Everyone has different levels of cleanliness.
Some people can go a day, or even a week, without vacuuming or wiping down surfaces, while others need to do both of those things multiple times a day.
Nor does everyone share the same mindset of using the same eating utensils or hand soap as others.
While plenty of people get nauseous at the very thought of where something has been.
Redditor Vast-Tomorrow6716 had a bowl in her home that was used for one specific purpose.
When she noticed her husband was using that bowl for a different purpose, the original poster (OP) made her displeasure known.
Wondering if she was out of line, the OP took to the subReddit “Am I The A**hole” (AITA), where she asked fellow Redditors:
“AITA- doubling meat defrosting bowl as bowl for cleaning dirty mop pads?”
The OP explained why she was horrified at how her husband was using a certain bowl:
“AITA for starting a fight about using items for specific purposes.”
“For context, I hate with a passion anything to do with defrosting meat/raw meat.”
“We (33 F[emale] and 32 M[ale]) have a large bowl whose only purpose is for defrosting meat.”
“We put frozen meat into the bowl and let it defrost in the sink.”
“When I came home last night, my husband was using this bowl for cleaning our robot vacuum’s dirty mop pads.”
“Obviously there was a fight as he claims we’re going to wash the bowl and it can be used for both purposes and I don’t think it’s sanitary to use the bowl for both purposes.”
“We have buckets for mopping/cleaning that he could of used instead.”
“AITA?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation, by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
The Reddit community was largely in agreement that the OP was not the a**Hole for yelling at her husband.
There were a few who felt that the OP overreacted, as the bowl could have easily been cleaned after the husband used it:
“YTA.”
“People use the popcorn bowl as a puke bowl.”
“They wash it between uses and its just fine.”
” What do you do with your hands if you accidentally touch something like poop or if you touch vomit?”
“Soap and water is what you usually use for that.”- Myrkana
Just about everyone else, however, sympathized with the OP, understanding why she would want to keep anything used for food separate from anything used for cleaning:
“As a meat cutter NTA.”
“In the meat department we would NEVER use even a rag for cleaning the floor on a table if it was clean.”
“There are 2 different colors of rags so this never happens.”
“Additionally; I hope you are running water when you defrost the meat to keep bacteria from growing.”
“Sitting it in a bowl of stagnant water is not safe.”
“Always run the water, and run it cold.”- unfoldingtourmaline
“NTA.”
“I think it’s sensible to keep food related equipment separate from cleaning equipment.”
“Don’t use food tongs to fish something out of the toilet even if you’re going to clean it after.”
“Don’t use the sick bowl for salad.”
“Don’t scrub cap poo out of the carpet with a sponge you later wipe down your counter tops no matter how much you bleached it.”
“Keep these things separate so that people feel safe to eat.”- Key-Twist596
“NTA.”
“Food and cleaning solutions should always be separate.”- Idcwhoknows
“NTA.”
“I have relatively low standards of cleanliness compared to my wife and even I take the line of utensils for food and drink are strictly just for that.”
“And growing up in an Asian household, for anyone foolish enough to do what your hubby did, all we can say is ‘nice knowing you’ after the wife/mum/MIL sees what he has done :D.”-Zealousideal_Bag7104
“NTA, food tools (especially for raw meat) should be kept away from harsh cleaning chemicals and tools.”
“Like maybe it’ll be fine, but if you already have separate buckets, why risk the cross contamination?”- beestardoll
“NTA.”
“I’m sorta holding my phone at a distance while I type this, as if I can get myself further from a mop bowl being used to defrost meat.”
“Cause you got yourself a mop bowl now.”
“It used to be a bowl for defrosting meat.”- Alzaetia
“NTA.”
“Why on earth would you mix cleaning and kitchen supplies.”
“There isn’t some bucket shortage going around.”
“Just use a separate bucket for cleaning.”- Muppet_Fitzgerald
“You’re gonna get different answers here, but for me NTA, cleaning supplies do not cross over to food supplies, he should’ve used the mop bucket.”
“If you dropped your toothbrush in the toilet, would you rinse it off and still use it?”
