This is the incident that happened essentially. 

So let’s start with the washing machine and dryer. And disclaimers, I have tried to be as kind to this woman as possible. Even keeping some of her cardboard in my room when there wasn’t room for it in our bins, she refused to pay me for  the communal bins, I didn’t do anything, I wasn’t disrespectful. The feeling is not mutual.

But anyway, landlord said that we should know when the washing machine cycle finishes so clothes should not be left in the washing machine and ready for the next person to use.

It is not uncommon for people to take clothes out of the washing machine and put theirs in. I’ve done it before and put hers in the tumble dryer for her. If she takes mine out, they just get put over the chair, which is fine. I don’t think she was happy last time because I handled her clothes and she said the floor was dirty (because there was quite a lot of them) and got annoyed at me. 


Last night, her clothes had been in the washing machine when the cycle had finished for about 15 minutes, so I took them out and put them in the tumble dryer and turned it on.

She comes down, gets annoyed, and says “Was this you?” I said yes. She asks me who told me to put them in. And I told her that the landlord said that the clothes should be taken out of the washing machine when the cycle was done. And she said “But did she tell you to put the tumble dryer on? You could have ruined my clothes!” I’m assuming she took something out of her load because she then ran the tumble dryer for that load anyway. 

Which is fair enough. I apologized. In future I can just leave them in the chair as she does mine.

Then I’m doing the washing up, she comes down but I have my earphones in so she waves her hand in front of my face and asks how long her clothes were in the tumble dryer (about 10-15 minutes), but it was getting late by then and I needed to put my laundry in. She starts raising her voice, asking why I couldn’t wait to the point that I ask her firmly “Why are you being disrespectful?” And she mutters under her breath,  “Oh I’m being disrespectful” and turns and walks away.

She’s older than me. Where did she get the idea that it is out or all to people like that? Is it how she talks to her boyfriend, her manager, her family, I don’t know. I rang the landlord after and told her about it and she said not to worry because she will have a word with her but I am still interested in how to deal with my house mate who the entire time I have been here, either regards me with cold disdain or outright rudeness. 

Ever since then, when I think of it, it makes me anxious at the thought of seeing her again. How can people be so unkind to each other and treat people like that? It  is making me physically uncomfortable. Like I am on edge in my own home.