40 Times Designers Forgot Things Need To Be Cleaned When Creating Them, As Shared On This Facebook Group (New Pics)
The last time we wrote about the Facebook group 'Things designed by people who don't have to clean them', it had 40,000 members. But since then, this online community has more than doubled and is approaching the 100,000 mark, so it's about time we release an update on them.
"The design and maintenance of our spaces are deeply political," the group writes in its 'About' section. "The entire point of 'Things designed by people who don't have to clean them' is that those who design and those who maintain are not the same. Because we spend most of our time in designed spaces this disconnect has a huge impact, especially on those who traditionally don't have power in society."
So they're here, shaking things up, trying to remind everyone about the hidden tax attached to Swarovski-encrusted toilets and rock-covered sinks, and that is the amount of headache and time people will spend cleaning them.
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Just Stay In The 70s. Thanks
My Goodness
For our earlier article, we got in touch with the founder of the group, Will Feetham. He described the content you see on 'Things designed by people who don't have to clean them' as design-focused critical analysis.
Even though it has grown tremendously, the group remains private and you have to answer a few political questions to get in. Feetham has had pushback from the applicants about this as the group seems anything but political, however, he believes that the design and maintenance of our spaces are deeply political. "The entire point of 'Things designed by people who don't have to clean them' is that those who design and those who maintain are not the same," he told Bored Panda. "Because we spend most of our time in spaces [designed by others], this disconnect has a huge impact, especially on those who traditionally don't have power in society."
This Was Never A Good Idea!
This Belongs Here
I Found A Hair On Your T-Shirt. Who Is She?
"Looking at bad design helps highlight the importance of good design, and thinking about who will clean what we design makes us focus on the importance of inclusion in the design process. As a tag group, we can inject a bit of thought about these issues into a lot of different conversations which makes me so happy."
Feetham got the idea for the group from a picture of a topographical relief sink modeled after a lake, which he has been told is in the California state library. "It's beautiful, and the concept is both insightful and educational. In the execution, though, the designer didn't consider the people who would have to clean the installation. Clearly, a lot of thought went into the concept, but that thoughtfulness doesn't seem to have extended to maintenance. 'Things designed by people who don’t have to clean them' just popped into my head."
This Is My Ceiling Light. It’s New, And I Loved It Til I Joined This Group And Realized I Have No Idea How To Clean It
Now Imagine That It Rains
Rock Bottom
Saw This Sink In A Bathroom Showroom And Thought Of You My Friends. It Has Actual Fish In It
As you could guess, Feetham himself doesn't like cleaning. "As a cisgender man in our patriarchal culture, I have been allowed to do less than my share of household chores at many points in my life," he said. "Equality is deeply important to me, and I have come to understand the many ways, large and small, that the caring and cleaning work that forms the foundation of our daily existence is minimized."
According to him, our society tends to devalue the invisible service class, who are often women and people of color. So they are left to pick up the pieces, literally, and tend to the performative aesthetics of our consumer culture.
Bride Decided This Was The Best Way To Display Her Dress After The Wedding
I Finally Have A Contribution!! Reminds Me Of The Fuzzy Skeleton Someone Shared The Other Day…maybe This One Could Be Thrown In The Washer?
Omfg, This Is Giving Me The Shivers
This Entire Room
I Present To You My Desk Chair
I hate it. It was here when I got here. The bumps are hard plastic and extremely uncomfortable also the back has no give whatsoever. I work in the office part of a warehouse and everything gets super dirty here. Not looking forward to cleaning it which I can imagine will be done with a toothbrush.
This Was A Sink In A Public Bathroom That I Used Yesterday
(it does have a drain, it’s just hard to see under the bubbles) it’s flat, theres ridges in it that go about an inch deep into the sink to resemble rock or something. It’s obviously covered in grime and soap residue. Might have been cool in someone’s house, but not in a public bathroom like this
My Toes And Shins Hurt Just Looking At This. Hope You Like Cobwebs
Indoor Beach. Oof
Seletti: Monkey Chandelier By Marcantonio
I wish I had it but DAMN.
(also, it cost too much for me.)
(BUT ANYWAY DAMN!!!)
Found In The Wild. My Mom, Who Has No Knowledge Of Facebook Or This Group, Her First Words Were "Try Cleaning That."
Ummm
Just.... Why?! Even If The Bowl Is Smooth, The Outside Is Just...
Yeah, It's An Art Installation. Very Ugly Art
I'd Like To Personally Say F**k You To Whoever Invented This Damn Kitchen Gadget. You Don't Know How Many Nights It Would Be My Turn To Do The Dishes And This F**ker Always, Always, Ended Up Being Used. I Hate It So Much
It's Cute Tho
Is this a mug for cat haters? Every time you have tea of coffee, you get to drown the kitty.
