A married couple have found themselves in a sticky situation, after discovering something revolting at their in-laws’ house.
Cleanliness, or the lack thereof, is often a bone of contention among families. But one expectant parent has now taken this to another level, claiming their child should not set foot inside a ‘gross and unsafe’ family home.
Sharing the details on Reddit, the anonymous user said the issue began many years ago when their in-laws became ‘backyard breeders’, filling their home with numerous small dogs. And before you think this sounds rather adorable – they insisted it was far from it.
“[My] husband grew up in a home with lots of small dogs constantly pooping/peeing on the floor,” they posted on the platform. “Met him in high school and was absolutely shocked by how disgusting it was when I would come over, entire house reeked of urine/faeces. He knew it was gross but didn’t fully grasp how out of the norm it was. His room was always clean.”
Despite the in-laws ceasing their dog breeding, the cleanliness situation hasn’t improved much over the years.
Everywhere except the kitchen is reportedly covered in a thick layer of dust – with one chair allegedly accumulating ‘1/4 inch’.
The woman’s story continued: “We got married and moved across the country shortly after high school. We visit once a year for a couple of days and stay in a hotel..”
“On the most recent visit my husband couldn’t hold it and went pee. When we left he said it was the worst bathroom he had ever seen in person. There was so much build up of grime/dirt in the sink that it was unusable, the toilet was covered in excrement, the shower looked about the same. He said it looked like a homeless camp bathroom.”
Now, the Redditor is completely torn. A new baby will soon be on the way, and bringing them into this environment doesn’t exactly bring them joy. But how do you talk to someone about the way they keep their own home?
“I don’t even know how to go about addressing this with them or even if we should,” they said. “Honestly don’t even like my in laws, I feel like they didn’t ever prioritise my husband or take care of him in anyway other than providing a roof over his head.”
“Yet he is an only child and will be burdened with taking care of them. They are in their 60s but don’t take care of themselves at all so that time will come soon. I just don’t know how to get the message across that we don’t want to bring our new baby to such a gross house.
“We have repeatedly tried to buy plane tickets to come visit us instead of us visit them but they won’t do it.”
The anonymous post swiftly garnered a flurry of comments online, as various people weighed in on the delicate family matter. One user advised: “So, the beautiful thing about becoming a parent is that you don’t need to ask permission to decide for your kids.”
“You tell your in-laws that you won’t be bringing your newborn at their place, because it is unhealthy.”
Another chimed in: “Husband should be telling them anything. I have a feeling that once he does say that you aren’t coming, they will clean up their act.”
Yet, some proposed that a little white lie might spare the poster an awkward chat. A commenter suggested: “We’re not going to be travelling with the baby for quite a while. You’ll have to come to us! ‘ is a good way to postpone the inevitable discussion.”
Another recommended: “You guys can start saying that travel with a baby is difficult so for the foreseeable future they are welcome to visit you but you will no longer be making the trip and go from there.”
