Your expectations are NOT unreasonable! This is one of the things I worry about with all the glowing reviews I see on here. I always clean and leave everything as good or better than when we arrived. But, for us, filth is not acceptable; unless it is also portrayed in the photos. Then we run a mile!
This is great! Thanks for posting. I’ve been wondering what kind of prep emails the HOs receive.
First of all, after a very similar experience where there were no photos of the inside of the home on the listing and it was so gross we could barely stand to touch anything, we will never apply for a sit that doesn’t show all aspects of the home we are going into, especially the inside.
Secondly, in my humble opinion, the worst review you can give is no review at all as this raises a flag for me every time I see that someone has sat but not left a review.
I hope that helps.
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Thankfully the sit has now ended and we are back in our lovely clean home! I just wanted to thank everyone on this forum for your helpful suggestions and support. You have given me the courge to leave an honest ( although maybe not as much as I’d like to be!) review.
This experience has really made me think and reflect upon the whole ethos of THS- and the “quid pro quo” nature of what we do. Looking after and caring for someone’s beloved pet ( who lets face it, is part of the family) is a huge responsibility- it is only fair and right that in return, we get treated fairly and with respect. As a community, we need to call out those owners who don’t do this, be it because of lack of cleanliness or less than truthful descriptions of their pets behaviour. Hopefully, the new review system will help with this, and if we could rate owners on individual categories even better! Anyway, thanks again guys- you kept us going through a difficult week- and now I’m off to hot wash every bit of clothing I wore last week including my slippers 
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It’s bad. It’s not you. It’s difficult to say in a review if you like the people and love the pets but that would be good for future sitters and also the owners to know. I have noticed more 4 star reviews since the new system has come in. This only happened to me once and not as bad as yours but I did clean up as I needed to to feel comfortable. Depends how long the sit is. Good luck
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I always think it’s a massive red flag if they’re are not enough photos of the house. Also I never do a sit if the room looks messy in a photo. I am not really, really tidy but I think if someone can’t be bothered to make the bed or get rid of the clutter off the floor in a picture then it’s probably not a good idea to sit for them.
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That sounds like a nice diplomatic way of saying filthy. With the new review system up and running it’s easier to be honest.
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I totally agree. It’s high time for THS to add this feature to the revised review system. Please don’t let us wait another 2 years for this!
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Never apply for a listing that does not include any inside photos.
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This is horrific.
I wonder: does THS have standards that HO must follow to continue being a member?
What you’re described should not have to be tolerated by you or any future sitter.
There are universal standards of cleanliness both Sitters and HO should reasonably be able to presume most people adhere to.
IF a HO leaves their home in an unclean, unsanitary, unsafe state, a sitter should have a way to alert THS so other sitters aren’t subjected to that in future.
And by the same token, if a Sitter abuses the privilege of enjoying a home by leaving it unclean, they should face a caution.
I think you should document the state you found this home in and submit it to THS for their review.
This system ONLY works when both sides are respectful and honest.
We have been very lucky with sits - BUT arrived at one sit to discover pictures had been taken to disguise much, things implied were untrue. Open windows & doors in pictures? Nope, not allowed for fear cats would get out. I like fresh air: not possible there.
Two bathrooms shown in pix: reality? One we were cautioned not to use, the other had a leak that kept the floor wet, the shower head barely dribbled water, the toilet didn’t flush properly. And the kitchen had more issues.
A short sit so we just made do.
But now I think - should have informed THS that the listing was far from the reality.
Good luck in your situation.
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I don’t agree. There are various reasons why someone might not leave a review - forgetfulness (especially with the 14-day limit now), discomfort with technology, a refusal to ever leave reviews for anything, and more. Even if I do assume that a missing review means the sit was bad, I don’t know what aspect of the sit was bad - pets, location, home, etc.
Please, sitters and HOs - don’t be passive-aggressive by not leaving a review if the sit was unpleasant. Tell us what went wrong, instead of asking us to guess.
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Sitters could add categories to their reviews manually, if they wanted.
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Before there was the new “blind” system, I would have agreed about the “no review is a bad review” statement but now? I think we need to leave Red Flag warnings for future sitters.
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I love that wording, thank you!
I just finished a sit where I knew they’d only moved in a few months ago but it was really scruffy - a hole in the bath panel covered in duct tape, kitchen window handle had fallen off, a knob missing off the hob, black mould in gap behind sink… otherwise lovely sit, but I didn’t know what to put in the review to flag it up for other sitters without feeling I’d been rude to the owner.
I did consider something like ‘the home is warm and comfortable and maybe a work in progress’…
What might others have put?
I’m in a same situation right now. Older homeowner and I want to help him out 
My first sit, and I could see from the pictures that is was not clean, but I accepted anyways. I am here for a month, so I cleaned up the fridge and counters in the kitchen so I could be more comfortable and put food in the fridge… I am wondering if this is acceptable to clean up the house and move things off the counters to feel better about the sit? There was dirt and grim and hadn’t been cleaned for a very long time. Im ok with cleaning up, just don’t want to overstep boundaries. I did not throw anything away. Any comments or suggestions would be fantastic.
If it was us we would clean up for a month long sit. For multiple reasons. You knew he was elderly and the house was grubby and still accepted. It’s unlikely he’ll be offended at his age, probably chuffed to bits you took care of his home for him. It will also make your sit way more enjoyable. As a back up you can take photos of where things are that you move and then move them back just before he returns. It will be fine @LauraJ - feel good that you’re helping him out 
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Thanks! That’s what I thought too, but just wanted to make sure there are no rules around it. :))
It’s possible that he won’t notice the cleaning, or at least as much as you are doing. When my very tidy grandmother was older-but-not-quite-elderly, I noticed that a lot of things in her home weren’t as clean as they used to be - she honestly could not tell!
I would do whatever you need to make the space useable for yourself, but return items to their original location.
Sounds like you are being very kind and thoughtful about this, and I hope the sit goes well.
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I loving it!
I think you are in the right, you shouldn’t have to put up with other peoples filth, and buy cleaning equipment for HO’s home. Let’s hope they mention all the good things you’ve done.
I have had a similar experience over Christmas & New Year. Disgusting toilets/mess/clothes everywhere/disgusting dishwasher etc. The pots had nonstick coating peeling off - so we had to buy new pots so we could actually cook our Christmas dinner (we arrived just 2 days before Christmas)
I’m going to be honest in my feedback. I’m hoping the HO recognises that her home is much cleaner than she left it, but she hasn’t mentioned it yet - she only said the place was covered in cat vomit and that her oven wasn’t working. When I left lass than an hour before she arrived there was no cat sick and the oven was working I had just pressed the off button to save energy.
I really think we should be more honest without being nasty, otherwise fellow house sitters will walk into this sort of chaos. Surely we should all look after each other and then maybe standards will get better. TH should ensure that HO are well informed about cleanliness.
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