Things that annoy you about other people's housekeeping

[chumbler]

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?

Never having a hand towel in the main bathroom, and just a plethora of 'in-use' bath towels belonging to my ILs instead. After using the loo, I don't want to wipe my hands on a towel FIL or MIL wipe his body on... Bleurgh!

Washing up glasses by just dunking them in overly soapy water, as opposed to actually washing them, especially the rims, with a sponge AND not rinsing before wiping them dry. Carrying the tea towel you're using to dry the dishes with on your shoulder in between dishes and playing with your hair all the time.

Having a cream kitchen sink that is constantly stained from tea etc and taps with permanent limescale all round them.

Keeping the food waste bin on the counter next to the kitchen sink with the lid ALWAYS open, even in the height of summer and with flies everywhere. It gets emptied outside daily, but even so....

All IL ones.

Unfortunately there is a house I can't really avoid visiting and it's so filthy it makes me want to cry. Never any soap in the loo, or kitchen, cat walking all over the kitchen surfaces and dinning table. Litter tray full to the brim of cat shit. Towels black and grubby. Just gross, gross, gross.

Doggy smell

Brown tea stains on cups and tea spoons

Dirty laundry all over bathroom floor

My DH is from a culture where inside and outside are completely separate. No shoes in houses, schools, changing rooms in shops (I was once told off!). A lot of people are sensitive to this and take their shoes off without asking (we have warm carpets). But it's hard when people don't and I'm torn between potentially offending a guest and potentially offending my DH. What should I do in that situation?

Wow. I can't believe people get offended when asked to remove their shoes in others homes. I often go sockless with ballets etc but I take a pair of socks in my bag if I'm going visiting. It seems ruder to me to leave shoes on! A quick mop of the floor after you leave won't work on carpet and with a toddler who is playing on it all day I'd be seriously offended if a guest was peeved at being asked to take them off. Surely its common courtesy?

YouSaff totally agree. It makes me nervous inviting anyone round as it is knowing how bitchy woman can be behind your back, even ones you call friends. What is the world coming too. We are all different. I would describe myself as having high standards, but seriously don't get some peoples anxiety about drying your clean hands on a towel you dry clean dishes with, aren't there more important things to worry about. As long as they're changed a few times a week, most of us use a dishwasher anyway. People who wash everything after one wear or use are killing the environment. God forbid if they had to live in the olden days.

Honestly, I wouldn't have noticed if the kitchen towels weren't changed everyday (I don't change mine everyday anyway). I just don't keep tabs on the HW when I'm not in my own house!!!

I would have noticed no hand towel in the bathroom but would have assumed you are supposed to use body towel. I can't see an issue with that either.

Hand wash is more of an issue but then if they were with you all the time, ensuring you have a nice time, they might not have had time to go shopping anyway.

Loo roll I'm very careful about but then again it has happened that we run out (or nearly run out). I'm assuming you mean running out in the house btw, not in that particular loo.

I would have issue with mouldy plates left on the table or in the bedrooms. Or mouldy foods on the table (let's say mouldy bread for example).

Host's who believe that everyone else shares their teeny tiny appetite .

Really cold houses that feel damp , but only if the person can afford to heat it and is just too bloody tight to bother .

Artificial air fresheners.

Houses that are so hermetically sealed clean that you feel guilty for exhaling .

I'm impervious to most dirt etc but the one thing I cannot cope with is being offered a hot drink in a manky stained mug. And I have friends with immaculate houses but the most godawful grim mugs with the stains of about 100 tea bags in them - it's really weird.

Yes frumpet! Or assume cos your slim you don't eat much.

I agree too with some PP.

These threads makes me very uneasy to have anyone around. It's the bitchyness but also the difference in standard and the sort of 'oh I'm better than you. I change my kitchen towels everyday/have rose scented smell in the toilet/buy a new set of towels for every guest' type of comments.

If you are so attached to having certain standards of cleanliness then I suggest you stay at home or with people you know have a similar approach.
Otherwise, I'm sorry but it feels stifling and judgemental.

Maybe this is because I've lived overseas where people really don't have a lot of money and hygiene has a totally different meaning (ie not changing a kitchen towel everyday but just being happy to have access to drinking water). This all feels way way way over the top (and a real indulgence tbh).

ely1 I love your housekeeping standards, I wish everyone had them.

DH and I went out to a pub for a meal one evening, after ordering, I visited the toilets and the waitress who served us was there too and she did not wash her hands.

When I told DH, we left immediately and told the manager why.

Blimey, I shall now not invite anyone around my house ever as I don't have hand towels in the kitchen, just tea towels... Don't have a separate hand towel in the bathroom/loo, not sure how often said towels are washed, and also my children do run around jumping on furniture and (quite possibly) breaking things.....

All this judgey-pants is quite sad. I've actually lost touch with an old friend who was quite a good friend as her standards of hygiene and well-behaved children as SO much higher than mine I feel too embarassed to invite her to my house and don't dare take my crumb-generating children to hers....

Im ocd but im not bothered about my friends housekeeping habits or my sisters way i figure im there to see them not their house. Dont care if im not offered tea illask for one politely or ask where everything is make my own im easy to please.