“Ir is that “too far”?”
“I don’t quite understand, someone said they have a bowl that’s literally been in mud&sh*t outside and they use it for food, since it’s ‘fine’ now because they’ve cleaned it but does that not put you off?”- _keystitches
“NTA.”
“Everyone having different cleanliness standards is the reason I don’t eat or participate at the potluck.”- Guilty_Feedback_7266
“NTA.”
“These people saying you can just wash it, can go eat their dinner out of a mop bucket.”-MauiValleyGirl
“Yeah….that’s gross.”
“NTA.”- monkey_trumpets
“NTA.”
“If that was my bowl, it will be forever used for washing rags.”- kay_dee_ss
“NTA.”
“Even if it can be cleaned well, I tend to keep cleaning items and cooking items separate.”
“Especially if it’s plastic.”- Guilty-Company-9755
“It’s a plastic bowl, sturdy.”
“NTA.”
“I wouldn’t use my plastic cleaning buckets for food, not to mention to defrost meat for who knows how much time.”
“One time I bought homemade bread from someone, and it tasted like soap.”
“Turned out she had used a washing basin to prepare the dough.”- BeautifulIncrease734
“NTA.”
“I once watched my dad use a soup ladle to fix the sewer/septic line plumbing, literally scoop poopy toilet paper and hair stuck in the pipe, then use said ladle at dinner the next day because it’s metal and he thought it would be fine after washing it.”
“I could not look at that ladle the same way afterwards, refuse to eat anything that has touched it, and am still traumatized about it to this day.”- 1percentsamoyedmama
“NTA.”
“OP clarified in comments that bowl is plastic and was washed with just soap/water.”
“You cannot fully sterilize plastic.”
“I do not want chemicals in my meat nor do I want raw meat germs in my mop pads cleaning the floor.”- notretiredanymore
“NTA.”
“This is whack, lol.”
“He couldn’t find a bucket?”
“I’m not using the bowl I season meat in to soak towels or the mop heads.”
“Smh!”- dbtl87
“NTA.”
“Even if it’s perfectly hygienic after cleaning, it still feels wrong and gross.”- Kimikohiei
“NTA.”
“I’m with you on this.”
“It would upset me too.”
“I can’t handle seeing someone use an eating utensil for anything other than food.”
“For instance, my sister came over last summer and saw I had a bag of grass seed (the kind coated with chemicals to make them grow faster or something), and took out my big plastic tea pitcher to put the seed in and scatter in the back yard.”
“She thought she was being helpful, but when I looked out and saw what she was doing, I knew that was the end of my tea pitcher.”
“I wrote in magic marker on it ‘Garden Use Only’ and put it out in the shed in case I ever wanted a big tea pitcher to use for gardening.”- Jazz2026
“Why is he using a bowl for mop pads instead of a bucket…and.”
“Why are you defrosting meat in a bowl instead of just leaving it in the fridge overnight.”
“NTA though.”
“Even if washing I wouldn’t put food anywhere near a bucket used for cleaning mops.”- xicor
“NTA.”
“I agree with you, it just feels wrong.”- DryUnderstanding1752
“So putting on the chemist hat here.”
“It depends on the material that the bowl is made of and what chemicals in the robot mop.”
“If it is a plastic bowl than NTA.”
“There is a risk of chemicals leaching into the bowl and back out again as it is used and it could be permanently unsafe.”
“If it is a glass bowl, it just comes down to personal preference.”- Tiamont42
The OP later returned, taking the time to thank those who took the time to comment, and admitting that she possibly overreacted:
“Thank you all for putting things into perspective. I decided this isn’t even worthy of a fight after discovering how many people have a multipurpose ‘vomit bowl’.”
“Ew.”
It’s easy to understand that the OP would have a gut reaction after seeing how her husband used a bowl that she had been using for food.
However, there is also a reason soap was invented, and getting the bowl clean wasn’t going to be as difficult as she was making it out to be.
Even many, no doubt, sympathize with her being less than eager to use that bowl to defrost meat again.