Hello all! Looking for some advice! Although I’ve been a professional
Household manager and family assistant for 20 years, I am currently in the middle of my first pet/house sit through this platform. Something happened and I’m not sure how to handle it. I brought in a couple bottles of laundry stain remover and set them on the wood piano that the homeowners have next to their washing machine. A couple days later when I picked up the bottles I was horrified to see that there was residue on the bottom of one of the bottles that took the finish off the wood and left an ugly stain. Totally flabbergasted because the bottle was dry with no sign of a leak. I see the host family has a premium membership… does that mean that damage is covered under their membership? Should I text the hosts and tell them this has happened and offer to pay for the repair and ask them if they have coverage? If I have to pay out of pocket for the repair it will likely be hundreds of dollars. I am so upset and anxiety ridden that this happened and pray that it doesn’t mean I get a horrible review. 
This won’t help you but I’m amazed that someone would put a piano next to a washing machine, and that you would put stain remover on top of the piano……
Presumably the piano is old……If so it might not be such an issue for the owners but I would own up to your mistake when they return, don’t tell them while they’re away.
@Lexilass
You made a mistake and are good enough to own up to it.
Personally, I wouldn’t tell the owners as it may spoil their holiday (assuming they are on holiday), its not an emergency so in my opinion, this kind of bad news can wait until they return.
There is nothing they can do so why spoil their holiday?
Good luck anyway.
Depends on how you feel about trying to repair it yourself, how valuable the piano is & what sort of HOs they are. Google says you can try this….(depends how confident you are)
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Not sure if premium covers it but would have thought all household insurance would kick in for this type of incident so it’s probably covered. You’re obviously experienced so they’ll know it’s an exceptional circumstance. @Smiley is right, they can’t do anything whilst they’re away so talk to them in person when they’re back. #thesethingshappen
Oh no @Lexilass that would be so stressful!
Here is what I found once. Granted, it was our own home, but I was beside myself from my silly mistake with our new wooden table. Something ( I think a hot drink) left a watermark and I immediately started scrubbing away, I actually took some varnish off in my madness. HOWEVER, a few hours later, the mark has disappeared - by itself. I am absolutely sure it had nothing to do with my scrubbing. Now, I can’t remember how I knew this, after all, it was 10 years ago! But I just remember that I have learned that day, to not jump in and scrub away, as the mark might actually disappear by itself. Perhaps give it a day or two and see if it disappears by itself.
I’m with the others, I would wait until their return to tell them. And yes, who would put a piano and a washing machine side-by-side?
Not quite the same, I had to use a carpet cleaner after a cat furball incident on a cream carpet. I put the cleaner back on the wooden worktop in the utility room in case of further need. I was horrified the next morning to find a stain from the bottom of the bottle that had taken the colour out of the wood. I apologised when the homeowners got back, and they said not to worry. They were sure it would be easy to resolve. They asked me back I could still slightly see the mark.
Arrrrrghhhhh what a nightmare. Given it’s a piano (so pricey and they possibly love it), I think I would let them know. But if it was something smaller/cheaper then I wouldn’t tell them until they returned. And I’d do what you said, ask them if their household insurance covers it, and if not, offer to pay for them to get it professionally restored, given the bottles should never have been placed there in the first place (which you already know anyway). With it being your first sit, their review is hugely important to you, so I would definitely tell them now, so they have time to get used to it, before they write their review, and if you do the right thing by offering to pay, then that will cushion the blow.
Yes, tell them now @Lexilass . We’ve had sitters breaking/damaging things in our home and not telling us until we got back home, and I found it really annoying. I’d much rather know right away. It really dampens your feelings to come home to “Oh, we’re so sorry that we broke --”
@Lexilass 
whew…I would text them now based on the proper time zone in their area. I think the sooner they know the more confident they will feel regarding your responsibility.
The difference is I would not immediately offer to pay unless you really want to. Things happen.
I do agree with @Smiley and it’s precisely why I have a pretty comprehensive welcome book… for example, I do say my Le Cruset pans do not go in the dishwasher, that the awning over the patio cannot be used during windy weather or rain Etc.
