Following yesterday’s post, the rest of the scrubbing tale is here. You know I usually flake on the second half of such stories, getting caught up in the demands of a new day.
Our dear tenant, at one point, decided to cover the sliding glass doors with plastic film to keep the afternoon sun out. It was looking pretty yucky, edges black and crumbling with age, and the middle parts looked like those daftars moms cover with plastic at 1am the night before school starts: lots of bubbles and creases. I thought it might not create a good first impression, so I carefully lifted a corner to see if it would come off in one piece. Cool…came off like sunburned skin after a shower.
Easy-peasey, so I thought. Armed with a razor, putty knife and window cleaner, I was a little sad I couldn’t find any Goo Gone, bas hayk, figured elbow grease would do it. Bad assumption. It peeled nicely off half the window, but then the outer layer peeled away leaving the sticky portion adhered to the glass. It was very stubborn, and eventually came off four hours later, inch by inch. Arg.
But, that wasn’t the worst part.
The grossest aspect of this condo-cleaning adventure was our tenants particular nose-blowing habits (Auntie Jess, hope you’ve had your coffee)
He was a polite smoker, not in the house – although my daughter found a plastic bag’s worth of butts that had been thrown off the balcony into the tree in the front yard. Arg.
Smokers at times have lots of mucus, you may have heard the hacky, hawking sounds of phlegm rising in morning throats. Usually they spit.
Our tenant, it seems, would hold one nostril closed and blow. Without a tissue. On walls behind doors, sneaky-like as if no one would ever find out.
Two years worth of cement-solid green/black mucous blobs lurked, awaiting my putty knife.
Imagine. No, don’t. It was so sick even my boys ran fleeing, afraid I would delegate this job.
That man got more prayer in the last 48 hours than I have dedicated to anyone else this week.
Go get him, God. Bless him!
Oh yuck… can’t think of anything else to say but “yuck”
Go ahead and say it. I know you want to say it but you don’t want to offend your male readers. Guys are not clean! I am a guy so I am going to say it for you
This is the reason why I don’t have a roommate. Unfortunately, most guys are not clean. The other day, I was speaking with a graduate student and was wondering why he left the campus apartments. He told me, without feeling any shame, that the university residential added his name to the black list. When I asked what does that mean. He told me his apartment was so dirty they don’t want him to live there any more. I didn’t know there is a black list for being dirty.
Your description of the situation is like one of those CSI episodes.
I looooove posts about mucus.
Not.
kinzi
During the years that I was involved in the cleaning business they used to teach us that we should always work smarter not harder, the idea being is that the chemicals are supposed to do the job and not the physical dexterity. I know that there are plenty of products in the market that will take care of many of the spots and stains listed above, however, I felt challenged while reading about the hardened nose products embellishing the walls. i would say plain hot water i mean really boiling might soften it up and eventually makes easier to scrap later on with your putty knife, for the small ones and the ones that really adhering to the surface, try razor blade. Vinegar is good for carpet stains but it must be followed by another product that will neutralize and condition the vinegar. Good luck with your cleaning chores.
Allow me to simply say… EWWWW. Boys can be so gross, can’t they?
wow, Kinzi! I can only imagine the disgusted look in your face while writing this post, but I can’t imagine how it’s like to actually clean mucus off walls!
3an jad ewwwwwwww! And yes “boys can be gross” but this guy has to be an exception!
I agree with Who-sane. This guy should be ashamed of the way he treated your property. I’ve known men to stand on the front porch in the early morning and clear their sinuses (I called them Hawknspitters) but to soil someone’s property knowing who would have to clean it up is extremely disrespectful and almost subhuman.
Hello, you used to write great, but the last few posts have been kinda boring… I miss your great writings. Past few posts are just a bit out of track! come on!”To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself.” by Sren Aaby Kierkegaard.
Uh, Norman, you are reading a year- old post and I have never seen you before. Hm.