Cleaning up after someone's 'intimate encounter' with a partner is not something everyone is comfortable doing.
If it's a person's job, like a hotel maid, that's one thing,
But cleaning up after family and friends can give a person that 'ick' feel.
There are just some chores people might need to do themselves.
Redditor Remote_Tangerine_718 wanted to discuss their experience and get some feedback, so naturally, they came to the "Am I The A**hole" (AITA) subreddit.
They asked:
"AITA Mom mad because I don't wanna clean her dirty sex sheets?"
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
"My mom travels for work and is often away for months at a time."
"When she does come home, she usually flies in late, so she likes her room to be clean and her bed freshly washed and made."
"I'm happy to oblige because she's letting me live at home for free while I save up for my own place, and it's a simple request to just want the house clean."
"Plus, she's my mom."
"She's been dating this guy and has him over sometimes when she's in town."
"The last time she was here was Thanksgiving, and this guy spent the night at our place."
"I know that he and my mom had intimate relations because I could hear it from my room."
"Yes, gross… but she's an adult, and I'm living at her house."
"So, it is what it is."
"Anyways, she leaves to go back to work the next day without cleaning her room/sheets."
"And now, she'll be coming home next week for the holidays."
"I told her that I didn't feel comfortable cleaning her dirty sheets because I don't want to touch dirty sheets."
"She got pissed off and was saying that it's not a big deal, as housekeepers in hotels clean dirty sheets all the time."
"But I stood ten toes down that I'm not touching those sheets even with gloves."
"She's still pissed but said she'll do it herself, but I don't understand how she doesn't understand that I actually feel offended that she'd expect me to handle those sheets in the first place."
The OP was left to wonder:
"AITA?"
Redditors shared their thoughts on this matter and weighed in on some options to the question:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You're The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Redditors declared that OP was NOT the A**hole.
"NTA, she could have stripped the bed and put them in the washer before she left." ~ Physical_Dance_9606
"Right... ask to move them to the dryer and make the bed if you don't have time, but it takes two minutes to strip a bed and start the laundry." ~ mrsthibeault
"NTA, anyone else who disagrees is weird. It doesn't make op immature/lazy for not wanting to be around her mother's fluids."
"Also, OP does do the laundry as she stated in her post."
"She just doesn't want to wash these sheets from her mother's sexual activities." ~ BookkeeperWorking875
"Yeah op is fine cleaning, and it's a very healthy boundary not to want to touch your parents' sex blanket. NTA." ~ i_was_a_person_once
"This. Why would OP's mother want her own child to touch her sex sheets? Ew..."
"My father has had a VERY active sex life, and while he may say a bit too much at times, he would never, EVER want me touching his sheets unless they are fresh out of the wash... and even then it's a very rare request."
"It was never a boundary that needed to be established; it was just always there."
"Once you come out into the world, you are done dealing with your parents' sex life."
"No more of that." ~ Lower-Elk8395
"NTA, 'I'm not a housekeeper, I'm your child.'"
"To be clear, I think general cleaning is a reasonable ask given her letting of live there."
"But not going into another person's bedroom is a hill I will die on."
"I will not clean someone else's room."
"At most, I'd open the door and put the Roomba in there." ~ First_Departure8072
"NTA, all the Americans in the comments are honestly so weird, acting like parents are doing charity for their children if they still live with them past a certain age."
"You decide to have a kid, you sign up for supporting them for a lifetime, even though the kind of support you do will likely change throughout their lifetime, it doesn't stop when the child reaches adulthood."
"You apparently do enough housekeeping that she feels comfortable comparing you to an actual housekeeper (presumably including washing her sheets if they're not dirty with sexual fluids), and from another comment, you do pay for several things."
"It literally takes a few moments to take off dirty sheets."
"She's a grown woman; she can do that herself." ~ sleepyggukie
"NTA, that's just gross."
"As a mother living with an adult child, I would never ask him or her to do that."
"I also wouldn't do it for him." ~ DueRaccoon4897
"NTA. It wouldn't have been difficult for her to throw them in the washer before she left and then ask you to dry them and remake her bed while she was gone."
