Kate Hackett
We all know you don’t flush pads, right? Like. We KNOW, yeah?
Because after reading u/Express-Swordfish582‘s story, I’m really not so sure.
See, this user had to take to Reddit to ask the world if she was a jerk for “calling out my husbands coworkers wife for trying to flush a maxi pad down our toilet” — I can’t even imagine. Here’s her tale:
I’m still pretty mad at the whole ordeal. My hubsand’s coworker and his wife are both mad at us, and think I humiliated her but I think her lack of common sense is what did it.
OP and her husband hosted a cookout for his fellow coworkers. That’s nice!
My husband and I recently hosted a cookout at our house for his coworkers, he gets along pretty well with most of them and enjoys hosting.
A Coworker’s wife went to the bathroom. Also fine.
Coworkers wife Julia goes to the hallway bathroom, comes back.
The toilet clogged! Not the BEST but also, things happen….
I end up going after her, and notice the toilet is clogged and starting to overflow.
But when OP unclogged it, she found a large, bloody maxi pad. Since Julia was the last person in there, OP asked her about it.
Something large and white is stuck, I use the plunger to unclog it and lo and behold, a very large bloody maxi pad. Julia was the last person to use the bathroom, so I come out and asked her if she tried to flush a pad down the toilet.
Julia, embarrassed, said she did flush it and OP told her to clean up the mess. Which.. I admit, I find rude; I probably wouldn’t do that, but I’d certainly ask for her help.
She got embarrassed and said yes, and I told her she needed to go clean up the mess she made. There was water all over the floor, with particles of her pad and blood everywhere.
I also wouldn’t lead with this tone, but OP scolded this grown woman who — for some reason — didn’t know. Also, she wouldn’t know OP had a septic tank.
I asked her if no one ever taught her not to flush a pad, we have a septic tank and they cost thousands to repair. You don’t flush pads, especially not the extra large ones. Its not like she tried to flush a panty liner or something.
The guest and her husband were angry and upset, but so was OP. The event quickly ended and the feud has spilled into OP’s husband’s work.
Julia cried and her husband yelled at me, but who does that? Especially at someone else’s house? Husbands two female coworkers came to my defense, and pretty much said it was stupid of her to do that. Julia half assed cleaning up her mess, and her and her husband quickly left. All of their coworkers think Julia shouldn’t have done that, but my husband and his coworker are having a whole feud about it.
So OP wonders: was she wrong?
AITA for calling out my husbands coworkers wife for trying to flush a maxi pad down our toilet?
She also edits to add that Julia DOES know better, but that the trash can was not in the bathroom, so Julia was also kind of faced with a weird “Wtf do I do now” situation.
Edit: We have a septic tank. Septic tank repairs here can easily go for around 10,000$. Julia has a septic tank. Julia knows better. When I asked if she would flush a pad in her own home she said no. Julia said she did it because there was no trashcan in there, and she didnt want to walk her pad to a different trashcan. The trashcan from that bathroom was outside being washed because a different coworker got vomit on it. I dont think saving her some embarrassment would be worth paying thousands of dollars to repair. Also, she saw that the toilet was clogged and decided to walk off and leave it for someone else.
Basically, no guest in my home would ever be treated this way — but I’d also hope my guests wouldn’t flush their pads or tampons.
Reddit came pretty firmly down on OP’s side, though I still think she could have handled it with more grace.
“NTA. She literally flooded you bathroom, potentially could’ve cost you $10,000 in damages, then left it for you to clean up after she obviously clogged the toilet. Who does that?” wrote one.
Another said, “NTA- I don’t agree with people saying you should’ve pulled her aside and not embarrassed her. Maybe if she was a teenager and hadn’t had her period for long, but this is grown woman and she should’ve known better. She messed up your bathroom and could have caused thousands in damages. It wasn’t a small mistake and therefore she doesn’t deserve the courtesy of you babying her.”