I dont like to share handtowels after using toilet it really gets my mind on germs i csbt do it. In my own house if my towel is on heated rack.ill use it otherwise elbows to open doors have tissue roll dispenser on kitchen wall clinical type lol. kids use that especially after snacks theyll wash choc or curry hands do a poor job wipe on.my towels no ta, tissues better for them

No one is allowed to use my tea towels for drying their hands except if they have washed hands and are doing a cooking session, i know u need to wadh hands a lot in between washing veg or meat or fish. But aftte eating or toilet no way, and ive seen ppl doing it at their house makes me want to gag.

I dontike bins at all especially in bedrooms or toilets but this house is big and kitchen far husband begged so i gave in.but i really cringe emptying them specially bathroom ones and in laws one full of phlegm always. He really should empty them but id be nagging till.im dead wont happen

No lock on bathroom doors very norm in usa homes. When i was a foreign exchange student host familu had gorg home but when i went for shower no lock. I mamaged to find something to wedge between handle, no way id have showr with open door or use toilet, i wonder if kids walk in on dad on loo or mum in shower id be traumatised for life lol

Hmmm this thread really would make you parniod about having people in your house. I can honestly say the only time I've been judgey-pants about other people's housekeeping was a couple who invited us for dinner and then put each and every plate and bowl down for the dog to lick clean.

He also drinks directly out of the bottle of juice/fizzy drink/juice and then offers a glass of it to others.

I really don't think I'd notice frequency of hand towel changing (though there not being one I'd spot - not happened though)

You are not OCD katarzyna.

My bags NEVER go on the floor!

My cat does walk on the surfaces (I've tried and am still trying to stop the little sod) but because I know this I clean and anti bac the surfaces before prepping food/drinks. It's a bind, but only option until the cat learns.

The last place I stayed - had to take shoes off, which is absolutely fine, except when the floor is dirtier than the outdoors. My socks were proper disgusting within 5 minutes.

Bathroom - no hand towel, only damp bath towels and the sink was something to behold.

Bedroom - floor was covered in balls of rolled up hair. The bedding had clearly not been changed from whoever last slept there - that was also covered in someone's long hair, and lots of it.

To be invited to stay somewhere and there be absolutely no consideration or effort to make it even marginally clean or be too downright lazy to run the vacuum over the floor whatsoever is downright bloody rude and insulting.

Unfortunately I can't easily get out of staying there in future, simply because to tell them the truth would cause too much offence and therefore would become an issue. I will be taking antibacterial wipes and something to sleep on in future, however. And plenty of socks.

And I shall be my usual polite, friendly, considerate and 'pitching in' self. I just wish that I could have free reign to clean the joint whilst I'm there - I'd happily do it but they would be offended (which means they'd notice it, so they do know) and I'm not willing to insult them. But it's disgusting to smell someone else's body hair when try to get to sleep. Ugh.

My house is no show home, but if I know guests are visiting whether for one hour or one week I always make sure there is a fresh hand towel out, downstairs and upstairs, bathrooms an extra clean, there is always handwash and toilet roll in both toilets and handwash by the kitchen sink. Also there is always a fresh pot of tea /coffee ready, with the option of biscuits / fruit. I love being a host to people.
What people probably don't like at my house is either standing on a kids toy ( I have a toddler who lives duplo at the minute) or having my toddler asking them to sing "five little monkeys jumping on the bed"

"wtf wouldn't you take your shoes off in someone's home? And why would you be offended if asked? Really? hmm"

I used to hate it, though I don't wear shoes in my own home now or like others to, though I will allow it.
Reasons why I didn't like it included being cold as others have mentioned, if the floors are tiles or marble or something you'd have very cold feet. Being embarrassed - I don't consider myself fully dressed with shoes off so having to take them off is a bit like having to take of a layer of clothing. I have quite a few socks with holes in them. I've gotten better at this, but when I considered socks to be things that nobody saw I wasn't bothered about the state of them, UNTIL I was told to take my shoes off in public.

"Too cold house"

Oh yes, this is awful. Don't have guests if you're too mean to put the heating on for an hour or two.

"I have'nt got a kitchen bin, use a bag for recycling and general rubbish"

Me too. The bags go in a cupboard and I have no space for a bin. I explain this to any guests staying more than a couple of hours though so they know where to put rubbish.

"Don't have a separate hand towel in the bathroom/loo"

If someone stays over they get their own towel so no problem, but if you have people visiting for a few hours, I suppose they need a hand towel otherwise they'd be drying their hands on towels that have been over your body, which is not very nice. I don't have a guest towel permanently in there, it's something I have to remember if I have people over.

I grew up in a no shoes house and I feel wrong keeping shoes on. We never had shoes on our upstairs carpet and when we moved house people could not believe how old the carpets were! To my mind it's a way of keeping floors cleaner and less work for me (when juggling work children etc means time is at a premium). But I know if you've not grown up this way people think it's odd. Differing views and one that people can never understand from the other view point!

"I grew up in a no shoes house and I feel wrong keeping shoes on. "

I was expressly NOT ALLOWED to take my shoes off at my grandparents. It was cleaner than our own house, but my grandad was still worried there would be something sharp on the floor that could hurt our feet. When I was growing up, shoes off was for posh people or Scandinavians.

As I explained above, I've changed my attitude quite a bit, but still have flashbacks to how I would sometimes feel uncomfortable having to expose my socked feet.