"She's treating you like a housekeeper, not her child."
"There's no respect there." ~j en_esse
"NTA - you are not a housekeeper, and I see below that you said you pay many bills in the house."
"She can strip her own bed and throw the sheets in the wash before she leaves town (not a big deal for you to throw them in the dryer once they are clean and leave them on her bed for her) or wash her sheets when she gets home."
"I've never lived with any roommates or family that expected me to change and wash their sheets."
"It's a weird ask in the first place to ask someone else to clean your bedroom." ~ Aggravating_Onion_52
"NTA, her room should be her responsibility, and if she wants a clean room when she gets home, she can clean it before she goes." ~ Silent-Appearance-78
"NTA, and anyone saying yta is welcome to wash their own parent's cummy sheets."
"That's nasty AF."
"It's mental to ask anyone to clean that, outside of the person who helped you get them dirty."
"And you ain't a housekeeper, you're her child, no matter how old!!!" ~ HoodieGalore
"As someone who works in healthcare, this IS gross."
"The mom could easily strip the bed, put the laundry in the washer and start it, and I'm certain OP would not mind making the bed with the clean sheets."
"There is a HUGE difference between cleaning up after your child and cleaning up after another grown adult, and I say that as someone who does for work." ~ wisewolfholo14
"Right? I swear some of these commenters are actual children who don't understand that bodily fluids smell and get gross."
"I had to clean restrooms at an old job for about two weeks once, after the cleaner quit and the company was waiting on a new one."
"People are f*cking disgusting, and you could not pay me enough to clean up after them."
"I was on the verge of throwing up sometimes."
"Your mom can clean her own nasty bedsheets, OP. NTA." ~ hiddenone0326
"Completely reasonable to expect Mom to remove the semen/saliva/secretion/lubricant-laden sheets and throw them in the washing machine while she's off to her next shag."
"After that reasonable for you to do the rest."
"Be sure and do a hot wash with bleach. NTA." ~ Waste_Worker6122
"Yeah, Mom should have pulled those off and thrown them in the laundry room at the very least!"
"That's pretty f**king rude and entitled to ask you to change dirty sex sheets!"
"When I go to visit my mom, and if my husband and I do the thing, I always insist on stripping the bed and throwing them in the washing machine."
"I know she doesn't mind and understands married things, but it gives me the ick to think of someone else touching it."
A hotel is different because you're paying somebody to deal with your gross sheets and towels."
"They already know what they need to avoid and how to deal with the biological items." ~ lissabeth777
"NTA, you're allowed to have boundaries even when still living with parents."
"If she wants you to continue, she can put her sheets and bedding into the washer, and you can take it from there."
"The difference between this and housekeeping is that you aren't cleaning up after your own mom (extra ick factor), and you know what you're signing up for as a housekeeper."
"Shes just doing a favor for her mom."
"Was this a stipulation for you staying, or is it just something you decided you would do to thank your mom?"
"It sounds like you did this cuz you know she likes the fresh cleaning bedding, and you felt you could do this to show you appreciate her."
"It really doesn't mean you have to do something that makes you uncomfortable."
"I do think the best solution is that she handles the dirty bedding from now on, you can start the washer, dry them, and put them back."
"It isn't unreasonable to want to touch sheets with your mom's and boyfriend's fluids on them.
"That grosses me out, too." ~ Exoquey
"NTA. It is totally reasonable after someone has sex that they take their own sheets off and put them in the wash."
I imagine you wouldn't have an issue with then making the bed thereafter; she could just leave it stripped." ~ YoshiJoshi_
Reddit is with you, OP.
Some chores just cross a line.
You're keeping everything else clean and taking care of the house.
This isn't that big of an ask on your part.
Good Luck.
















New Mom Irate After Father-In-Law Ruins Her Birthday With 'Vulgar' Comment About Her Breasts
There's nothing quite like the feeling of going through all the work to prepare a fun celebration, just for someone to undo it with an unkind or gross comment.
