Needs a good clean…..

I have just seen an ad on Facebook for 2 decorative teapots that states ‘ need dusting’ The picture shows them on a shelf in the seller's home.

Charity shop donations are awful. People seem to drop off unwashed, damaged clothibg thst is only suitable for the rag man and expect us to be grateful. Used unwashed underwear, ugh

Food on plates is disgusting, and there is no excuse for not washing clothes before donating or selling them, but I think that second hand items are cheap because they been used and will show signs of that. Someone wanting to get rid of an old bike or lawn mower is more likely to throw it away if they have to spend hours cleaning it up. If the recipient is getting it free or very cheaply then that chore should be for them, particularly if it is stated at the start that the item is in need of TLC.

I got a cashmere sweater on eBay recently. It was described as ‘worn once’. Maybe it was, but that ‘once’ must have been for a fortnight in a field! There were human and pet hairs woven into the yarn, and plant husks all over it 😠. I wasn’t happy at first, but after a good wash and half an hour with a cashmere comb I got it back to a wearable state, and now have a sweater that would have cost £200 new for £20. Not a bad deal, and if the owner had done the work she might have wanted a lot more for it.

Grammaretto

Dirty plates is awful!
I thought the clothes were steam cleaned before they are put on the rails. Is that not true?
.I can remember sorting bags of clothes at a jumble sale and finding a mouse's nest in a bag!

I once found soiled underwear and crusty socks when sorting clothes at a jumble sale!

I think one of our local charity shops steams the clothes, you can see them doing it through the back, but I assume that’s to get creases out, not as a replacement for washing them.

I have a friend who sends a lot of ‘stuff’, not clothes necessarily, to the local air ambulance shop. Some of it is ancient stuff that, as she admits, wouldn’t sell at a car boot sale, but she somehow assumes it will sell there.

Well, yes it might, but it also might have to be skipped and cost them money to dispose of.

Sorry, I digress.

Oh crikey! 😲

Dirty plates is awful!
I thought the clothes were steam cleaned before they are put on the rails. Is that not true?
.I can remember sorting bags of clothes at a jumble sale and finding a mouse's nest in a bag!

But also today we had a donation of plates, some with food on them 😡
😲

Floradora9

I remember getting a load of clothes from someone in the charity shop where I worked and being told that all they needed was a good wash. How I wish I had asked the lady who she thought was going to wash them . At least the shop get paid for their bags of " rags " .

I laundered even the 'rags' ie those items I thought weren't good enough to sell in the charity shop, and bagged them separately, labelled.

Floradora
I’m the volunteer in our shop who takes clothes home to wash.
Just today I brought home a Ted Baker dress.
But also today we had a donation of plates, some with food on them 😡

I remember getting a load of clothes from someone in the charity shop where I worked and being told that all they needed was a good wash. How I wish I had asked the lady who she thought was going to wash them . At least the shop get paid for their bags of " rags " .

I always think it is a matter of pride to make sure that anything that l sell or give away is clean and ironed when necessary. It is not fair on the person buying or receiving the items if they are anything other than as pristine as possible. A few years ago I bought a brand new with tags skirt from eBay. It was as advertised except that it had come from a smoker so I had to wash it before I wore it. However, I felt that they were almost certainly unaware of the smell and it was as advertised otherwise. On another occasion, a friend passed on a bag of clothes for me to take to the local charity shop as I lived nearby. This friend, while lovely in many ways, is not known for her love of housework and the clothes were all crumpled and l was not sure that they were even clean. Her attitude was that the charity shop staff could wash and iron them! I could see that they were good quality, though, and after she had left set about washing and ironing them myself.
The final incident was recently and the exact opposite experience. My daughter answered a small ad to buy a lightly used Dyson cleaner for £25. The sellers turned out to be an elderly couple in their eighties who had found it too heavy for them. It was immaculate.

Stale not stand

I would always give baby equipment or toys a good clean before selling. I remember when I sold my lovely pram it looked immaculate but then I’d looked after it. Some people don’t look after things & don’t seem to care about selling things on in a filthy state, then they expect a good price. I personally wouldn’t buy or sell anything unless it had at least had a good wipe down. I wouldn’t want to clean stand, encrusted food off a high chair for example, yuk!

I sell DGDs toys and clothes and DDs dresses that aren't used. Toys are always wiped over with antibacterial wipes before sending and DD gives me all clothes washed and clean. When I buy I wash all clothes before wearing as even if they are clean as I'm often sensitive to different wash liquid.
I always clean toys with antibacterial wipes if I buy anything.
My vacuum was reconditioned by the seller and was spotless.

I was warned against buying an old vacuum cleaner. It's a way to spread clothes and carpet moths.

I can't say I have noticed ads saying needs a good clean. Would that put me off?
Depends what it is. I cleaned my old car till it shone inside and out but the guy who bought it didn't care as long as it worked.

But we aren’t talking about serious collectors of antique and vintage stuff biglouis.

Just everyday sellers of toys, outdoor play items, prams, pushchairs, high chairs, clothes….

All stuff that I would expect to be used, but definitely not grubby.

I’m on a few sewing sites and so many contributors post pictures of themselves proudly wearing their outfits with the comment “just needs a good pressing” or “just need to hem it”
I always want to shout “do that first, before you show us all”

I sell vintage accessories and jewellery (among other things) and I only clean up items which are offensively dirty. For example if I clean a piece of antique silver I leave all the "grunge" in the crevices. I quite enjoy cleaning up new stock while watching TV. Its very soothing.

Many serious collectors and dealers do prefer to do their own cleaning! Customers have their own favorite cleaning methods which they like to use. Some do contact me to ask for advice and of course I have lots of recipes for cleaning various exotic materials etc. It depends upon whether you want your antique and vintage jewwllery to look like it was made yesterday (in China) or to have a nice patina. Once buffed up a patina cannot be restored.

To be honest, if I was buying a secondhand vacuum cleaner, I wouldn't expect it to be in pristine condition. If I'm getting something at a bargain price, I'm up for giving it a thorough clean when I get it. Some people are way too fussy these days...

I was looking on ebay yesterday for a cheap, upright vacuum cleaner but I wanted mine to be new. There were many vacuums being sold privately and many said they needed a good clean so I can imagine what the brush looks like and was it even emptied? There are so many sluts around.

Yes! I often think this! How revolting and totally lazy!

I saw a baby bouncer/seat on our local Facebook page. It said very clean apart from minor staining. I wouldn’t have called it minor and it was a large and suspicious stain on the seat. Yuk!

I wash everything I give away, but I guess most people will give it another once-over before using it. I mean, when I buy a nice piece of china from the charity shop I will thoroughly clean it before putting any food on it, right?

I have mentioned this before on GN. Totally agree, I wouldn’t dream of advertising anything as ‘been stored in loft/garage/shed, needs a clean’.

Seems to refer to toys, prams, household items…..

I do a car boot sale once a year, and make sure nothing ‘needs a clean’ before going on the stall.