I agreed months ago to spend the next 10 days or so dog-sitting for a friend in her home while she's on holiday. I arrived at the house yesterday and was a bit stunned by how in need of a good clean everything is. (And I speak as a woman who detests cleaning and certainly don't live in a show home myself)
I've only stayed over a couple of times in the past, the last time in 2018, and I don't remember the house being like this. She's hoovered but the skirting boards are covered in thick dust and dog hair, as is much of the furniture. There are dust bunnies blowing around the kitchen/diner and conservatory floor. The kitchen's had the surfaces wiped down but there's congealed food on some of the doors and tiles and the kitchen unit handles are sticky and grubby. The fridge and oven haven't been cleaned in a long time. I don't think either is dangerously unhygienic but... This morning I opened the cutlery draw and one of the saucepan drawers and there's an awful lot of crud in the cutlery trays and around the pans. The taps in the kitchen and bathroom aren't clean — toothpaste and soap and food debris — and the shower... Well, I cleaned it before I used it this morning. And the loo. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't clean. My friend did say that she'd given up on a lot of domestic work during Covid because no one was visiting and you can really see it.
She set off on holiday early this morning and I'm now wondering whether I dare clean or whether that'll be classed as interfering. I've woken feeling a bit wheezy and I'm not sure whether that's due to the dust or possibly the remains of cat hair (she used to have a cat and I'm allergic to them).
I know a lot of people would be dreadfully offended to find that their house had been cleaned in their absence and would regard it as criticism. Do you think I could get away with it if I say that I just cleaned up after myself as I used things — cleaned the kitchen because I'd been using it, cleaned the bathroom and left it sparkling after I'd used it? I'm actually working from here (fortunate enough to be able to work wherever I go) so I can't really say I was bored and had nothing to do and ended up cleaning.
I'm not sure whether it'll be possible for me to stay here unless I can at least get the pet hair and general dust cleaned up. I'm starting to sneeze now, despite taking an antihistamine.
Should I message her and ask if she'd mind? Or just do it and deal with the consequences when she gets back?