That feeling just gets worse when it's your birthday, and that comment was made by someone who's supposed to care about you, sympathized the members of the "Am I Overreacting?" (AIO) subReddit.
Redditor Rude-Pepper-2389 had recently given birth and decided to have a special birthday celebration to reconnect with her loved ones after becoming a mom.
When her father-in-law stopped by unexpectedly and then made comments about her body, the Original Poster (OP) was left so uncomfortable that it ruined the whole celebration for her.
She asked the sub:
The OP wanted to have a special birthday celebration after her baby was born.
"I currently have a five-month-old and haven’t really been taking care of myself or dressing up since having the baby."
"It’s my (25 Female) birthday, and we were having friends over at our house for a private dinner to celebrate."
"My husband (24 Male) and I have been together since we were 18."
"I decided to put on this new silk shirt I got, which, admittedly, was low-cut, but I felt cute in it and felt comfortable around the friends we were having over."
Everything was fine until the OP's father-in-law (FIL) stopped by unexpectedly.
"My husband's dad decided to stop by on his way home from work."
"I will say, he was likely drunk. He works two hours away and proudly told my husband he's down to only four beers on his drive home each day... so, that's healthy."
"When he came in, I was on the couch with my baby propped up beside me, bottle feeding him. Keep in mind, I am not breastfeeding, so no, my breasts are not any larger right now."
"My husband's dad leaned down to look at the baby and then suddenly shouted, 'D**n, son, she could knock you out with those things in bed! Like cracking two coconuts together.'"
"This was fully and undoubtedly in reference to my breasts."
The OP was shocked by the comment and very uncomfortable.
"It made me deeply uncomfortable and embarrassed."
"I was so stunned, I couldn’t even process what he said to me, and our friends just stared at me, blinking."
"He’s a redneck, so he's said some pretty vulgar stuff over the years, but this just seems to take the cake, as it was the first time it was directed at me."
"When he stepped out, I told my husband he needed to speak to him, and that the comment wasn’t okay."
"I went to change clothes and decided to never ever wear that shirt again."
"When I brought it up to my husband, he said he didn't hear the comment at first, but then he laughed when I told him what he said. He's always laughed when he feels awkward and has always had a hard time standing up to his parents in any capacity."
"When he and my father-in-law spoke, my FIL just said, 'I shouldn’t have said that to her, I know how she can be,' which just feels even more like I’m just being dramatic."
"Since then, I think my husband just wants me to drop it and move on, truthfully."
The OP wasn't sure what to do after what happened.
"This genuinely ruined my entire night. Am I just too sensitive, or was this an inappropriate thing to say?"
"There's also been no apology since then. This happened on Thursday, and then my father-in-law came by again on Friday with flowers to wish me a happy Mother's Day before Mother's Day Sunday."
"I think that was his way of trying to just breeze past the awkwardness. He's never gotten me a gift the whole seven years I've known him, so the flowers were odd. But I still feel really uncomfortable."
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
Some reassured the OP that her father-in-law's comments were rude and just plain creepy.
"NOR at all. That was really rude of him. Anyone would be offended." - Bookbringer
"NOR. That’s firmly in the category of what should be an 'inside thought,' and we should learn what those are at a much younger age than this guy is."
"F**king h**l, this is an absolutely mental thing to say out loud, let alone to your daughter-in-law." - Electronic-Fennel828
"FIL is an AH. I love that you think his being a redneck excuses it, but d**n. Even rednecks should know better than to speak that way to their son's wife."
"What does your husband have to say? Does he understand how breath-takingly rude his father was, or is he Team 'That's Just How He Is'?"
"I'd go very low contact with the old perv. NOR, he put you in an uncomfortable position with his crude remark. Is he married? I'd tell the MIL. I'd tell the whole family. Yes, it's embarrassing, but he is the one who should be embarrassed. Don't accept his non-apology." - Top-Bit85
"Maybe I’m desensitized after having large breasts since I was 13 (I’m 28 now), but I let out a little snort based on how immature of a joke it was. I’d simply tell FIL, 'Yes, I know, my boobs are big,' and move on."
