‘My MIL cleaned our house while I was in labour, now she is expecting payment’

“When we entrusted you with the dogs, we really thought you were helping us out of the good of your heart and not giving you an opportunity to make a quick buck."

Bec* and Daniel* were only days away from welcoming their first child and were waiting patiently for the moment to head to the hospital.

Standing in the bedroom of their home, Bec’s waters suddenly broke, spilling onto the carpet.

In a rush to get out, Bec threw a towel down on the carpet and knew they could return to clean it at a later date.

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Sandy went to her son's house and cleaned the house... then charged the couple $200. Source: iStock

MIL accused of “snooping through house” and charging $200 to clean

Bec’s birth was far from easy, with health complications leading her to stay in the hospital for a week before being released with her “beautiful son,” she explained to Reddit. 

As Bec recovered, her mother-in-law, Sandy*, “kindly offered” to feed and take care of their dogs.  “We were very appreciative of her help,” she said. 

When the American couple returned home with their bundle of joy, Bec noticed a note stuck to the fridge in the kitchen. 

According to the handwritten letter, Sandy cleaned the stain on the carpet where Bec’s waters broke, much to Bec's surprise. To make matters worse, Sandy was expecting to be reimbursed for her efforts.

“She had also taken it upon herself to clean the rest of the house while she was at it, and all in all, would like a day's pay at $25/hour + $200 worth of products,” Bec wrote. 

Upset and disturbed, she mentioned that Sandy had no idea about Bec’s waters breaking, meaning she was “snooping through the house” while they were away. 

They also wondered where the mysterious $200 worth of products were located since they couldn’t find them anywhere in the house, yet were expected to fork out the cash to pay for it. 

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“While it was nice of her to clean my carpet and then the rest of my house, neither of us asked her to do this,” Bec said. 

Frustrated and upset by the scene, Daniel sent his mum an angry SMS, accusing her of being nosy and dropping hundreds on cleaning products without asking first.

“Hello mum, we really appreciate your help over the last few days while [Bec] was in the hospital. It was great having someone over to look after the dogs,” the message read. 

“When we entrusted you with the dogs, we really thought you were helping us out of the good of your heart and not giving you an opportunity to make a quick buck.

“We are family and are hurt you would do something like this while [Bec] was so unwell.” 

Sandy responded instantly, claiming she only cleaned the house “out of the kindness of her heart” and “cannot believe we would be so ungrateful.”

She must have told other family members, too, because Bec and Daniel were soon bombarded by messages from other relatives, telling them they were “manipulating the situation” and making Sandy “the bad guy when she was only trying to get the house ready for the baby.” 

After a while, Sandy sent another message, this time “saying she would be happy to gift us the products” but still expects to be “paid for her time given that she dealt with ‘a biohazard.’" 

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“I did it out of the kindness of my heart, now where’s my money?”

Despite Sandy’s attempt at “helping” the couple, many online argued it’s only helpful if the recipients desired assistance. 

In fact, because the MIL said she did it out of the “kindness of her heart”, the concept of paying is instantly thrown out the window. 

“‘Kindness of my heart’ is the key phrase to me equals no payment needed,” someone wrote. “I did it out of the kindness of my heart, now where’s my money?” another comment read. 

“It’s like those guys that start cleaning your windshield and then expect to be paid,” a guy shared. “I didn’t ask for or want your service.”

Others wondered why Sandy didn’t spend the $200 to hire a cleaner to do the same service, therefore reducing her risk of being exposed to “a biohazard.”

“I don’t know how anyone would spend $200 on cleaning products,” wrote a suspicious person. “I suspect she bought extra so she would have more at home.”

“A mother charging her own child for cleaning is legitimately insane,” a shocked person wrote, instead offering to take her out for a nice meal to say thanks. 

“Expecting a payment for that type of help undermines what a familial relationship is meant to be.”  

*Names have been changed. 

Originally published as ‘My MIL cleaned our house while I was in labour, now she is expecting payment’