don't really stay over but this could apply to just visiting for the day - the same about just having bath towels in the bathroom, no visible hand towels.

No obvious bin in the kitchen, possibly one in a built in cupboard but you can't go looking in the cupboards.
No kitchen hand towel just tea towels - do some people dry their hands on tea towels?
A too cold house.

TV blaring in the background with nobody watching it.

Too many cushions on the sofa so you are perched on the edge of the seat or faced with moving about 5 cushions which looks a bit rude.
Offering really crumbly biscuits like chocolate hobnobs on a plate but not offering a plate to eat them on so I'm picking crumbs off my lap and their clean sofa

capsium · 16/02/2016 18:32

We have lots of tea towels on a drying rack. We do use them to dry hands but those ones are on the far left. Only ones, clean from the wash, on the far right of the rack, are used to dry dishes (once) and then either put in the wash or 'demoted' to the far left, for hand drying purposes. Simple, if you are looking at the rack but maybe not to explain.

So I do have a system. There are no dishes which are dried by an old damp festering tea towel, which I hate.

capsium · 16/02/2016 18:38

I'm coming to the conclusion my ways might appear super slovenly, if you don't know my systems...

Hey ho, it's mainly teenagers and my parents that visit and they're usually no more hygienic!

TooMuchRain · 16/02/2016 18:47

No obvious hand towel in the bathroom is awkward. Otherwise can't think of anything that has come up when visiting people. My only bug bears are less about house-keeping and more about making visitors feel welcome eg leaving TV on, not offering a tea etc

SnozzberryWibble · 16/02/2016 18:50

I don't care if someone's house is a mess but I do judge filthy bathrooms and kitchens...

Nothing worse than going to the loo, turning round to wash your hands and the tap is all stained, toothpaste blobs on the sink, old cracked bar of soap with pubes on, and a damp hand towel that's been there god knows how long...

Really dirty kitchens make me not want to eat or drink there too. I don't mind if there are dirty dishes piling up or counters having a few crumbs on from the previous meal, but the counters should not have a sticky crumby layer that has oviously been there more than one day.

dodobookends · 16/02/2016 18:56

A stone cold house in winter. Leather sofas are the pits to sit on when they're stiff with the chill, you end up frozen to the bone.

Yappy dogs that won't leave you alone and keep wanting to jump onto your lap and lick your face. Just NO.

Asking if you'd like a cuppa, and then just making you one and not themselves - and standing there watching you drink it.

clearsommespace · 16/02/2016 19:07

Dodo, I don't drink tea and my tea drinking close friends always say 'shall I put the kettle on' if I haven't made them a cuppa within 10 mins of arrival.
Yes to no hand towels in kitchen and toilet.

ijustwannadance · 16/02/2016 19:11

I don't have a special kitchen hand towel. That's what our tea towels are for. But then I use kitchen roll if I need to wipe or dry something.

museumum · 16/02/2016 19:14

We don't have hand towels in the bathroom. Residents use their body towels and guests use downstairs loo.

We dry hands in the kitchen in the tea towels which we also use as oven gloves. We don't dry dishes on towels (dishwasher then air dry).

TheToys · 16/02/2016 19:23

Another one here who dries her hands on a tea towel in the kitchen. That is pretty much the sole use of our tea towels, as we have a dish washer, so never wash up in the sink (bar the very occasional oversized pot).

My bugbears are:

No bin in toilet

No obvious hand or guest towel in bathroom

Use of "oversheets" under duvets already in duvet covers (wtf is that all about -one of my ex boyfriends did this and I nearly strangled him with the bunched up buggery sheet in the middle of the night)

Very dirty kitchen and/or bathroom (other rooms are not quite so crucial for hygiene, unless there are lots on incontinent animals around)

Manky old looking dishes, cutlery and/or glasses

Only small cups for tea/coffee (I like a decent sized mug)

Ed1tY0urPr0f1le · 16/02/2016 19:27

No lock on toilet/bathroom doors.

I do understand if there are small children liable to lock themselves in but I hate sitting anxiously on the toilet ready to shout "I'm in here!" if someone starts to turn the handle! Put a bolt at the top of the door, please (someone will be along ver shortly to tell me twenty valid reasons as to why this can't be done, I am sure!)

In-laws don't have a hand towel and I stand there staring at their two body towels on the radiator and trying to guess which bits have not been all round fils arse! I usually end up drying my hands on my trousers!

RoseValleyRambles · 16/02/2016 19:28

Impenetrable bin systems that leave you with no idea of which is recycling vs rubbish vs treasured flora tubs for later use... I hate not knowing where to put my Kleenex :)

RudeElf · 16/02/2016 19:33

Oh my friend doesnt actually own soap in her house. There is no soap and no towel in the bathroom. There is rarely toilet roll! I always have to shout down and ask if she has any.

Obs2016 · 16/02/2016 19:34

Blimey. You lot are so fussy. I don't think I do any of the things mentioned. But I'm shocked you object to so much.
Why don't you do us all a favour and just stay home!!

plantsitter · 16/02/2016 19:38

I hate these threads!! I'm never inviting anyone over again!! (Apart from my one friend who always says 'I find your messy house V reassuring').

roundtable · 16/02/2016 19:52

Jeepers creepers, I couldn't imagine staying at someone's house and walking out with the list of complaints from this thread. And I've stayed with some messy people.

Someone's home isn't a hotel, and there's usually a hotel nearby if their house is not to your liking.

SnozzberryWibble · 16/02/2016 21:35

Forgot the worst one... Cats on kitchen surfaces - euuuuurrrrrrgh.

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