Sticky situation... need advice

[Longhornliz]

I have gotten myself into a real lucy situation....

I'm house/pet sitting for this dear old couple that lives in my neighborhood. Their dog got a little excited and tinkled in the entry way... so I went to clean it up with a cleaner "oxyclean" for carpets laundry and beyond.... IT WAS BLEACH!!!! Seriously who does that?

Ok, so do I call and tell them right away? Or do I wait till they get back? I dont want to ruin their thanksgiving... but I dont want to make it look as if Im hiding it either.

I feel so bad. I obviously cant let them pay me because the cost to replace the carpet is more than they would have owed me.

Is there an emily post way to handle my perdicament?

 

[Aloft04]

Two ideas:
1) Buy an attractive little area rug to cover the spot and explain it to them when they get back....or
2) Talk to your local carpet shop about color-matching with spray dye. Don't do it, in case they don't want it done, just find out if it's possible in your area and at what cost.

Don't beat yourself up. Their doggy is culpable too. Either way, just wait until they get home. Good luck!

 

[show 42]

I agree with Aloft........if waiting doesn't make any difference, wait until they return from their trip to spill the beans..........maybe they were planning on new carpet anyway, or maybe the area in the entry way can be replaced with tile? Good luck! 42

 

[Ladskater]

"Honesty is the best policy." Best to fess up when these folks return from their trip. No use ruining their vacation. There is not much you can do now. It sounds like something that would happen to me!!! I sympathize with you. Some good suggestions given. Let us know what happens!

 

[Aloft04]

So, Longhornliz, how did you resolve your dilema?

 

[Longhornliz]

The stain is really not as bad as I had feared it would get... I was able to dilute it immediately with mass ammounts of water on it and soak it all up. Their carpet is light beige shag... and the color is not uniform so it doesnt show up too badly.

I have taken yalls advice to wait untill they get home to explain it to them, I'm sure they will understand... it was an honest mistake. I'm sure that they will be sure to label bottles containing bleach in the future

 

[Doggygirl]

Longhornliz...

I'm SO glad to hear that it isn't that bad. I think a reasonable person would not hold you responsible anyway for using a product where the label said one thing, but there was bleach inside. How would you know? (but we all know some folks aren't reasonable) I bet they will leave the bleach in the container labeled "bleach" in the future.

DG

 

[Aloft04]

That's good news!

Years ago I was house and pet-sitting in Alaska while the owners of a gorgeous home were having it renovated. On the day for the new furnace to be installed, I went about my business, not really watching the installation process. Mid-day I popped my head into the dining room to see if the installers needed anything. To my absolute horror they had cut several 6" x 12" holes in the wall to wall Persian rug for the floor vents!!! ARGGH!!

To this day I feel as guilty as if I wielded the carpet cutters....... (even though it was the general contractor who got the owners' wrath). Apparently his instructions were vague to the crew.

Anyway, I know how responsible you feel - justified or not.

 

[JonnyCoop]

I was staying with some friends a few years ago and went to iron my shirt. They had a spray bottle with water in it next to the ironing board; I asked if it was ironing water and they said it was. So I start ironing and spraying the water on the shirt -- and I'm one of those people who can't just spray once if half the bottle's worth will do just as well -- BLEACH. I don't understand people who do this kind of thing, either. Seems to me in a real cleaning emergency, you'd end up getting flustered and doing God knows what kind of damage on your own, never mind some poor innocent bystander who didn't know "the system" doing some accidentally with good intentions.

I'm glad the carpet damage was mininal.

 

[Longhornliz]

They came home tonight, and they were very understanding of the situation. To tell you the truth I dont think they could see the stain that well when I pointed it out to them (they are elderly). They said not to worry about it because their dogs are ruining the carpet. So relieved that they handeled it well!!!

Thanks for all your support!

 

[Petlover]

Longhornliz,
I have a wonderful petsitter, and my take as the owner would be that a good petsitter that I can trust my pets and house with is far more important than carpet! Everyone makes mistakes, and based on your responsibility and honesty, your clients are lucky to have you!
Marcia

 

[diver chick]

We just take our dog every where we go, not many people want to petsit a boxer the size of a small horse

The only people who will look after him are my aunt and uncle who have no children, live in the country and have two greyhounds and two deerhounds of their own so one other dog makes no difference

To be perfectly honest, I think short of burning the house down no sitter could do as much damage as a nosy cat, a big dog and five kids with a random selection of rugby balls, hockey balls, surf boards etc