# Cleaning ladies are stealing drugs. Great. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 7, 2018, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154 "2018-11-07T20:30:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154/21 "2018-11-08T02:02:30Z")
If you call the police and it was a family member (or the patient herself) who took the missing ones, that introduces a new… level of detail. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154/22 "2018-11-08T02:17:00Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > If you have someone close who’s sold drugs before and currently could use some money, then all bets are off regarding the cleaner. Yeah, that does change things quite a bit. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard about grandkids ripping off their grandparents; my own brother did it. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![justanothermike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@justanothermike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justanothermike)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154/23 "2018-11-08T02:32:50Z")
My wife and I have cleaned together for 18 years. A lot of people get into the business, usually as employees of a service, because they have a problem. There is a lot of theft of money and drugs in the industry, unfortunately. This is one reason that we don’t hire. When looking for a new cleaner, if that’s what you end up doing, I personally think that the best option is to get an individual or couple that does this full-time for their income with references. When you’re dealing with the people directly that will be in your home you can build a relationship with them and thus trust over time. You will get more consistent service as the same people will be in your home each time, and if this is a person’s livelihood and they’ve built their own self-employed business out of it they’re unlikely to jeopardize all of that to steal from you. With that said, such an accusation has to be made with absolute certainty. If that’s what she feels happened then it is at least worth notifying the owner of the business (unless she’s solo) in case there is a pattern here. As to calling the police, I don’t know. I personally am all for it, but I’d hate for someone to do that to me. Of course, I wouldn’t steal, but I guess someone could get a wild idea in their head and call the cops and cause problems so you really need to be sure. I know my mom worked for a service and they hired a black lady and one of the homeowners instantly accused that lady of theft in a room that my mom cleaned and where money was said to have been hidden. Chances are the other spouse used the money at some point over the years or something, but they pinned it on the new lady either because she was new or because she was black (who knows with people), but it was sad because there was no proof, just an accusation. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154/24 "2018-11-08T02:42:58Z")
One other possibility is that your MIL is taking more than she’s supposed to and covering for it by blaming the cleaning lady. I’d want to gather a bit more information before getting the police involved. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154/25 "2018-11-08T04:06:01Z")
Yeah, lock up your drugs. If any one is coming in, including the bugman, landlord or workmen. My MIL old neighborhood went through a rash of people knocking on the door and asking to come in to use the toilet. First off, no one is coming in my house strictly for toilet use. Second my drugs will not be in a guest usable bathroom. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154/26 "2018-11-08T05:55:53Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > One other possibility is that your MIL is taking more than she’s supposed to and covering for it by blaming the cleaning lady. I’d want to gather a bit more information before getting the police involved. This. Before you go off accusing the cleaner (who may well be totally innocent) I’d be excluding all other options first. I was a cleaner for many years when my kids were young. My clients knew they could trust me to do the job without ripping them off. I was their cleaner, house-sitter and dog-sitter as needed, and nary a bad word against me. However, there was one time that the ‘disinterested’ husband of a couple (the wife who had employed me was in hospital, she thought I was just the bees knees) left a $50 note lying under his dresser in an otherwise immaculately tidy room: It was obviously a ‘plant’, so I picked the money up and left it on top of the dresser, as ya do. Stupid old git was actually flabbergasted that he got the money back. Let’s face it, cleaners are the first to be accused when something goes missing. But we cleaners KNOW that we are just barbarians in aprons, and are loathe to give in to our baser instincts of pillaging every house we visit…😃 ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154/27 "2018-11-08T06:27:12Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > …Our first suspect was the nephew, who just graduated from high school, keeps getting fired from fast food-type jobs for stealing and such, and appears to be selling drugs for a living because he has had no other means of support for months… Uhh, yeah I definitely wouldn’t be telling the cleaning company you suspect one of their staff of anything. Maybe you still change cleaners, but I’d bet it’s the nephew. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154/28 "2018-11-08T15:35:58Z")
