My partner and I have two dogs – one’s still a puppy, so we’ve got a designated sponge we use to clean up any pee/poo accidents. We keep it in a basket with the rest of the dog stuff.
Today I saw my partner washing one of the dogs’ bowls in the kitchen sink using that sponge, the one that we use to clean up their accidents. The sink had other stuff in it too (plates, cutlery, etc.). I got visibly upset because to me that’s just really unhygienic, like cross-contaminating poop and pee bacteria in the food area.
She said it’s not a big deal because everything goes in the dishwasher afterwards, but I couldn’t get over how gross it felt to me. I kept asking why she thought that was okay, and she ended up saying I was being patronising.
Now she’s upset and I do know if I can trust her decision when it comes to hygiene specially if I can’t see what other things she does.
AMITA for reacting the way I did?
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My partner and I have two dogs – one’s still a puppy, so we’ve got a designated sponge we use to clean up any pee/poo accidents. We keep it in a basket with the rest of the dog stuff.
Today I saw my partner washing one of the dogs’ bowls in the kitchen sink using that sponge, the one that we use to clean up their accidents. The sink had other stuff in it too (plates, cutlery, etc.). I got visibly upset because to me that’s just really unhygienic, like cross-contaminating poop and pee bacteria in the food area.
She said it’s not a big deal because everything goes in the dishwasher afterwards, but I couldn’t get over how gross it felt to me. I kept asking why she thought that was okay, and she ended up saying I was being patronising.
Now she’s upset and I do know if I can trust her decision when it comes to hygiene specially if I can’t see what other things she does.
AMITA for reacting the way I did?
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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> I raised my voice at her, and now she thinks I an patronising her
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Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.
NTA. Ew.
INFO: Do you not clean the sponge after cleaning up a dog’s mess with it? There shouldn’t be any “poop bacteria” to cross-contaminate in your food area because the sponge should be cleaned if it gets poop on it.
Bacteria wise, dishwashers will kill most of it, this ELI5 does a decent job of explaining that
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/12fvow0/eli5_how_do_dishwashers_remove_e_coli_and_other/
However…there’s still particles of dog poo (bscteria or not) now floating around…ooffff
NTA
NTA because that’s gross and why even do that? Most dishwashers do get at a high enough temperature to disinfect but like.. I still would not feel comfortable with body waste coming into contact with food stuffs.
I would still be super pissed. But most importantly why was she washing the dog bowl with pee/poop sponge
Your dog deserves clean water too
Disgusting!! NTA
NTA, but yeah you need to have a talk about that.
I’m sure she feels judged about being unhygenic so is defensive and in reality, if you look at anyone living together, there are vast differences of opinion and practices when it comes to what’s ‘clean’.
Some people walk in the house with dirty boots, others take boots off outside. Some people pre-wash dishes, others put in the dishwasher. Some use floor rags to wash dishes. Some rinse fruit before eating, some don’t.
Time for a respectful conversation, and typically, the person who has the issue, should be able to ask ‘could you please not use that sponge around our food dishes’. THe other person should be respectful of that given it affects you too, and the things you touch. If it was just her like, not using gloves for something htat only affect HER hands, then you mind your busienss, but when it touches your shared sink and dishes, you can ask for there to be a change.
Nta. That’s super gross and I’d be having to deep clean everything after seeing that!
I bet she’d eat out of a kids sick bowl too!
Reusing a sponge for poop/pee in general is disgusting. Use paper towels.
Just use paper towels? Stop reusing a nasty sponge, it’s going to be covered in bacteria
NTA
Unless a person has personally cleaned and disinfected that sponge, it’s not safe around things that people use to eat with. No, you are being safe. She was stupid and thoughtless to use it.
If she is upset, tell her to wash her plate using the sponge and then use the plate to eat off of. See how she feels then.
NTA! But OMG stop using (and reusing) a sponge to clean up dog mess! Use paper towels FFS!
INFO
> everything goes in the dishwasher
So why is she scrubbing a bowl with a sponge in the first place?
I’m traumatized just from reading this. Giardia is hard to kill. If I’m cleaning up poop I’m using a paper towel and throwing it away.
NTA.
You know how people say you shouldn’t rinse meat in the kitchen sink because water hits the surface and splashes bacteria on the counter around the sink? The dishes go in the dishwasher, but the whole kitchen counter obviously does not.
But re-using a sponge for dog accidents also strikes me as really gross. Why not just use paper towels?