Who Cleans the Bathroom?

This is another one that I took down when the community objected....

So who cleans the bathrooms?

“I took the liberty of cleaning the bathroom, I’ll have you know. I hope you don’t mind.”

Mind!? I think not! These words were from our resident teenager. An overprotected, overindulged, videogame addict of a young man, who didn’t raise a finger to help around here at all.. not even to feed himself!

As I raced down the hall to check out the bathroom, he casually added “I had a bloody nose. You know, one of those that just wouldn’t stop.” Yup.. he had ‘cleaned’ the bathroom all right. Tried anyway. There was blood on the wall, on the light switch, on the floor. He had tried to wipe it up, but had managed only in thinning it out and smearing it around a bit.

So who does clean the bathroom?

I took a bit of a go at it.. but hey, it’s not my kid. It isn’t my house. I am just a ‘guest’ here until they get me my own accommodation.. whenever that happens. But, I have to use this bathroom, so I cleaned up, a bit.

The next day his dad cleaned up a bit. Scrubbed the toilet and almost washed the floor. It is still not clean, but the boy is on his way home and dad did his best, so I will finish it off. All good.

But what about at work? Who takes responsibility there?

When I arrived here, the women’s ‘washroom’ was scary. It wasn’t just dirty, it looked as though it had been untouched for years. Spider webs were thick and spiders plentiful. There was a metal shower, stainless steel, without the stainless part anymore, and a pool of slime at the bottom. The toilets and sink were also stainless (NOT) I suppose so that they could survive what a ‘community’ could offer at their civic center. They also had a build up of something… it must have taken years to accumulate. The floors.. better.. not good.

I went to the toilet there once. Now I hold it, or walk home.

Nevertheless, I worked with the cleaning ladies cleaning the ladies room. Once a week or so, we go in and do a little bit. They watch, they help a little, but then walk away. But the spider webs are not so thick, the shower eventually got unplugged and they mop the floor now. I go in now and then with a brush and strong cleaner and scrub out the toilet bowls, the cleanest place in the room for sure.

But the men’s? Who does that? I took a peek when I first arrived.. I could barely make it in the door.. It was thick in webs.. the light switch was untouchable.. where do you start? It actually scared me.

And I’m not the only one.

We had guests from the courts two days ago. One of the women told me she really had to use a toilet. I took her to the ladies but it had been locked? Why would the women’s toilet be locked.. I have no idea. After spending some time looking for the key, and I tried many, she said “never mind, I’ll use the men’s.” I tried to warn her but she had been in communities before and really needed to go.

Then she came out. A grim look on her face. “There is a nest of some sort in there” she tells me.

“Oh”… I mean. What do I say? This is my community, but.. “did you go?”

“No” she said. I don’t have to go anymore. No humour at all.

This is beyond humour.. I told her I had a sink in my office and she used it gladly to wash her hands.

Then today, it was the people from Housing. “You don’t want to use our toilet” I told the gregarious guy from housing.” But he went in.. and came out with a very serious look on his face.

“You know where my sink is?”

“Yes, thank you.” And he was off to my office.

Today I am in the community pretty much on my own. Everyone has gone to the footy in Fitzroy Crossing. Not that it makes much difference to who is working in the office these days. The ‘cleaners’ just pick up a bit of rubbish and fill in their time sheet. The office staff haven’t been showing up, although I saw a couple of them on my way through the community yesterday.

“Jocie.. are you going to pay me tomorrow?”

There’s that ‘you’ again. 

“I don’t do the payroll… “ I started to explain.. again..

 “Did you work?” I ask. A look of sheer puzzlement: what does one have to do with the other?

I don’t know.. this is a big job, this mentoring. And the word is different here than anywhere else..

Work = Money.. Really?

And what about the bathrooms? The teenager is gone. The bathroom was just not that bad anyway and I am pretty sure he’ll do a better job when he’s 30. ..but the attitude is the same. He figured he had cleaned up.. and I should be thankful. He was proud of himself, like the cleaners when they manage to fill in their time sheet and head out off the day, feeling proud of themselves. What do I do with them?

And Really.. Who cleans the bathroom?

No worries.. first I have to call an exterminator.