Roommate & dishwasher (1 Viewer)

[Glenn Overholt]

He doesn't help out at all with this. He gets done eating and puts everything in the sink, while the dishwasher is only a foot away and empty.

I need ideas on how to stop this without saying the obvious - could you pleeeesssseeee at least put them in the dishwasher?

Glenn

 

[Julie K]

Say the obvious. And after you say the obvious, don't touch his dishes. If they pile up in the sink, that's his problem not yours.

 

[Dave Poehlman]

Heheh... My friend had a similar problem with one of his college roommates. (I don't think they had a dishwasher) But, this guy would leave his filthy dishes around the house. Finally, the other members of the house, after asking him to clean them up many times, decided to put all his dishes in his bed in an attempt to get him to clean them up. Well.. the offending member came home from the bar and went to sleep in his bed with all his dirty dishes.. so, it didn't really work.. but it's still a funny story.

 

[Dave Ringkor]

I tried the tactic of just leaving my old roommate's dishes in the sink and letting them pile up until he cleaned up after himself. This plan failed when I discovered that they were being left in the sink so long that insects would lay eggs in them and the larvae would grown in the stagnant water. That was enough for me. Solution: I moved out.

 

[Ross Williams]

Has anybody in the history of the world ever had a roommate that cleaned up after themselves? Having two clean roommates in the same house, is like trying to push the positive sides of two magnets together.

 

[Ron-P]

Get rid of the roommate

...is like trying to push the positive sides of two magnets together.

Peace Out~

 

[Brett_B]

Maybe say something along the lines of, "Hey. We do have a dishwasher." and see how he reacts to that. I am sure that you will get some type of response from that, what exactly, I don't know.

His possible responses are:

"Yeah, I know. I will put them in later."

"I'll let you put the dishes in there."

"So. You're the maid around here."

No response

Only you know your roommate and how he might react. I would say start with my suggested response and go from there.

 

[Micheal]

Tell your roommate to put the dishes in the dishwasher, if that fails.., put his dirty dishes in his bed! That's what my Dad would do.., God rest his soul!
P.S. Don't f#*k with the Irish!

 

[Jason Quillen]

haha, One of my roomates does this. I've lived with the guy for 3 years and wouldnt trade him for anyone on campus, but we've tried EVERYTHING to get him to put his stuff in the dishwasher and nothing works. We did the plates in bed, stating the obvious, letting the dishes pile up (so we completly ran out - his solution was to buy paper plates, etc). He has the same problem with taking out the trash. Anyway, we've adjusted (My other roommate and I are fairly clean) and now we pretty much just clean up after him, to tell you the truth it doesnt even bother us much anymore. (Next year when we move to another apartment without a dishwasher will be a different story though).

JQ

 

[Micheal]

Anyway, we've adjusted (My other roommate and I are fairly clean) and now we pretty much just clean up after him

So you're his bitch!?
Just kidding! Just kidding!
Did you try turning the plates over so that anything left on the plates can soak into his sheets & mattress? (spaghetti sauce etc...)
After not having a bed to sleep in a couple of times it tends to work or the roommate ends up sleeping on the floor.

 

[Dustin B]

The only thing worse than a roommate who isn't clean, is a roommate who is your brother who isn't clean. As I can't exactly kick him out.

I've tried everything mentioned here, asking nicely, yelling and screaming, keeping a log of what he does and doesn't do around the house and several other things I've forgotten about. The thing that amazes me the most is when confronted he actually thinks he does stuff around the house.

Finally this past year I gave up and I'm his freak'n maid and cook. The only thing I don't clean is his room as I don't have to see it or live in it. I graduate this spring, and I hope I find a job that pays enough that I can live by myself. Only having to clean up after myself will be heaven.

 

[DonRoeber]

Send him a bill for your cleaning services.

 

[Dave Ringkor]

Has anybody in the history of the world ever had a roommate that cleaned up after themselves?

Yes. My old roommate did!

 

[Jeffrey_Jones]

Glenn,

I would avoid be passive-aggressive about this. No need for passing remarks or jokes to try to get your point across. Sit down with your roommate for a few minutes and discuss the following:

1. Explain the importance of sharing the work load

2. Give him the reasons why his unwillingness to clean up after himself is a problem for you...site specific examples.

3. Tell him what he needs to do to fix the problem. Be as specific as possible.

4. Let him know the repercussions if he continues the negative behavior.

This is how I was trained to handle employees at work and it seems to be effective in every element of my life. I've turned into such a manager...how sad.

- Jeff

 

[Dustin B]

:frowning:
1) Done
2) Done
3) Done
4) Can't give any so I'm screwed.

 

[Joseph Young]

The thing that amazes me the most is when confronted he actually thinks he does stuff around the house.

All the slobs have this hegenomous notion that there is no such thing as a mess, only 'neat freaks' that harass 'normal people' about things that don't exist. I know, since when I was a kid I used to think my parents were pathologically obsessed with the notion of 'cleaning' and 'mess.' Then I became a lot like them. I'm always scrubbing, organizing.
My roomates do not do dishes as a rule. They also will not open their bills. They are nearing 30 (like me). Between the two of them, in the last month, there has been an extended jail sentence, an impounded vehicle, 3 jobs, about 1400 dirty plates and 1500 glasses to wash, 10000 guffaws while watching MTv in the front room (the source of the swirling evil I assume), 6 full recycling bins with half empty beer bottles, and the list really does go on.
One of them put concentrated dish soap in the dishwasher, and despite numerous rinsing, a mountain of foam still trudges across the kitchen whenever we try to use it. So I do all of our dishes by hand, once every two days. I wait longer than two days and it becomes the leaning Tower of Pisa.
And before anyone starts thinking I'm being too passive , I'll add that all of this benefits me in the long run. First, I don't hate doing it, but secondly, and most importantly, this has propelled me to a position of financial, moral, social, and overall superiority in the household. Before long I shall be replacing my roomates with Robots (who shall maintain the two vaguely human shaped garden patches in the backyard) and bring lovely women home to me each night, fan me with exotic peacock feathers and feed me pomegranites.

Joseph

 

[John Garcia]

I had the opposite with one of my roommates a few years back. She didn't equate the dishwasher with the amount of electricity and water it used, and would run it when it was only about 1/3 full...that drove me NUTS! She would run the thing like every other day. We were able to come to an agreement though, so it wasn't really a long term problem.

If you can't solve it by talking about it, then there is a more serious problem. Not doing their dishes will just turn it into a stand-off that can't be won. The object isn't to WIN necessarily, but to reach an agreement that works for everyone...or something like that.

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

I've lived with just such a person in the past. He was a slob and although I am very anal about cleanliness, it wasn't the mess that was the problem. Heck, I enjoy messes, simply because I get to clean them up! The problem was that he was a liar as well. He would promise the moon but never follow through with anything. I felt taken for granted...I didn't mind being his "bitch" or maid, but I did mind him not respecting me enough to make an effort to keep his promises. That's what drove us apart. Being messy is one thing (even I am guilty at times), but having no respect or care for the people you reside with is insufferable. If he isn't responsive, chances are he never will be.

Bruce