Gross roommate refuses to clean her dishes for 10 days, dishes attract fruit flies and eventually maggots: 'I refuse to cave and clean another persons dishes.'

Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor

Aug 10, 2026 11:45 AM EDT

She went on vacation for days, and didn't wash her dishes before she left.

What would you do if your roommate didn't wash their dishes before leaving for vacation? Would you bite your tongue and wash their dishes for them, or would you refuse to wash their dishes and let them sit in the sink until your roommate got home? Your answer to that question depends heavily on your personality and your roommate's previous behavior. If this were a one-time mistake, you would probably pop the dishes in the dishwasher and forget the whole thing happened. If your roommate has made a habit of leaving their dishes in the sink for other people to clean, you might want to make it clear to them that you're not going to keep cleaning up after them after you've done so for the past three months. It might seem like an extreme measure, but it might be the only way of getting your point across.

If you're willing to be a pushover to keep the peace, you might continue doing your roommates' dishes for the whole time you live together. Or, you might be one of those people who is cool with cleaning up after your roommates, as long as they clean up after you once in a while. The guy in this story is not one of those people. He is one of those people who refuse to clean up after their roommate and will put their dishes outside if they don't clean them promptly. After you read his story, you will have a strong opinion on whether he's in the right or if he's going too far.

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*Dirty dishes, left in the sink for days at a time.*

What do I do? Roommate refuses to clean dishes with maggots in them.

Tuesday 10:23 a.m. Not sure if youve joined yet but thats the invite link for the groupchat for the house. Let me know if i need to send a new one. Also, everyone else has mentioned the dishes in the kitchen that havent been touched in a few days. Its not any of ours or the others, are you able to clean these today? Because the fruitflies are getting bad around them. Next time if you are leaving the house for an extended period, could you make sure dishes in communal areas are at least in the di

Could you deal with them then? Yesterday 7:49 a.m. Don't forget to join WhatsApp! This invite expires soon. 世 RCS chat with on Just an fyi im doing laundry today at around 7 pm ill need it to be free for my work uniform. If you are planning on using it today. I sent that in the groupchat but you havent joined yet.

The dishes that are yours have been put outside on the deck. In an already tiny kitchen they are a) taking up space and b) have maggots. You told me you were returning yesterday, and i asked if you could deal with them then. I havent heard anything from you since ive asked that. The least you could do is reply and or update us saying, "hey i wont be able too return today etc etc". Its just respect at this point. Everyone is essentially working around maggots in the kitchen because of you. Anyway

Welcome 8:09 p.m. Hey it's now 8pm and you said you'd deal with the dishes this morning. It has been almost 10 hours. Seriously, we're trying really hard to not be ride here. Clean your dishes and the communal ones, they have maggots in them. Its unfair to the others and i really don't want to have to put them in front of your door. Theyre on the back porch right outside the door. 8:09 p.m.

She is refusing to clean her and the communal dishes she used over a week and a half ago.

She used these dishes then left the house to go to a friends. She was supposed to return the 3rd (told me so). But never did, and never updated us on the return date. Least you could do

is put the dishes you used into the dishwasher before leaving for an extended period. She ended up returning home on the 9th. So yeah. The dishes now have maggots

all over them. Also not her dad, i dont care if she leaves... just put dishes away? They still are dirty because the rest of us refuse to cave and clean another's dishes. It'll make it the expectation

for her that we will do her dishes otherwise. What do we do?

Sure_Consideration33 I wouldn't allow her to use the communal dishes then if she's not going to clean them. As for her own dishes | would tell her I'm throwing them away if she doesn't clean them

staticnigh OP That was my idea, I just didnt know if that was too far or not. Thank you for the suggestion, i think i will do this.

Historical-State-275 There were maggots. It's not

*Maggots, the larvae of flies that feast on rotten food.*

staticnigh OP Here are the dishes in question, forgot to include them.

CowboysfromLydia just clean the right on the issue but dishes mate You are you even have a dishwasher, it takes literally 30 seconds to rinse them and put them there. You let your kitchen get infested by fruit flies and maggots for 10 days just to not rinse two pots and 2 knives?

staticnigh OP Im not going to make it a standard where I deal with others dishes. If i do it will never end.

CowboysfromLydia You need to choose better the hills you are willing to di on. This is a non issue, surely not worth a 10 days crusade and an infested kitchen. You could have put them in the dishwasher, told him "look i cleaned the dishes but i shouldnt have to" and be done with it. You lived in filth for weeks for what? Being so roommates. rigid wont help with living with

staticnigh OP You didnt read my reasoning here. If i clean her dishes she will simply do it again and again. Im not here for that. I just want this 23 year old to clean her own dishes.

*A 23-year-old woman is cleaning her dishes with ease.*
*_{The person in this photo is a model, not the real person in the story.}*

pinkglitt3rz Mate, I get it - your reasoning is if you do it for her once, she'll expect you to do it for her every time. Fair enough, I get that. However you and your other housemates are on the losing end here, you guys have let it get to the point of maggots and having your kitchen space infested with them. Just as gross if you ask me. If it happens again, put her shin a rubbish bag, tie it well, and place it outside her room for her to sort out. Unlikely for people like her to change so she

mfruitfly I hear what you are saying about setting a precedent of doing her dishes, but I'd take a different approach. With your other roommates on board, tell her what she did here is unacceptable and that going forward, she can't use communal cooking items, and ideally put them in a locked cabinet. Tell her if she leaves dishes for more than a day in a sink, you will put them on her bed. And then, do it. Clean the communal dishes, but hers on her bed, and set a different precedent. If it's too

FrenziedTacos My brother was like this with his first roommate. His roommate was s ck of it. He left dirty dishes in the sink, on the counter, and on the living room coffee table. My brother would also leave his dirty clothes out as well. The solution? The roommate started on my brother's bed. If e left dirty a putting everything dishes out - on my brother's bed. Dirty laundry - on his bed. My brother worked later shifts so he would come home to sh all on his bed and a lot of the times the food

Chardan0001 Its not r de to call her out directly

How would you have approached this situation if you were him? Have you ever had a roommate like this?

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