Do you wash the plates/cutlery in holiday rentals before use?

Posted by Decent-Cattle-332@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 41 comments

Just done the washing up whilst staying in a holiday rental and it's got me wondering whether the previous people staying here put any effort into washing it properly.

If you let out a holiday home or are a cleaner for holiday apartments, do they get washed at the end of someone's stay?

I'm now thinking that I should be washing everything before use but I'm on holiday and that's an extra chore I don't need on day 1.

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Vequihellin@reddit

I would. You have no idea if rodents or insects have been walking on them.

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Decent-Cattle-332@reddit (OP)

I hadn't even considered rodents. What kind of accommodation are you booking?

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Personally I prefer hotels, but I've stayed in my fair share of static caravans, villas, lodges, cabins, hostels, tents and huts in my time of varying degrees of quality. Even a clean, well cared for place can't always prevent the odd opportunistic mouse. I stayed in a lovely villa in Portugal about 20 years ago and we were always seeing lizards scuttling around. I'm going to want to wash plates before I eat off them if I haven't actually seen them get cleaned myself.

Household pests are just a fact of life. We've had to deal with the odd mouse or 2 in our own home - usually because one of the idiot cats brought one in and let it go in my shoes. We don't have a rodent problem in our house, but that doesn't mean a mouse has never set foot in here. Can't say any of them last very long with the cats around, but still. Holiday rentals can be left sitting empty - especially over winter - so if a mouse does get in, they may not be noticed for a while and who knows where they've been exploring. Better to be cautious tbh.

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EUskeptik@reddit

My wife washes everything.

-##-

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escapingfromelba@reddit

God know, that sounds mental.

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StrengthForeign3512@reddit

I make a call each time - if everything looks clean I just go with it. I find restaurants with ‘help yourself’ cutlery much more dubious!

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BookaKey69@reddit

I’ve seen people at Nando’s drop their use cutlery back into the pots with the new ones… always wash my cutlery using the sink now

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buy_me_a_pint@reddit

Yes and we wash the plates

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SomeHSomeE@reddit

I'll usually wash stuff and leave it on the drying rack when leaving.

On first use I won't wash unless obviously dirty, but will probably give a rinse.

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QueenieQueeferson@reddit

Yep, everything we're likely to use goes in the dishwasher as soon as we arrive. Including the bathroom toothbrush holders!

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hhfugrr3@reddit

Not unless they look dirty. Can't think of a time that's happened though tbh.

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yearsofpractice@reddit

Between my kids actively sneezing in my mouth, picking up dead things from bushes and needing a forensic investigation into whether or not they’ve washed their hands after doing their latest messy shite… I’ll just roll with the cutlery unless it’s visibly dirty.

(Also - completely agree with everyone regards cleaning properly before leaving these places - it seems sensible as it’ll hopefully keep costs down for the future)

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FornyHucker22@reddit

I’ll rinse them under the tap quick, same with cups in hotel rooms. Presuming the kettle looks ok

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Dutch_Slim@reddit

Yes, in boiling water

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Decent-Cattle-332@reddit (OP)

Oh this is a good idea. Kettle on

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sbaldrick33@reddit

Yes, and what's more every flat surface and door handle gets a petrol wipe as well. The only thing I'm willing to take on trust (largely because I have no choice) is that the towels and bedlinen have been laundered.

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Decent-Cattle-332@reddit (OP)

Now you've got me overthinking the rest of the place and the cleanliness.

I wish my overthinking would take a holiday.

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Fanny_Flapps@reddit

I work in the industry and the unsaid thing about holiday rentals is "You're here because you couldn't afford a hotel, and you couldn't afford a hotel because they'll clean up after you, so if you don't want to clean up after yourself, you can't afford this holiday."

The "leaving it clean" bit is what makes it affordable for everyone.

About 1/3 of the cleaning time is taken up with the kitchen; even if it's clean we still need to check every bit of cutlery and crockery to make sure they don't have stuff stuck to them.

We really don't care about the rest of the place, we're going to clean every bit of the bathrooms anyway and the floors are all getting vacced and mopped.

But if you shove every dish, pot and pan away dirty, you slow us right down and I'm more than happy to charge you extra. Imagine if the guest arriving right after you is like half the people in this thread who don't trust the dishes to be clean and arrives to your bloody spinach stuck to every single surface. It spoils their holiday right from the beginning.

So yeah, a lot of other companies don't even check, the good ones do. Leave good reviews whenever you have a moment on the way home!

And don't eat fucking spinach on holiday please

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terryjuicelawson@reddit

Not unless there is visible gunk on it and I'm still alive.

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shaneo632@reddit

Nah I’m not paranoid or germaphobic enough for that

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zephyrmox@reddit

Only if they actively look dirty. I'm pretty laissez faire about this sort of thing though. The likelihood if it causing me any sort of problems is nigh on zero.

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justdont7133@reddit

I try and stay where there's a dishwasher, I don't wash up by hand at home and I don't want to have to do it on holiday

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Scrombolo@reddit

Fully enough we're staying in a holiday cottage right now. Generally we wash things only if they look dirty, otherwise we just go with it. This morning I had to wash the cafetiere because it looked like the last person had just tipped it out and put it back in the cupboard.

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Callis_tow@reddit

Always. I think it's just a personal thing, but the thought of putting something potentially dirty in my mouth gives me the ick. I always check the cutlery in restaurants, and give it a polish on a paper napkin if it looks yucky.

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Eneia2008@reddit

If they or container look dirty I dig out the bleach. If it's a shared kitchen rather than sole use flat, I will bleach.

If on my own and too busy, the other option is to borrow a set of everything, clean it then washing after eating and stay in room.

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YouCanShoveYourMagic@reddit

Most definitely.

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Polz34@reddit

Not on arrival no, but yes on departing. Actually the last Air BnB we stayed at messaged me afterwards and said 'are you sure you stayed?' as we left in as good as we found it.

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Current_Fly9337@reddit

I’ve got an Airbnb review from a host like this too. I would hate to leave someone’s space in a mess, even if I am paying a cleaning fee.

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Informal-Intern-8672@reddit

I just use them, used to clean caravans in my youth and no, the cleaners don't clean them after someone has stayed, unless they haven't been washed themselves.

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scottishsilversurfer@reddit

I always wash plates/cutlery except if I'm staying in an hotel

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skaboy007@reddit

Always, everything that is there is washed and cleaned to my standard and by my hands.

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Satansrideordie@reddit

I give everything a quick rinse even at home before I use

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Fit-Obligation4962@reddit

Think it’s best too

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Remarkable-Budget239@reddit

Generally leave stuff how it was when I arrived. I don’t hoover or wash floors but just a general rule and example I set for my children.

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PagodNaAkoooo@reddit

Absolutely. You have to assume the last guests were on their way out the door and gave everything a that'll do rinse. The cleaners are on a tight schedule they'll check that things are put away, not that they're surgically clean. A quick wash is the small price you pay for not catching last week's holiday lurgy.

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