Entitled client hides 100 mini ducks around home for house cleaner to find: 'I would in fact, never clean for them again! '

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jan 25, 2026 11:00 AM EST

Don't surprise your house cleaner like this! 

Many of us rely on the services of talented house cleaners. These people have special skills! You might think that you can clean your house just as well as a house cleaner could, yet somehow, you're wrong. Coming home to a kitchen that is literally sparkling, nary a crumb in sight, is so wonderful. Yet, their work also tends to get undervalued or belittled because it's "just cleaning," as if anyone who's cleaned for a full hour doesn't wind up sweaty and tired from their efforts. These are miracle workers — they leave every room streak-free and spotless in a short amount of time

Did you know that hiring a cleaner for a 2-bed apartment in an HCOL city costs high into the 3-figure range per cleaning? I discovered this and never went through with booking someone, since that's quite a lot of money to start spending monthly just for a deep clean. But I was then left side-eyeing the avalanche of targeted ads I then got, which advertised a 3-hour cleaning for $19. Hmm… Does that mean that the cleaner is only getting paid like $6-ish dollars an hour to clean for that first time?  No, I won't be doing that, thanks. Why would you ever want someone who's even mildly underpaid or annoyed at you to clean your most sacred of spaces? 

I'd rather pay someone full price, because their work has value. I think I've also been radicalized by a cleaner I see on my daily commute a lot — she carries her cleaning supplies in a bucket, and kindly but persistently requests to sit down on the train because her joints hurt. Like, she will go up to anyone and ask to sit down, and if they refuse, she will go to the next person until someone lets her sit. Sometimes she talks on the phone with tears in her eyes, or rubs her knee joints while she sits. She's older, and I can't imagine doing a cleaning job into your twilight years, spending hours each day scrubbing, sweeping, mopping, and rinsing for a client who makes an income you could never fathom. When I think about the $19/3-hour cleaning, it makes me wonder who's doing all this underpaid labor, and knowing it's people like her. 

In any case, this person on Twitter highlighted an interesting situation they discovered, as you can read about below. Many people found it to be stunningly impolite! They revealed that a client had hidden literally 100 tiny duck figurines around the home and wanted the cleaner to deposit every one into a container. This would be the "proof" that they cleaned, as if the fact that the house is clean isn't proof enough somehow??

Again, I would simply never want someone underpaid or irritated at me to clean my home — why would anyone want that? I think if anything, the duck-hider thinks they're being sooo cute and clever. Won't the cleaner just find it so funny that they hid ducks all over? Won't they just think it's a clever story that they'll tell all their friends about? 

Well, no! It comes off as entitled and wildly disrespectful, and as a lot of commenters said, it might be worth quitting on the spot just so that the customer never does that to another cleaner ever again. Sometimes people don't realize they're being impolite until they're told off with shocking clarity. 

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  • 01

    'I would in fact, never clean for them again! 🫶🏻'

    Yellow rubber duck hoovering in the air, to the right a woman in a black apron wearing cleaning gloves holds sponge and cleaning spray to wash wooden surface
    via Curated Lifestyle For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 02

    Here's the note!

    To our cleaner, We hid 100 mini ducks around the apartment. We do this to ensure job well done! please leave ALL ducks. In this jar -5+J
    via @PatsKam
  • 03

    First duck: on the dirty shelf among some grimy bottles

    Kaimana White Balsa по эл эш
    via @PatsKam
  • 04

    Another duck under a disgusting loofah

    Cheezburger Image 10599548160
    via @PatsKam
  • 05

    Third, and hopefully last duck, resides on the baseboard

    Cheezburger Image 10599547904
    via @PatsKam
  • 06

    Commenters, among the 8 million viewers who saw the post, weren't having it

    heather marie @heatherellaxo Imagine taking the time to do this, but not clean your own house...who raised these MFs I swear..
    via @heatherellaxo
  • 07
    Generic ... @Generic... More effort to hide 100 ducks than clean the house.
    via @GenericSalesGuy
  • 08
    Ray @rayjr148 I wouldve left a note that said " find another cleaner I'm not a child or a servant "
    via @rayjr148
  • 09
    Kaitlin @blink1kaity2 "Go duck yourself"
    via @blink1kaity2
  • 10
    Marius Ga... @Master... Would definitely just leave the apartment without cleaning shit lol
    via @MasterOfCringe
  • 11
    eva @hyunagalx to pay people you don't trust to clean your home just to treat them with disrespect to the point of leaving small things in every corner you want cleaned and insist on them being collected because you don't trust them is insane behavior. just do it your fucking self my God!!!!!!!
    via @hyunagalx
  • 12
    Woman in apron and blue gloves uses spray bottle and sponge to clean wood surface
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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