Help me inform my (long term) guest about her hair all over the bathroom

Hello everyone, I have a long term guest. She is leaving the bathroom a mess most mornings, the other common areas are fine. My pet peeve is hair, I really get nauseous seeing it other than on a person’s body, lol She leaves hair in the bathtub, sink, counter top, and on the floor. She also dirty’s the sink with make-up, but that’s minor to me, I could tolerate it. So, I would like suggestions on how to tell her about this. I have had many other long term guests, and have not had this problem. Most clean up after themselves, she does in the kitchen and other areas, so it’s kinda weird my only problem is the bathroom. Thanks in advance for your suggestions :slight_smile:

Have a talk with the guest. Say something like “Hey I know this is unusual but it really freaks me out to see other people’s loose hair in the bathroom. It would really help me if you could clean it up before you leave the bathroom.”

I have a Dustbuster and a Dyson cordless portable vac and either of those makes hair clean up simple. Just make sure the surfaces are dry. If might be worth it to buy her a Dustbuster for this purpose.

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@KKC has the perfect way for you to approach this. And I know that if something is a genuine phobia then it’s not something you can’t just shrug off, but in your role as a host, it’s really a good idea to try your best to overcome this.

There are some hosting problems that only happen once in a while but hair is almost always around.

Do you have a hand held? I find - and I know that this is weird - but by toning down your eyesight and going over surfaces first with a hand held Dirt Devil or similar, you can avoid a lot of unpleasantness. I have rubbish eyes so just don’t wear my glasses but when I had great vision I’d ‘impair’ my eyes by putting on dark sunglasses. It really does work :slight_smile:

It’s part of the deal. I find hair everywhere. Those with long hair standing at the sink and blow drying it will blast hair into the linen closet behind them. I triple check the bathtub, all around the bathroom floor and get under the beds with a vacuum and dust mop. I do regular preventive drain cleaner doses and especially after a group with long hair. Hair will happen!

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I agree with @KKC that you should just talk to her about it. She might just be oblivious.

See, here I disagree. I don’t have a hair phobia. I do have a problem with a dirty bathroom. And I shouldn’t have to clean up after someone on a daily basis. Ensure you have a large mirror in her room and let her blow out there.,

Thank you KKC, I will mention it maybe unusual and let her know she could use my cleaning supplies, or the large mirror in her bedroom as someone else suggested :relieved:

Exactly, cleaning up after an adult everyday is what I’m trying to avoid. I will mention using the long mirror in her room, that is a great idea. Thank you :wink:

That’s a very good idea. If it’s hair in the bathroom that’s the problem, then the host can install a large mirror with good lighting and add a hairdryer and a small shelf on which to place other hairdressing stuff - products and so on.

Then, during the house tour, point it out to the guest as the ‘grooming area’ or something like that. Make it into a feature of the room.

is there any danger she’ll query the cleaning fee, or isn’t there one?

Yeah its just something you get with females and you have to just clean it up. I think some cleaning up after people is expected on Airbnb. If you had a roommate, you could ask them to clean up after themselves but on Airbnb the housekeeping is on the host.

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In a shared home situation I expect a paying guest to do their share cleaning up after themselves. I don’t know what the OP’s rate is but when I did homeshare my rate didn’t include daily maid service.

Hm… I broke up with my long time boyfriend after I lived in his house for a year due to my hair on his bathroom floor he couldn’t tolerate. But he could tolerate his daughter’s. The thing is I brushed my hair in the morning when I went to work. I didn’t have time nor the will to mop the floor in my office clothes. This was ridiculous! I ended up brushing my hair at work and moving out shortly after the hair discussion.

The thing is many people lose a few hairs in the bathroom, on the floor or/and in the bathtub. That is normal. I, personally am careful to get all the hair from the bathtub when showering, but I can’t do that from the floor. I can’t even see them!

If you really can’t tolerate picking up any hair, perhaps you should get a cleaning lady to do this for you or just vacuum, like someone suggested here.

Yikes, sounds like the break-up was for the best :open_mouth:

The thing I don’t understand is how so much hair ends up on the floor. When I brush or comb my hair I catch it all on the brush or the comb. And then I carefully put it in a bin. Obviously I miss a few strands here and there but the vast majority is caught - brush, check brush, remove hair, dispose in bin. Repeat, repeat.
It’s quite simple.

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I’m suspecting in this situation, there is a big contrast between the color of the hair and the color of the floor that makes the hair much more noticeable.

@magwitch yes, the breakup was for the best, indeed. If i were still with him I wouldnt have bought a house and I wouldn’t be a host now :slight_smile:

My ex boyfriend had white tiles and the few hairs were eye sores for him. I usually didnt see them, but he had vulture eyes. In my home I have colored bath mats where I can’t see any hair whatsoever. I change those weekly. Problem solved.

A shared bathroom may include others, too. I ask guests to rinse the shower stall both before and after the fact to rinse any strays. Then a spray with bleach solution. Takes 2 minutes. And we have also managed to contain colds etc

I was taught to clean up after myself in the bathroom, and most of my guests do a great job.
But I swear, I’m going to start charging extra for Asian guests for the amount of hair left behind, and for some reason, you can’t wipe it up or vacuum!!!

Half in jest, as I’m sure I have my own peccadillos that annoy my guests, but seriously!

I know a lot of people have an aversion to hair, but it’s never bothered me at all- maybe because I’ve had long hair most of my life, and had 3 daughters, all of whom had long hair a lot of the time. And I’ve always been a shedder.
I think when you’re a home-share host and something a guest does just really bothers you, it’s important to mention it ASAP- if you go along letting it bother you, it just festers and it becomes more difficult to bring it up as the days go by. Being a little self-deprecating can be a way to approach it (or doing it with a bit of humor) “Hey, XX, you know how everyone seems to have something, no matter how weird, that creeps them out? Well, hair that’s not attached to someone’s body is my ‘creep-out’. Would you mind using this little vacuum (or whatever) to clean up your hair, since we’re sharing the bathroom? By the way, you’ve got such beautiful, thick hair- if I lost that much hair, I’d probably be bald by now.”

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