Well, here’s an update: I got home last night and asked how it all went down. MIL said that she just had one of those funny feelings, so she counted her Norco pills that morning and left the bottle in her top drawer. No one was in the house all day apart from MIL and the cleaners. There were 44 pills before they came and cleaned, there were 38 when they left. I told her that we could call the police, but nothing was likely to happen, since no one actually saw them get taken. But, they can’t be in our house again. MIL called up the woman (the business consists of her and her sister) and told her that pills were missing, which she had counted carefully. The immediate response was, “Well, it wasn’t us.” Red flag, to me; I would expect an innocent person to express surprise or shock before immediate denial. MIL told her we wouldn’t be needing their services anymore, she said “okay”, and hung up. So, we’re done with them. In truth, there have been other “disappearances”. Several weeks ago the 11 year old said that she couldn’t find a $20 bill she had put in her top drawer before the cleaners came. My wife looked at a painkiller bottle of hers last night and said, “I haven’t taken _that_ many.” Little things like that. So, I think we needed to move on from them. MIL says her husband (the one in the hospital) has a friend at work whose wife cleans houses. My main concern there is, what if down the road we need to let her go, what’ll that do to her husband’s work relationship with the guy? Sigh. I’ve downloaded the NextDoor app, and there are a few promising leads, but holy cow, does that app send out the notifications. So many alerts, so many emails. And yes, there’s a better-than-average chance that the layabout nephew has taken some of the Norco in the past, sure. But on this occasion, there’s not much doubt as to who could be responsible. MIL doesn’t even take them every day, so the chance that she’s taking too many seems remote; as a former nurse, she’s pretty aware of her medications. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154/29 "2018-11-08T15:43:01Z")
> [@](#): > > The immediate response was, “Well, it wasn’t us.” Red flag, to me; I would expect an innocent person to express surprise or shock before immediate denial. I wouldn’t. You wouldn’t be calling them if you didn’t think it was them, and cleaning agencies/individuals undoubtedly get accused (correctly or not) very often. It’s not new or shocking. Though certainly other things you mentioned point in their direction, this one is nothing at all to me. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154/30 "2018-11-08T15:44:11Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > My parents had their furnace replaced a couple years ago. In the middle of the job, my sister noticed that the guy was in a drawer in the kitchen and she could hear him in the upstairs bathroom. From what I recall, he said he was “checking the pipes”. She called my dad and asked him, he said there’s no ‘pipes’ to be checked. There is a t-stat on the second floor, but it’s not in the bathroom…or the other bathroom…or the linen closet…or the kitchen drawer. > My dad runs home and upon looking around finds three bottles of vicoden, all empty. > He confronts the guy and tells him to leave, as well as calls the company he works for and tells them what’s going on. A supervisor came out, they talked about it (my dad and the supervisor) and the supervisor basically said that there’s nothing he can do about it (even if the guy had pills on him, there’s no proof that they came from the house) and my dad’s best option was to call the police. > Knowing/assuming nothing would happen if he did that, he had to let it go, but made it clear that the job still needs to be finished and it has to be a different person. > > Yeah, it’s a little bit different, but that’s what happened. My SO once caught an exterminator rifling through her tray of quarters. Guy’s now an _ **ex** _terminator. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154/31 "2018-11-08T16:11:35Z")
I’d stay away from the friend from work - for exactly the reason you already gave. It’s not like cleaners are rare. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154/32 "2018-11-08T19:12:03Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Well, here’s an update: > > I got home last night and asked how it all went down. MIL said that she just had one of those funny feelings, so she counted her Norco pills that morning and left the bottle in her top drawer. No one was in the house all day apart from MIL and the cleaners. There were 44 pills before they came and cleaned, there were 38 when they left. > > I told her that we could call the police, but nothing was likely to happen, since no one actually saw them get taken. But, they can’t be in our house again. MIL called up the woman (the business consists of her and her sister) and told her that pills were missing, which she had counted carefully. The immediate response