I had one with a giant cockroach in it. Everyone in the warehouse left it alone.
I have one like this with a cow inside. Just pop it in the dishwasher. (I only drink blank tea out of it though)
I also have one with a cow. I wonder if we have the same one.
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That's actually quite sweet--it looks like someone made it by hand.
I have one of these, only with a bunny inside! Not a problem to wash at all.
my wife has a kitchen string dispenser that's in the shape of a fox's head. the string comes out the mouth and the scissors are held in the top of the nose with the handle loops looking like the fox is wearing glasses. She thinks it's adorable and i think it looks like someone stabbed a fox in the face with scissors.
If you rinse the cup right after use it will clean up fine. I am not sure if they are really dishwasher safe in the long run. However, in addition, you can use tabs like Kukident to deep clean it every once in a while.
Isn't dish washing enough of a pain in the neck without adding challenges?
I have a few unusual mugs that I use for holding pencils/pens/etc because they'd be too hard to clean if I used them normally, so you could use it like that.
With the way I spin my spoon in my mug to mix the sugar with the coffee, this poor kitty would be beheaded! :'(
just dont let the coffe dry and rinse it with warm water immediately and you will be good...
I like it but I would only use it as a decorative conversation piece!
Behold
Peak Impracticality
20 Stories Of Metal Loovers
The Pieces That Are Overlapped Would Be A Nuisance To Polish! And As Someone Easily Distracted I Wouldn't Know What Piece Of Mirror To Look In When Using It But That's Just Me
Just... Why
The idea is fun, but cleaning not so much. Also these thing break so easily I would constantly think I'm drinking glass shards.
This Chest...the Cuts Are Like 5cm Deep In Some Spots...
Feast Your Eyes On This Monstrosity
This Mirror I Saw At A Bar In Charleston
“Giant Corn Stool” - There’s A Joke In There Somewhere
These Ceiling Mics In The Choir Room At My School
You can’t reach them without a ladder and I don’t think they have ever been cleaned.
(I’m not good at descriptions but I tried)
Description: A small black ceiling microphone with a large cobweb wrapped around it.
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Things Designed By People Who Don't Have To Clean Them And Bought By The People Who Don't Care About Cleaning Them
I Want This. But I Don't Want The Drama Associated With Cleaning It
I Thought This Would Fit Here
Copper ball bearings to clean the insides of glassware and decanters without scratching.
I Found One In The Wild!! About Eight Feet Long, Hanging From A Door Frame. Various Beautiful Sea Shells Tied To A Central Cord. The Angles, Textures, And How Tight They're Strung Together Would Never Allow A Duster Through Properly. The Central Cord Is Hemp So Can't Get It Wet! And The Small Crevasses Are Impossible To Reach, Especially In The Spiral And Hollow Shells. Beautiful Idea, But The Dust Magnet This Is Makes Me Want To Burn It With Fire
Artificial Grass In The Bathroom. I Wonder How Long Before It Ends Up In Yup, That's A Piss Corner Mushroom
Note: this post originally had 81 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
I'm surprised that the most irritating thing to clean isn't on here. The ceiling fan.
Those are irritating. I have two in my classroom. I have to stand on a desk and use a yardstick with a wipe rubber banded to the tip. I think I should invest in one of those long-handled feather duster thingies
Load More Replies... Some of those things were actual poorly designed and hard to clean, but for the rest, you are just lazy.
See, a lot of these things really don’t need to be cleaned. I mean, sure, if you’re going to eat out of it or it might spread bacteria or fungi or something, yes, but otherwise not everything has to be clean all the time. So what if you can’t dust your chandelier? The only places people would see dust is on larger surfaces of it, which you can clean.
Wow! There's some hideous and scary designs in this. I wouldn't have to worry about cleaning it cause I'd never put it in my home but it wouldn't be impossible to clean most of these. Maybe time consuming but it is doable.
I'm surprised that the most irritating thing to clean isn't on here. The ceiling fan.
Those are irritating. I have two in my classroom. I have to stand on a desk and use a yardstick with a wipe rubber banded to the tip. I think I should invest in one of those long-handled feather duster thingies
Load More Replies... Some of those things were actual poorly designed and hard to clean, but for the rest, you are just lazy.
See, a lot of these things really don’t need to be cleaned. I mean, sure, if you’re going to eat out of it or it might spread bacteria or fungi or something, yes, but otherwise not everything has to be clean all the time. So what if you can’t dust your chandelier? The only places people would see dust is on larger surfaces of it, which you can clean.
Wow! There's some hideous and scary designs in this. I wouldn't have to worry about cleaning it cause I'd never put it in my home but it wouldn't be impossible to clean most of these. Maybe time consuming but it is doable.
