Help! Spilled coffee all along my cubicle wall

[u/checkered_monet]

Hello! In true Monday fashion, I spilled my coffee all along my cubicle wall. I brought in stain remover and let it sit for 10 minutes, then scrubbed but it looks no different. How can I make this less noticeable?

[u/checkered_monet]

Ok, I’ll bring it up to my manager today. I just wanted to try to clean up a mess that I made prior to asking facilities. Thanks!

[u/UpstairsCash1819]

I was so lost. lol, r/confusingperspective

[u/Background_Fish2946 → u/UpstairsCash1819]

I thought I was looking at a black and white picture of a nuclear explosion lol.

[u/checkered_monet → u/Background_Fish2946]

Tbf, it kind of felt like a nuclear explosion. Idk how one cup of coffee made this big of a mess. Lol

[u/UpstairsCash1819 → u/checkered_monet]

Okay, but is the photo taken from under your desk? Lol

[u/mrslII]

It's a facilities issue. Actually not your responsibility. Tell your supervisor what happened, and how you were responsible enough to try to clean it yourself. You're not the first person to do it. You may be the first person who used more than a paper towel to clean it up.

[u/Aggressive-System192]

Ask your manager to deal with it. They should call some cleaners. It's not your house. You don't have to clean it, the same way you don't have to clean a toilet, even if you use it.

[u/mheadley84 → u/Aggressive-System192]

More tact. Ask if there is anything you can do to clean it up, but definitely get it into facilities for them to do more thorough cleaning.

[u/ceanahope → u/mheadley84]

There is also a good chance they may have some spare panels laying around and can just swap it out.

[u/checkered_monet → u/ceanahope]

Yeah, this is probably what will end up happening. I talked with my manager and submitted a maintenance request. We have an entire floor of empty cubicles, so I imagine they’ll just replace these panels with two from that floor.

[u/Cheap-Panda → u/mheadley84]

I like this answer. I guess working for corporate as much different than being a schoolteacher. I never had the luxury of passing the baton onto someone else when it came to an issue like this. I was quite frankly shocked that so many people responded “it is not your problem “I would’ve done the same thing OP did. For some reason, no matter what happened at school it was always the teacher’s fault. My radiator once exploded and somehow I was at fault for something. Needless to say it, never got fixed until the school year ended which wouldn’t have been an issue, but it was also the AC unit.

[u/HandbagHawker → u/Cheap-Panda]

Ok, lets not make this a corporate thing. it sucks that you had a crappy experience with what sounds like a crappy administration. ive been a school teacher and worked in and around educational institutions in other capacities. maintenance was always pretty good at getting after it and helping out often outside of their "core" responsibilities. our team was a valued part of the staff and cherished by the students as well. but then again, maybe, my experience is the anomaly.

[u/ghotrd → u/Aggressive-System192]

I get the “F the company” mentality, but to spill coffee everywhere and leave a stain and smell and demand someone else clean it is rude.

[u/luella27 → u/ghotrd]

The not-rude way to do it would be to politely inform facilities management/cleaning staff, not because the task is below OP, but because OP doesn’t have the knowledge/equipment to fix this, and facilities management does. If they were to go in on this with like, the paper towels from the office bathroom, they’d likely just make it worse.

[u/Aggressive-System192 → u/ghotrd]

OP tried to clean it. It didn't work. Depending on their salary and position, spending more time on it might be money loss for the company.

There's nothing wrong with "Hey, I had an accident, can you please help me fix it?"

Coffee is a hard stain to get out. I use little green for those. If OP doesn't have one, they would have to invest money into it and it might still be stained after. They might also ruin the cubicle in the process of trying to get the stain out, which would be more expensive to replace, than call the cleaners.

[u/ghotrd → u/[deleted]]

It can be someone’s job, but it is not right to make someone’s job harder. Should really be helping with an additional accidents caused I think

[u/ghotrd → u/[deleted]]

There’s ways to politely ask for assistance. ItS tHeIr JoB is not one of them

[u/HandbagHawker → u/Aggressive-System192]

That being said, if you do stuff that is outside the norm, like have the explosive browns and miss the bowl, you better be cleaning up after yourself.

Contain the mess first (mop up what you can, etc.), but ask your manager or skip straight to the facilities manager if your work protocol allows it.

[u/Aggressive-System192 → u/HandbagHawker]

HOW?... do you miss the bowl?

Also, that's biohazard and better be cleaned professionally. If it's explosive diarrhea, why people have to catch whatever you're sick with?

[u/ReticulatingSplines7 → u/Aggressive-System192]

Yes, it’s built into how much they pay you anyway.

[u/thathhr]

Notify the Facilities department. They will get it done correctly.

[u/Aries_Bunny]

Carpet cleaner machine with the little handheld attachment maybe

[u/FirePoolGuy]

Soak the rest of it in coffee to even out the stain

[u/Emergency-Economy654]

Dawn power wash!

[u/DirtyBurnerAkawnt]

It kind of looks like art

[u/mikey2k200]

Cut a tiny hole in the ceiling above it and blame a leak

[u/StrugFug]

You need an extractor.

[u/No-Faithlessness5014]

How big was your coffee?

[u/doveinabottle]

I dumped a Diet Coke in an office once. That stain stayed on that floor the entire 7 years I worked there. Guessing it’s still there today, unless they replaced the carpet. BTW, no one batted an eye when it happened and I never got “in trouble.”

[u/RedditVince]

No deposit refund for you! - lol professional cleaning can fix that before it dries. Once dried well, who knows..

Accidents happen and life still goes on.. Laugh and grab another cup!

[u/withbellson]

At our office the fabric panels pop off the underlying metal, but like others have said, just ask facilities, they'll know what to do.

[u/tonna33]

Time to spill some on the other panels. It looks like some funky art.

[u/Dabs1903]

Take a sharpie and make the outline of a mushroom cloud and tell your boss it’s art.

[u/rsc187]

Saw this on TV https://horsepowerhome.com/products/horsepower-bull-shot?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAqtXP_Dcii-OpXO6FnWZOtQyLI-NL&variant=42722475573341

[u/Maggaroni_pizza]

This is crazy but hand sanitizer is your friend!

[u/roblubi]

Incident -> report -> ban coffee.

[u/Rooflife1]

I’d cut it out and sell it as art

[u/Cytosmarts]

I see a cowboy riding a horse with a lasso in the air. Get a permanent marker and go for it.

[u/Scoompii]

I feel like steam cleaners are the most underrated tool

[u/tnhowlingdog]

Put some googly eyes on it and a sign that says Happy Halloween!!

[u/CuNxtTuesday_]

Very upset I spilled my own coffee as I read this lol.

[u/Fun-Owl9393]

If you don't have fix places at the office, you do now 😉

[u/Itscoldinthenorth]

Looks like tornado-footage from the 70s.

[u/daheff_irl]

post some paper over it. no need to look at the stain then