Cleaning lady found diaper. Advice?

Hi, so our cleaning lady came today and I am 99% certain I left a slightly wet NorthShore brief out in our bedroom on the dresser, as I had gone to the gym (unpadded) to get out of her hair. I didn't realize my mistake until I got back and spotted the diaper in our bathroom trashcan (I never dispose of them there). Oops. Wondering if anyone has faced this situation before? It certainly triggers some shame / embarrassment issues for me, but my inclination is to not say or do anything, and hope that she doesn't say anything... (She cleans the houses of two good friends of ours, with whom I prefer to keep my personal proclivities private, so there's that...) While my mind is saying "it's not that big a deal, it's just a diaper, people wear them for all kinds of reasons", I feel quite anxious and panicked about the whole thing. While I'd expect her to not say anything out of professional courtesy, it's not like she's a lawyer, doctor or a therapist who is required to keep such matters private. Figured I'd post here, to see if anyone has had a similar experience, and how they handled it. Thanks!

I'd try to forget it happened. They're not likely to bring it up.

yep, the best path is to forget about it. bringing it up to her will only reinforce the memory in both her and your minds. i doubt she will say anything, being dscreet is in part how she makes her living.

Not a doctor, lawyer or anything else with privileges but she does want to keep you as a client and will likely keep her findings to herself. Relax and give her a Christmas bonus!

Professional cleaning lady here (well nominally lady). I've been in the business for eleven years this year and have seen everything from diapers to ceiling mayonnaise (don't ask, because I have no idea) to literally (expletive denoting excrement) in the foyer. And I can tell you this —

We're just there to clean. Not chatter or judge. We don't have time to gossip — that's time that could be spent networking, working, or administering pain relief after a round of working. Even loose freelancing groups keep the chatter to a minimum, because we all know we all need work and the networks are not very big, often times.

We need the jobs. Some of us even overlook potential biohazards if it means we get our meds AND food, rather than OR.

OmiOMy said:

Professional cleaning lady here (well nominally lady)... I've been in the business for eleven years this year and have seen everything from diapers to ceiling mayonnaise (don't ask, because I have no idea) to literally (expletive denoting excrement) in the foyer. ..

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Hi OmiOMy... I managed lodges and guest houses for twenty years and I once found little balls of snot peppering the ceiling of a tenant's room. When I asked him why he (obviously) picked his nose and flicked his goobers onto the ceiling he swore that the ceiling was like that before he moved in! Now I cleaned and let those rooms so I begged to differ with him. And then there was the Indian guy who urinated into soda bottles and stored them in his wardrobe rather than bothering to leave his room to use the communal bathroom. But what might be of most interest to some of us here was the old bloke who used depends (probably for LBL) and would dry them out in his room and re-use them over and over and over. "They are too expensive to throw out after just one use." he said. I had to agree with him but...

Hi 2020Porter. You are right. "It's not that big a deal", and the cleaner will just assume you have some sort of urinary issue. If you continue to worry about it print out some internet articles about some medical condition that explains why you have diapers and leave them on your bedside table. She will put two and two together and come to the wrong conclusion. And you will stop worrying.

twinky said:

Hi OmiOMy... I managed lodges and guest houses for twenty years and I once found little balls of snot peppering the ceiling of a tenant's room. When I asked him why he (obviously) picked his nose and flicked his goobers onto the ceiling he swore that the ceiling was like that before he moved in! Now I cleaned and let those rooms so I begged to differ with him. And then there was the Indian guy who urinated into soda bottles and stored them in his wardrobe rather than bothering to leave his room to use the communal bathroom. But what might be of most interest to some of us here was the old bloke who used depends (probably for LBL) and would dry them out in his room and re-use them over and over and over. "They are too expensive to throw out after just one use." he said. I had to agree with him but...

...

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Never a dull day in this line of work, is there?

OmiOMy said:

Never a dull day in this line of work, is there?

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Nope. And if I wanted a dull job I would have been an astronaut.

Thanks everybody! Your replies are all very reassuring. It’s easy to make a mountain out of a molehill (or in this case, a diaper) with this situation, but it’s unnecessary. Feeling much better after reading all of these thoughtful replies. Our cleaning lady is pretty awesome, and does a great job (and we left her an extra months pay as a Christmas bonus) and you’re right, I’m sure she’s seen much crazier stuff (she used to work at a hotel before she started doing houses). Thanks and cheers!

The trick is to notice your anxiety, but quarantine it and go on as if nothing significant happened. You'll quickly gather feedback as to whether anyone else found it odd. By not acting on the anxiety you can more objectively interpret how people are responding, without muddying the waters with attempts to fix things. If you panic and try to fix the problem you imagine is there, you'll most likely draw attention and ensure that the other person thinks something is odd.