"That said, I would never make such a comment about another person's body. Just because I'm technically fine with it doesn't mean I assume anyone else is!"
"Not everyone is the same, and if OP felt uncomfortable, she’s NOR. Her body, her boundaries." - Both_Original2094
"I’m sorry. That’s upsetting. My father is like this with his father. Even if it’s very offensive comments, he’s uncomfortable and has problems confronting him. It sounds like your husband isn’t going to have a talk with him, which is hurtful."
"I would explain to your husband how uncomfortable the situation was for you and that it’s a serious matter, especially if it happens again. And if he still tries to brush it off, then I would tell him you no longer want your FIL coming to your home."
"It’s your life, too, and he’s not the one being hurt here, you are." - w_coastultraviolence
Others were specifically angry about the tactics the father-in-law used to try to get out of trouble.
"Seriously? Saying 'I know how she can be' is a classic way to blame the victim for having boundaries. It’s your birthday, not a Hooters convention. What a creep. If he can’t look at the baby without checking out your breast, he shouldn't be invited to the house." - Specific_Parsnip3264
"'I know how she can be' is so f**ked up. He's the one being a disgusting person. You need to shine up your husband's spine to properly call him out at the time next time, because there will be a next time." - dancepantz
"The bit that pisses me off the most is, 'I know how she can be,' which is his way of making it her problem that she doesn't like her FiL sexualising her in front of her friends." - Outside-Partait-8935
"The 'joke' comment is gross, but that follow-up comment is infuriating. NOR, OP. But this guy will be in your life for a while, so firmly & calmly shutting this stuff down is completely appropriate."
"I'd wear the d**n shirt again to the next family function and look him right in the eyes next time!" - RationalFish
"When we let things like this slide for others, it's not long before it ends up on our doorstep, and of course, nobody says anything because keeping the peace is the norm. It doesn't have to be getting into their face and yelling abuse back. Just a comment such as, 'Well, that's super tacky to say,' or asking them why they'd say that." - Kattnapped
"The OP said, 'He's said some pretty vulgar stuff over the years... but this is the first time it was directed to me.'"
"Normalise calling stuff out when they are talking about others, and they won't feel so comfortable saying it to you."
"It's a gross thing for him to say, but I guess him buying you flowers is his way of saying sorry."
"Sounds like you are in the situation of a lot of new mothers, where you suddenly realise this stuff matters because you want better influences for your child, and better support for yourself. NOR." - Jumpy-Jello-
Now, about that shirt...
"Please re-think your decision to never wear the cute shirt again, girl!! It's something that you liked very much because it made you feel good about yourself. Don't let some backwoods id**t ruin that for you."
"Wear that shirt till it's worn out and can't be worn anymore!! You should be able to feel good about yourself in whatever you like to wear."
"Your husband should have immediately checked his father, not waited until he was told to do so after his father left the room. In front of everyone there, your husband should have told his father not to ever speak about you or to you in that kind of manner, and if his father doesn't like it, he knows where the door is."
"Hubby should have called him out for his response as well. You did absolutely nothing wrong. You were not the problem; his dad was. This comes down to your husband needing to protect his wife, and he didn't do that." - Lynzo141982
"If he is a redneck, like you said, he won't outright apologize, but flowers are his way of saying sorry."
"I hope he won't say anything again, or else you can expect a nicely tended garden for at least a year."
"About your top, I hope you can wear it again. It takes a lot to feel cute, being a new mum."
"If not, get some fabric dye, dye the top a different color, and embroider a flower on it. This makes the top new, different, and every time you wear it, you can use the mantra ... I'm cute, I don't care what anyone says."
"You've got this!!" - No_Kangaroo_6637
Even if the father-in-law was joking and meant no harm, this is one of those situations where he needs to admit that his joke did not land well, he did cause harm, and he needs to apologize. Just because some people enjoy joking in that manner does not mean that everyone will be comfortable with it, and it's important to respect everyone's boundaries and zones of comfort.