We are on day 2 of a 7 day sit. By my standards, the house is very cluttered and dirty, by far the worst place we have stayed. But how bad is bad? I am beginning to question myself… here’s what its like…
The garden is strewn with rubbish, beer cans and cig butts, and there is a lot of dog poo.
The kitchen work surfaces are so cluttered there is literally no space / hard to clean. The cupboards have food spills on every door, the bin is overflowing, as is the food caddy; the dish washer is disgusting and filter blocked with debris. The fridge is full of food that is going off, and there was a bowl of custard congealing on work surface. The hobs are dirty and a greasy frying pan has been left out.The toilet was dirty with hairs, as is the bath and sink. Thankfully bedding is clean! But bedroom cabinets thick with dust and clutter. Previous reviews make no mention of cleanliness being an issue, and HO feedback states that several sitters left things "immaculate ". Am i over reacting??? I have no intention of cleaning up someone else’s dirt- only any mess i or pets make. We have bought cleaning stuff and done our best with the areas we need. Any views on the feedback we leave? As in all these cases, the owners are lovely and pets adorable!!
@heljanejo if the internal and external photos of the listing don’t reflect the reality then you can mention this discrepancy in your review .
This is one of the reasons that sitters should be able to review/give feedback homeowners to the same level that HOs can review sitters. HOs get to review sitters on their cleanliness (among five categories). Why can’t sitters have the same right?
Please leave your honest feedback @heljanejo on your review. Many sitters wouldn’t accept such conditions.
How absolutely disgusting & you’re certainly not over reacting. Just thinking about it makes me feel like retching! It’s beyond me how people can leave their house in such a state when house sitters are coming to stay.
You must definitely leave honest feedback, but start with positives, if there are any. As someone mentions, did the photos of the house give you any indication it was kept in such a state?
Unfortunately the only photos were of the outside of the house and the dogs!
Was there a giant red flag in front of the house?
Been There Done That! Yep, we’ve had our share of clutter, dust and dirt. If the sitters doesn’t mention cleanliness, good chance it wasn’t. That said, with the new review system where the HO can’t see the review when posted, I am hoping that all of us sitters can be honest, but tactful.
I agree with others, that’s disgusting. I hope you took pictures of the “pre” condition and then take pictures of the “post” condition in case they try to pin the dirt on you (figuratively). I, too, wouldn’t clean their mess, but would clean what I needed to use. We are always learning, so thank you for teaching me to never accept a sit with just exterior pictures.
Gross. I don’t bother with listings with too little info or too few photos. I imagine the worst, because I’d rather not risk it.
Please mention the filth factually in your review and spare other sitters.
Not overreacting.
Yea…this right here would have been a massive red flag to me on the listing.
I definitely would have requested a tour of the house on the video chat (I do one before every sit regardless of whether I’m HO/HS and this is a perfect example as to why)…
Personally, given the situation and the fact that you accepted as is, I would finish the sit and then be very candid in your review. And then in future, vet your sits better. There are many threads on what questions to ask and how to make sure you’re doing due dilligence on a listing as an HS.
@sledgejoyce completely agree about taking pictures. Also a good shout if you find the house is so bad to the point of it being a health hazard, in which case it may be a good idea to let TH know.
Yuck!!! So sorry you have to go through this @heljanejo. We were on a bad one too, like yours, but luckily only once in 35 sits. You are definitely not overreacting. What you describe is not acceptable.
Then presumably you didn’t have a video call, as that’s a good opportunity to take a look around the house.
First red Flag
I wouldn’t accept a sit without seeing photos of the bedroom, kitchen and bathroom, and ensuring they looked clean and tidy.
Here’s the thing.
Even if there’s plenty of photos, even if you do a video chat and get a video tour of the home, you may show up to a very dirty house.
I am in that situation now.
Photos and a video tour did not show the sticky counters, the many spills inside the fridge, on the cupboards, and on the floor, the mold on the floor of the bathtub, the kitchen towels black with grime.
Sometimes a place looks tidy, until you show up and try to live there.
There aren’t always “red flags.” Sometimes you just get unlucky.
@heljanejo I’m sorry you’re going through this. People who haven’t been through this may not know; it can be stressful in addition to being gross.
I was more upset than I expected when I turned up to a very dirty house. I had driven for 2 days to get there, and I showed up at Xmas to a sit I would not have agreed to if I had known the details. I felt unwelcome, and as though my services were not appreciated; it is not a fair exchange.
But, speaking for myself, I signed up for this. I knew there were risks. It’s an adventure! Cultural differences! Never a dull moment!
So it’s disappointing, and it sours me a bit on doing this important work for free… but I’m just making the best of it, cleaning as needed, leaving a fair and honest review, and then moving on and letting it go.
Please leave a tactful honest review.
This is not ok…
@luckycat I felt really sad for you to read you turned up for a Christmas sit (and after such long drive too) to a dirty house and a lack of welcome. I too would have felt so upset & even have the feeling to leave immediately. But in practical terms that’s unlikely to have been a viable option (for you I mean- I don’t care about them!). I also feel angry for your experience. Such disrespect and so unnapreciative. They totally mistreated you…
What is wrong with some people??!! 
Right now we are having the complete opposite experience. We arrived (for a 5 week Christmas sit) to a super clean home with the most beautiful Christmas tree & tasteful decorations & candles around for us to enjoy!. We had not really expected the host to bother with decos as we arrived pretty early- mid December- so it was a lovely surprise! And the house is lovely and warm, cosy & comfortable. The host is friendly and generous and left us wine and Christmas goodies and full access to anything we want/need. It gives such a good feeling to arrive to such a welcome and this is what a fair exchange should feel like!- especially at Christmas!
And will you feedback on this or not? 
May I ask how you will address this after the sit as it’s a difficult topic 