So in my welcome guide, I mention that I do not want my skillets soaked, soaped, or run through the dishwasher. I even say I’d absolutely rather come home to find them dirty. The house sitter who just left clearly did a lot of cooking – which is great, I have an extremely well-equipped kitchen and I love it when a house sitter gets something out of that – but I just discovered a skillet that clearly had been soaked and possibly run through the dishwasher, as it’s got both a rusted-on soak line and a general layer rust all over it. I suspect the house sitter soaked it, then panicked because she couldn’t get the rust line off and put it into the dishwasher. Then she put it away under other pans.
So all that’s just me venting, but should I reach out to ask her what happened here? It was her first sit, I’m sure she was trying to do things right, but she clearly did not read the welcome guide thoroughly. I’ve already given her a 5-star, as the sit had seemed to go fine. Not the best sitter I’ve ever had, but other than this no issues that would make me take a star off.
And it’s making me wonder whether I should try to revise my welcome guide to make this kind of thing stand out, or should I put all my skillets and good knives and such under the bed? Or bring this up when I talk to applicants, or when I’ve confirmed a sit?
I wouldn’t reach out to the sitter, what’s done is done.
However, make sure it is clearly written in the Welcome Guide and when your next sitter arrives, point it out again and mention that this is very important to you.
Some people have limited life experience, so they won’t know that some pans need to be handled differently. It wouldn’t hurt to mention this in your welcome guide. But if they don’t read, that’s not going to fix this kind of problem.
You might mention best ways to clean X. And/or maybe get some regular pots and pans from a thrift store or such for your sitters.
I really think you can’t make it any more clear. You can highlight it, perhaps. I would also mention it when talking to sitters or during handover.
Regarding further contact with the sitter, I would talk to her. I am always for communication. It is true that
But things can be discussed, analyzed and, hopefully improved. Being the sitters first experience, she should learn to pay closer attention to the WG.
Hi @Val
I would type it up on your profile, put it in your welcome guide, tell them verbally, and also put a note up above the cooker saying how to clean them (or not) and definitely NOT to pop in the dishwasher.
Hopefully it wont happen again.
Personally, if something is very valuable to me, I would put it away, out of reach. So that is my answer to your one question re knives, pans etc.
To the other question on whether you should reach out: I feel what’s done is done. On the one hand I might want to educate a new starter, on the other hand not sure if it would come across helpful, or not. Have they reviewed you already??? If yes, you got nothing to lose by saying (not asking):
“I notice my skillet was likely put through the dishwasher. My notes clearly said to never to do this. For your future housesitting career - please pay attention to home owner notes - it is important enough for us to put something like this in writing! Attention to detail is a very valuable skill for housesitters. I wish you well.”
With anything that might need special treatment I’d put it somewhere the sitter won’t access. And, as been suggested, get some economy replacements for sitters to use.
This could be pans, china, glass, linens - whatever is needing particular respect.
Yeah…my welcome guide isn’t ridiculous or anything, either. This issue (cleaning kitchen equipment) is literally the only thing I call out for special care. Everything else about my house/pets is pretty typical.
Yeah, I was thinking maybe highlighting it in pink on the welcome guide and leaving the guide open on that page. Maybe attaching a photo of the pan after being put into the dishwasher lol…
A mention like that is very easy to forget, especially for someone like me, who doesn´t cook. In fact, I cannot imagine using any of the fancy pots and pans (unless you don´t have a kettle), as they are too heavy and may require care I am not prepared to give. That being said, I wouldn’t be offended if you left a note saying, “Do not touch unless you know what you’re doing.” or simply put it away
I doubt it. If it was a two steps “spoiling”* process as you are inferring, the normal thing would be checking the WG after the first step. If she had done that, she probably would not have put it in the dishwasher.
PS. * Edited to avoid the “scr**” word. Language advice on a suitable substitute word welcome.
I avoid using cast iron pans if there are other ones to use in the home, which there usually are. Even though I am well aware of how to care for them at this point, I always worry about ruining them.
I think there can be certain things in the welcome guide that are important, but because they are not central to the responsibilities, easy for the sitter to forget, like special instructions for the care and cleaning of particular household items,etc…
For me, I always make a strong mental note of stuff like that, and I may refer back to the guide more than once for refreshers if it is more detailed. For some sitters, it might be good to make separate notes for certain instructions so they don’t forget.
In these instances, highlighting the information, or making sure to discuss it directly can help. When it comes to something like an item that is not essential to their stay, putting it away is probably the easiest thing to do.
As for whether to reach out, I think it depends on what you are looking to accomplish. Unless you are looking for her to reimburse you–which it doesn’t sound like–or you are genuinely interested in giving her constructive criticism that may help her be a better sitter in the future, I really don’t see any need to contact her. But ultimately, it is whatever feels right for you.
From my end, no, I definitely don’t expect reimbursement! For one thing, it’s an expensive pan, and someone not used to carbon steel would probably be shocked. For another, I kind of feel like this is one of the risks I have to accept as a homeowner. I was thinking more of general advice to a new sitter “FFR, pay attention to the welcome guide, and if there’s something that sounds like it’s outside your wheelhouse, either ask or just avoid using those items”.
As a sitter I would prefer a HO to put away those things e.g. special mugs, pans that require special treatment or they just don’t want used. I avoid using anything that has very specific requirements like coffee makers.
Does your guide also mention how they should be cleaned? I cook regularly, but if I’m not allowed to soak, soap or dishwash, I might be left wondering. Leave them in the garden and hope the cats lick them clean?!
We recently sat for a home owner, who, half-embarrassed, asked us if it would be okay for us not to use the fancy glassware in the fancy display cupboard in the dining room. We asked: is there normal glassware in the kitchen? Yes. Then absolutely we won’t use the fancy ones! Thanks for the heads up!
It’s a real relief when sitters are given a heads up about something special that’s not to be used.
I don’t see anything wrong with reaching out if you think she should’ve handled it differently. She probably will in the future but you should give her some private feedback that it is easy for hosts to forgive when there is transparency.
It seems she did a few things wrong here:
Didn’t read the welcome guide about not soaking the pans and putting them in the dishwasher.
Didn’t tell you what happened.
Tried to cover it up.
That’s a set of decisions that could happen again if she thought this strategy works. A better choice if she messed up, would have been to tell you and ask your advice on next steps: eg try to remove the rust, get you a new pan, forget about it.
I’ll admit as a sitter, I avoid castiron pans altogether, but care for them carefully if there are no other choices. You might try looking for the perfect video explaining pan care (or making that video) and including that with your Welcome Guide. Visuals often work better if people watch them!
