Guests feel bad for not washing dishes

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So part of my house rules is to leave dirty dishes in the sink or above the dishwasher, I’m having issues with guests feeling bad that I “have to clean up after them”. I keep telling them that “no, I don’t mind and I prefer they just leave them.” It’s due to a couple things, I prefer the dishes when I clean as we share a space, not all of the dishes are dishwasher friendly and when they are rinsed the soap actually etches the dishes so it’s better they do go in scrapped off dirty.

How do I get through to them that I’m okay with this and they should be too since they agreed to it? How do I avoid this conflict in the future?

2

Explain it exactly as you did above :slight_smile:

2 Likes
3

I hate it when guests handwash dishes, many times I’ve asked people to use the dishwasher, but for some reason they sometimes feel weird about having me put their dishes away after the cycle runs? Why, they’re MY dishes! Silverware and coffee mugs are my biggest pet peeve, no one gets them as clean as the dishwasher does.

4

I just let my guests wash up. If it’s not up to my standards then I redo them. It’s no biggie.

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@melmo, I’d suggest that you (a) provide inexpensive plates that can survive the dishwasher and (b) make paper plates available.

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I ask guests to do two things: take out the garbage and put the dishes in the dishwasher. One condo I have doesn’t have a dishwasher. I expect guests to wash the dishes there. I mean leaving a trash bin full and dirty dishes in the sink is gross. It seems like common courtesy to me. Especially if they aren’t sure when the housekeeper is coming. I mean-- roaches anyone.
A lot of us are doing this ourselves, trying to make some extra dough. We don’t have large staffs. Why would a guest not think about that a little bit and leave things somewhat sanitary. I’m not asking for stripping the bed or vacuuming. But your half eaten food left-- come on.

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You have to spell it out. I say in my house rules,

You must remove your trash from the property, that means take it with you. Don’t leave it in my carport. Take it with you.

I’ve had clueless guests stuff trash in my recycle bins. I had been out of the country and foolishly trusted this guest, so all the trash that was left turned into maggot central as animals had strewn it everywhere… You can bet that, along with some other really bad behavior, got them a bad review.