Scrubbing pots and cleaning ferrets

RoveDaily’s etiquette expert Terri Psiakis ensures that good hygiene and good manners don’t go up in smoke.

Dear Terri,

I live with three of my mates – all of whom smoke pot – and while smoking is their choice and I respect that, I find it disgusting when they wash their bongs in the kitchen sink. They don’t see the problem with it, despite the fact that it turns my stomach. How do I get them to see things my way?

Caroline, Taylors Lakes VIC

Dear Caroline,

The way some people treat their kitchens amazes me. A friend of mine once lived with a guy who used his kitchen sink to bathe his ferret. And no, that’s not a euphemism. Five minutes after he’d bathed ‘Rocky’ he’d wash the dishes. If it had been me living with this guy I would have punched him in the face.

There were a few revolving bedroom doors in the first sharehouse I lived in and one morning I got up early to use the bathroom, which was adjacent to the kitchen. When I emerged I saw – and I’m not making this up – a naked man standing at the kitchen sink. And it shocked me, mainly because he wasn’t mine. But not only was he completely starkers but he was also completely looking like he was about to do wee in the sink. I’m not ashamed to tell you that I yelled things at that guy that would have made Chopper Read blush. And the only thing he said in response was “But the bathroom was busy”. If I had a gun, you know what I would have done.

When it comes to what shouldn’t be in kitchen sinks, bongs are right up there with ferrets and wangs, and I think you’re well within your rights to demand that your housemates re-think their bong-washing tendencies. How would they feel if you washed your bum in their bong-water? Let them know in no uncertain terms that the rule for kitchen sinks is that apart from crockery, you don’t put anything in there that you wouldn’t eat (although you never know what might happen to a ferret in a room full of pot-smokers with the munchies). Enjoy.

Do you have tricky questions or grey areas in your life you’d like cleared up? Drop Terri an email at dearterri@rove.com.au