I recently broke a teacup on a sit where the only dishes available were handpainted and colourful pottery, obviously old and chipped. I informed the owner after the sit was over and her reaction was Oh no those are x-name artist’s handmade cups. I looked on the artist’s webpage and a cup was £100. I offered to come over and give her a day’s gardening as recompense, as I wasn’t going to buy it. Eventually she recovered and said Thank you - it’s just a cup.
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Hmm, I am dealing with a similar problem now, but in my case it is not just one item (like your vase), but a number of things that got ruined during my stay - and the home owners will come back in a few days!
I wonder to what extent we, as house sitters, are obliged to replace broken items and/or offer some other sort of damage reconciliation? In detail, this is what got ruined during my stay:
- A locking clip on the dog’s harness broke when she pulled hard and I didn’t let the lead go, and it cannot be fixed.
- The dog ruined a gel-filled cooling mat she was resting on during the heat wave, by chewing on it while I was not watching.
- An upholstered chair in the living room got a hole which wasn’t there before. I don’t know how it happened - either the dog chewed on it or the cat scratched it open.
- The automatic ice-maker in the fridge door stopped working. I don’t know why. I did not violate it in any way.
Am I liable to replace any of these or to offer some payment for the damages occurred?
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Hi @Romana … I’m going to tag @Lucy-B here so that she can advise you on this when she’s back on line today.
@Vanessa_A Thank you, Vanessa!
It sounds like you didn’t break anything yourself. Personally, I would only offer to pay for things I damage myself, not for damage that animals cause.
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Hi @Romana I am going to send you an email from Membership Services shortly so do keep an eye out.
Thanks
Lucy
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As a home owner, I would rather know before I come home, even if that is just on the way back. I personally dislike getting home and getting bad news straight away, I would rather prepare myself before getting home, but that is just me.
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I’ve had two housesits now where relatively small things have broken. One was an ornamental bowel some kittens knocked over, and the other was a shower curtain that broke as my friend was pulling it back. Both times I was so upset and panicked a bit as I don’t want to upset the homeowner but personally find it best to let them know straight away to see how they want to resolve it and in my experience so far people are understanding. I think most appreciate that’s just life, but it’s hard to remember when you’re someone prone to worry! 
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This morning I accidentally scratched the HO’s induction hob, the scratch looked severe and I felt nauseous thinking about it. I was getting ready to notify the owner after another coffee. Then decided to google any fix. It led me to a concoction of baking soda and water, and voila! No more scratch! What a relief.
As a reward, I got out the ladder, climbed up alongside the neighbour’s fence, and picked fresh figs (overhanging on our side of the fence, I might add!) - gonna attempt some fig newtons.
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@botvot You are fast becoming my “go to fixer” 
Can you attach that link please for hobs! They are always my BIGGEST (household) concern on sits… I cook all the time and have continual “hob anxiety” 
especially when they are pristine (drives my partner mad). Baking soda seems to be a lifesaver for many things!
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@Vanessa_A I know the feeling!
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As a homeowner, I’d want to know right away, or during the next regular update. And, unless there was some gross negligence on the part of the sitter, I would not expect them to repair (unless it was an easy fix, or it was something that needed fixing: like a fridge or the plumbing…) or replace anything that broke. Accidents happen.
If I’m the HO and find out right away, and it’s an item I love, I have time to get used to the fact that it’s gone before I return rather than being faced with it when I’m dealing with everything one deals with upon returning from a trip.
As a sitter, I’d think I’d also want to tell the HO right away rather than having it hang over my head. The most likely outcome is that the HO would reply “oh, don’t worry about that. I drop things all the time” and you can move on and not worry about it. If the HO wants you to do something about it before their return, you’ll know that as well.
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Baking soda is magical fairy dust!
Do a search for its uses you will be amazed.
It has health benefits, garden uses, cooking and cleaning uses…
Endless and I mean endless.
Removes burnt sticky crud on pans, stains on just about anything. Kills weeds, bugs on plants…
And when you’re done with work throw some in the tub with your favorite oils.
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@Amparo I’ve used it often for baked on pans but had an idea it would be abrasive in some situations. Used it to clean our hob yesterday and it was amazing… Far better than the commercial chemical products which I will never buy again! Best advice I’ve had in kitchen for years! Hope it cleans me as well in the bath tub 
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@Amparo thank you for more pearls of wisdom. The owner member (and dear friend) at my next sit has asked for a shopping list, I will include “magical fairy dust” although husband is a chef so they probably have fairies in their larder already …. A thought, if sprinkled across a lap top will it make keys work themselves? 
Have a wonderful long weekend 
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We once stayed at a completely newly refurbished Airbnb. I put a bottle of olive oil on the kitchen worksurface and was horrified to see that when I moved it, an oil ring had soaked into the stone worksurface. The owner had not told us that the worksurface was not sealed!
I googled for help and bicarbonate of soda was suggested. ( I am not sure if baking powder would also work) - I just covered the oil ring with bicarbonate of soda, left it overnight, and then in the morning simply swept it away. Miraculously it had lifted the oil from the worksurface and it looked like new again!
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That’s reminded me @Colin… did the same thing in Mexico at a sit. Was also horrified. Googled and used Bicarb and it worked. It really is a miracle worker! I improvise (wrong post I know) by carrying a a round camembert lid (the thin wood ones) to sit my oil in!
Yes, we ALWAYS sit our oil bottle on a saucer now !
Yes we probably should move over to the improvisation thread but they somehow overlap.When I am “settled” in a place long term on my own, I do my best not to buy commercial products. I have made my own washing up detergent, laundry soap, and cleaning supplies with just bicarbonate soda as the main ingredient.
Did use it once to remove a ring from a hot lid on a kitchen top. whew…
It has antibacterial properties, whitens teeth… it just balances the ph of the world I think. 
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Thank you @Angela_L The girls (dogs and cat) just had a glorious peaceful session doing downward dogs (and cats) on the cool starry deck and we are set for the day.
Happy Caturday!
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