The Hairy Truth: How One Roommate Served Up a Petty (and Hilarious) Lesson in Bathroom Etiquette
We’ve all been there—or at least, we all fear we could be. You share a bathroom with someone who just doesn’t understand that “shared” doesn’t mean “leave your DNA in the drain.” One Redditor found herself at the end of her rope (or strand?) with her hairy, hygiene-challenged roommate, and decided it was time to take justice into her own hands—in the pettiest way possible.
If you think the worst thing about shared living is fighting over fridge space, just wait until you read about the revenge dished out in this epic tale of dirty dishes, frozen pizza, and—of course—shower hair.
The Strands That Broke the Roommate’s Patience
Meet our protagonist, a 23-year-old woman sharing an apartment with four others. Luckily, she only has to share her bathroom with one of them—a 24-year-old man with long, curly hair and a penchant for chaos. As she described on r/PettyRevenge, he’s the kind of roomie who leaves dirty dishes everywhere, subsists on frozen pizza, and, crucially, refuses to remove his hair from the shower.
Here’s the kicker: His excuse for not picking up the hair? “I think having to touch wet hair is disgusting. I just don’t like doing it.” As the OP points out, “does he think it's any less disgusting for me to have to do it instead?” The rest of us can only nod in solidarity, remembering the many times we’ve muttered similar complaints under our breath.
After repeated, polite reminders failed, she snapped. Her solution? Collect the abandoned hair with toilet paper and deposit it—artfully, stealthily—onto his hairbrush. “I know this is foul but I'm just fed up with his bullshit,” she confessed, with a mix of guilt and satisfaction that only true petty revenge can produce.
The Reddit Peanut Gallery: Pillows, Toothbrushes, and Tumbleweeds
Reddit, as always, delivered with a deluge of support, laughter, and even escalation ideas. The top-voted comment, by u/ilovefireengines, cut right to the chase: “It’s in the shower so it’s clean right. Well put it on his pillow for him to deal with. Every single time. No matter how long it’s been.” If you ever wondered whether the internet would encourage you to level up your pettiness, the answer is a resounding yes.
Others had even more diabolical suggestions. Several commenters, like u/PawzzClawzz and u/TheRavingDinosaur, gleefully proposed transferring the hair to his toothbrush, though the OP quickly pointed out a shocking twist—he doesn’t own one. (Cue the collective shudder at the implications.) “He could see it if it was on the toothbrush (also I shockingly just discovered… he doesn’t have one right now ???!) with the hairbrush he will never notice and just keep brushing with his shower hair in it :),” she replied.
Commenters like u/Nanskieee and u/Known-Skin3639 took things further: why not put the hair in his bed, under his pillow, or even gift-wrap a tumbleweed-sized hairball for Christmas? It seems there’s no limit to the creativity born from shared-bathroom trauma.
But the community did more than just egg on the petty. Some, like u/Unique-Disk-4330, got philosophical: “If no one ever makes it his problem, it stays someone else’s forever. That’s how bad habits survive.” It’s a point echoed by many: sometimes, a little discomfort is the only way to break the cycle of inconsiderate behavior.
Hygiene, Habits, and the Art of the Gentle Nudge
While the story is hilarious, it also highlights a truth about communal living: someone’s “small” habit quickly becomes everyone else’s big annoyance. As u/Teahouse_Fox (a fellow long-haired person) explained, it’s not hard to use some TP and scoop up the hair—so why is it such a Herculean task for some?
Some commenters, like u/Preciousjj21 and u/Foreign_Emu_7943, suggested supplying gloves to remove any “ick” factor, only for OP to clarify: “We have them in the bathroom. He just doesn’t give a f***.” There you have it—sometimes, it’s not about tools or reminders, it’s about effort (or the lack thereof).
The thread also veered into wild roommate horror stories. From ex-military men who still couldn’t clean up after themselves to roommates who let pets pee on furniture and left dishes as “art installations,” it’s clear that this is a universal struggle. As u/Glittering_Signal618 recounted, “He did worse dirty and disrespectful things but this was arguably the most traumatic.”
Yet, amid the chaos, some commenters held onto hope. “I’d buy myself a box of protective gloves… Don’t clean up after him anymore but give him a chance. He may have ADHD and it’s truly hard for him to clean,” offered u/likeablyweird, highlighting the importance of empathy alongside exasperation.
The Takeaway: Petty, Yes—But Also a Teachable Moment
Is moving a roommate’s hair from the shower to his hairbrush the height of pettiness? Absolutely. Is it also a masterstroke in making the consequences of laziness a little more… personal? Without a doubt. As one commenter summarized, “Honestly this is gross but also deserved. If he refuses to clean up his own mess after being asked multiple times he cannot be surprised when it comes back to him. Sometimes petty is the only language people understand.”
So, what’s the lasting wisdom here? Whether you’re living with a slob or just enduring a few bad habits, sometimes you have to get creative—and a little bit petty—to keep your sanity. And if you’re the one leaving a trail of hair, dirty dishes, or pizza boxes, well… consider this your warning.
Have you ever dished out (or received) a perfectly petty revenge in a roommate battle? Share your story in the comments, and let’s commiserate—or celebrate—together!
Original Reddit Post: Roommates dirty shower hair