But it never occurred to be to tell people to be careful of wood surfaces around the home…
From sitting, I notice that some hosts’ furniture — including wood dining tables — can be easily marked by liquids, condensation or such. I use coasters and, if they don’t have placemats or a tablecloth, I’ll put down a tray or a large plate under a hot or cold dish, to avoid doing damage.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply… I already lightly scrubbed the stain to get the residue off… what’s left is a stain that has changed the color of the wood finish and took the finish completely off in a couple of spots. The finish on the piano is actually dull and varnished/ shiny. I Feel so stupid for having put the bottles there but there is no table of any kind next to the washer/ dryer and the floor was out of the question because of the possibility of the dog getting into them. The HO actually uses the top of the piano which is covered by a cloth for their laundry detergent. I placed these small bottles on the surface next to the piano keys…
I wish this was a utility table! The finish on the piano is actually dull and not varnished/ shiny. I Feel so stupid for having put the bottles there but there is no table of any kind next to the washer/ dryer and the floor was out of the question because of the possibility of the dog getting into them. The HO actually uses the top of the piano which is covered by a cloth for their laundry detergent. I placed these small bottles on the surface next to the piano keys…
I see this advice on the forum all the time. As an HO, I want to be told about issues like this when they happen, not on my return! Especially if there’s not an in-person handover at the end.
I get trying a fix on your own first, but also - the owner might have their own solution, or even be like, well that’s a drag but don’t worry about it, which saves the sitter a ton of stress for the remainder of the sit.
The only extra advice to everyone else is tell the owner you placed them on the piano because that’s what you saw the owner do with their products. Apologise profusely and don’t offer to pay immediately. Instead ask them what you can do to help resolve this and see what they come up with.
If they want you to pay for the repair, instead offer to pay the contents insurance excess rather than the full cost to repair. That’s why people have insurance.
When this happened in my own home by a sitter I used a special treatment for stained wood - some swear by a cut walnut, but I used Mr Sheen Ring-Away. You need to try it on a small hidden area first. If you try it and it works, I’d recommend letting the HO know.
Whether to tell them now or closer to their return will also potentially depend on what kind of communication they asked for. Some owners don’t reallly want to hear from sitters unless it’s urgent (hard to say if this is) while others like to be kept in the loop - there is an active thread about damaged kitchen things where the owner was checking in with the sitter regularly to see if everything was okay and felt blindsided when the sitter only mentioned that something wasn’t working just before their departure.
Personally, when I have had sitters I wouldn’t want to hear about this kind of thing unless it’s time sensitive or affects something I’d need to use when I get back eg washing machine, shower etc I’d just worry what else the sitter was getting up to/struggling with. A recent sitter contacted me within 6 hours of arriving (literally timed it to exactly when I arrived in another country and had checked into the hotel) telling me (in a hysterical state) they had lost the key. That obviously is urgent but frustratingly they hadn’t even tried to retrieve the key before calling me so I was then stressed at the start of my holiday only to be told an hour later that now they had the key back. From then on I not only questioned how responsible they were but also their self sufficiency and maturity especially if something more significant were to happen.
I would just let the pet parent know and ask if they could use their premium member insurance and offer to pay any deductible. I know it sucks but it’s the right thing to do. I’ve had situations like this before where I see a stain and wonder “did we do that or was it here before?” Luckily after checking with the pet parents, they were there before. We now use silicone placemats on our petsits and if we are going to put anything down on the counters, we put them on the placemats. For dining room tables, we bring table covers. Our stress has reduced greatly not worrying about leaving any scratches or water marks
Yes 
I think this is a case of treating other’s how you’d like to be treated. Or how they’d like to be treated…and it sounds like most HOs would want to know ahead of time.
I understand everyone recommending to ask the HO if they have insurance but depending on the cost of repair, it may be cheaper (for your both) to simply repair. I would not assume or expect anyone to use their insurance for a mistake I made if I could take care of it.In the US, every time you use your insurance, you get a “tic” against you and risk your premiums being raised.
I also would not mention the “why”…because they had their laundry detergent there. That is not relevant to the damage.
Best and good luck!