What do you do when your house-sitting client's house is dirty/smelly? [closed]
I just completed a 4-night house sitting job for 4 elderly dogs and an elderly cat. I knew the care requirements for senior pets was going to be more than for a younger animal, but what really got me was the fact that there was a thick layer of dust on many surfaces in the client's house, and a number of areas were just plain stinky, including the couch I was supposed to have "couch time" on with 3 of the 4 dogs every day. This is a home I was spending the night in, and the room I slept in was right next to the room where the cat's litterbox was. The care instructions left to me indicated the litterbox had been scooped and would not need any attention while I was there. The first night I stayed there, I noted an incredibly strong ammonia smell from the litterbox, and found that it had NOT recently been cleaned and was quite dirty. The bathroom I was to use (and shower in) had not been properly cleaned in who knows how long, and it was so bad I could not bring myself to shower there - I ended up commuting home every day to shower and get a break from the smells. I did end up dumping out and cleaning the litterbox the next day, and put fresh litter in it, and then I scooped it again before the end of the stay. There was a thick layer of dust on the toilet, mirror, and sink in the half bath on the first floor. I think the only clean room in the house was the room I slept in - bed had been obviously made up with clean linens and carpet had been recently vacuumed, but the surfaces and other decorative items in the room had not been dusted recently and were covered in a thick layer of dust. The dining room was being used to house the dogs' crates, and I noticed some old dried up feces near one of the crates - only one of the crates was currently in use and the trays had been removed from the other 3 crates - the dried up feces was in a crate without a tray that was not in use. The couch and chair covers in the living room had such a smell, it was obvious they had not been washed in a very ling time, if ever - I Febreezed them, to no avail. I had to sit on these covers with the dogs for "couch time" and the entire time I wanted to vomit because of the smell. Has anyone ever dealt with having to house sit in a dirty house, and if so how did you handle it? There is no way I will ever house sit for this person again - he is a very nice client, and I did not mind taking care of his pets, but I cannot stay in a house like that again. I will ...