was, “Well, it wasn’t us.” Red flag, to me; I would expect an innocent person to express surprise or shock before immediate denial. MIL told her we wouldn’t be needing their services anymore, she said “okay”, and hung up. So, we’re done with them. > > In truth, there have been other “disappearances”. Several weeks ago the 11 year old said that she couldn’t find a $20 bill she had put in her top drawer before the cleaners came. My wife looked at a painkiller bottle of hers last night and said, “I haven’t taken _that_ many.” Little things like that. So, I think we needed to move on from them. > > MIL says her husband (the one in the hospital) has a friend at work whose wife cleans houses. My main concern there is, what if down the road we need to let her go, what’ll that do to her husband’s work relationship with the guy? Sigh. I’ve downloaded the NextDoor app, and there are a few promising leads, but holy cow, does that app send out the notifications. So many alerts, so many emails. > > And yes, there’s a better-than-average chance that the layabout nephew has taken some of the Norco in the past, sure. But on this occasion, there’s not much doubt as to who could be responsible. MIL doesn’t even take them every day, so the chance that she’s taking too many seems remote; as a former nurse, she’s pretty aware of her medications. It would be helpful in a situation like this to have a doorbell camera like Nest or Ring, b/c it sounds like there are times no one’s home and a person w/ a key (however obtained) could come and go unnoticed if they wanted to. Neighbors don’t see everything. At the very least, change where your family’s meds are stored to a less obvious spot. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154/33 "2018-11-08T19:40:30Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > My SO once caught an exterminator rifling through her tray of quarters. Guy’s now an _ **ex** _terminator. A double X terminator, then. One more and he’ll be hard core! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154/34 "2018-11-08T20:04:27Z")
> [@Tzigone](#): > > I wouldn’t. You wouldn’t be calling them if you didn’t think it was them, and cleaning agencies/individuals undoubtedly get accused (correctly or not) very often. It’s not new or shocking. > > Though certainly other things you mentioned point in their direction, this one is nothing at all to me. I was going to say, that would be exactly my response, so I wouldn’t treat it as a red flag in any possible way. How the hell is that a red flag? If the rest of the story checks out as retold, though, sure. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154/35 "2018-11-08T20:06:59Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > The immediate response was, “Well, it wasn’t us.” Red flag, to me; I would expect an innocent person to express surprise or shock before immediate denial. I also think you’re reading too much into this. A call to the housecleaner pointing out that pills were missing is an obvious accusation. I’d expect both innocent and guilty people to deny accusations. This is not a data point that points to anything. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154/36 "2018-11-08T21:15:36Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > I put out “loss leaders” when using a new, untrusted service. This applies whether it’s lawn, home repair, painting or cleaning. I distribute a reasonable amount of unimportant stuff about to see what gets moved, picked up, or outright disappears. I also keep security cameras on any work outside, and put out game cameras in areas they “shouldn’t” enter (the sudden flash alerts everybody, the miscreant gets a heads-up they’re being watched). I also do this in other situations using old or non working items to protect the high value stuff, but that’s for another thread I guess. Seems like a lot of work. I’d just do the job myself! 😃 > [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > It has all the hallmarks of manufactured oldlady drama. It’s _amazing_ how much drama can come from one little old lady. Not saying that is what is happening in the OP, just saying. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154/37 "2018-11-08T22:05:34Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > My SO once caught an exterminator rifling through her tray of quarters. Guy’s now an _ **ex** _terminator. He thought one of them was a slug. ---
**Author:** ![Onthefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9de053/32.png) [@Onthefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onthefly)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154/38 "2018-11-09T00:54:42Z")
Get your locks replaced or rekeyed. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154/39 "2018-11-09T01:24:07Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > My SO once caught an exterminator rifling through her tray of quarters. Guy’s now an _ **ex** _terminator. He’ll be bahk. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154/40 "2018-11-09T06:27:18Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > He’ll be bahk. 🙂 Oh FFS, GO TO YOUR ROOM Dravid. And stay there until you repent from bad jokes. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-ladies-are-stealing-drugs-great/824154.md?page=3)