My roommate just came back drunk; vomited all over our room and then took off

<p>^^^^ The OP is sure to have a year of hell if he follows all of your advice. </p>

<p>OP… discuss this matter with your roommate the minute you see him. Let him know that you will not accept him being so sloppy that he vomits all over the room. Show him the trash can and tell him that he MUST use it in the future, if he should need to vomit again. In the meantime get yourself a pair of plastic gloves and some cleaning fluid and clean up that mess or you will live with that smell for days or weeks. Let the roommate know that you will never clean up after him again because he will never vomit on the floor again. This may be college but vomit is disgusting and the smell is horrific. You need to make some things clear as soon as you see a problem arising.</p>

<p>Consider asking for a room change with the housing dept.</p>

<p>Has your roommate returned? Does he even remember the incident? Hopefully he’ll handle it appropriately, but if not, I repeat my first sentence. Room change.</p>

<p>M-t, hell is already upon the OP as his property has been damaged and he may be liable for the damage caused to the dorm by his roommate. OP must to take swift legal action to avoid liability and to recoup his losses. This is not something that can be reasoned out of unless the roommate is prepared to cut a large cheque on the spot.</p>

<p>It is as I have said: do not reason with a cockroach, crush it.</p>

<p>Wow. You seem to be one angry dude, vanagander. Is this hitting a personal nerve?</p>

<p>My uncle is a lawyer; I learned a few things from him about covering one’s behind.</p>

<p>The world is a very adversarial place; all other things being equal, people look to screw eachother over. Something tells me that the roommate is going to do everything within his power to weasel his way out of responsibility, therefore pre-emptive action is necessary.</p>

<p>If that makes me ‘angry’, so be it.</p>

<p>There are many ways to address this issue, but overkill is not the best way to start. Hostility and aggression is not necessarily the best starting point. There are many other ways to be firm yet diplomatic. Seriously doubt your uncle really takes that hostile, demeaning posture in his practice. There is more to law than being a threatening bully</p>

<p>I am not so sure that asking for a room change right now is the way to go. You could end up being friends or at least decent roommates if you get this situation under control. Try what I suggested and if there is another similar situation than you could take it to the next level. Try to handle it with understanding and curtesy even if he has failed to show you any. It is disgusting, but he sounds like a freshman gone crazy and he is probably drinking to relax in his new environment. Good luck and I hope you can get past this situation and give each other a chance to get to know one another.</p>

<p>Waaaah, I don’t wike hosiwity and agrewession.</p>

<p>Change your diaper, then talk to me…I can smell you halfway across the internet. Refer to my prior post to see why your and m-t’s approaches are incorrect.</p>

<p>Need I remind you that OP could be held liable for part, if not all of the damage to the unit, and that his property has already been vandalised? He needs to notify the police ASAP and get a report, then retain a lawyer at start of business tomorrow.</p>

<p>"I’m reasonably sure our entire floor knows that it occured by now but no one knows who it was, and I don’t want to embarass him. But I don’t want people to think it was me either. "</p>

<p>He deserves to be embarrassed by his actions. Being embarrassed may keep him from doing it again. He also needs to clean the mess up.</p>

<p>I doubt that there is a clean-up staff who cleans this type of mess in students’ rooms. However, your roommate should clean it up. My suggestion is to get out of your room and leave the disgusting mess along with a note asking the roommate to clean it up.</p>

<p>Also get the RA involved.</p>

<p>Vanagandr…The OP’s property is not ruined. He needs to get some cleaning fluid and gloves and give it a good cleaning. It may not be the OPs job to clean this up but it is his stuff and his room as well as his roommate. I just think sometimes it pays to handle things in a mature, responsible manner even if you are dealing with immaturity.</p>

<p>I am not saying that the OP should be a doormat for his roommate but if he does not want his stuff to stink for weeks on end, than he needs to clean it up.</p>

<p>vanagandr-
You have no experience in these matters, and your rude tone doesn’t help. There are lots of steps to be taken. You dont need to go for the jugular immediately. I seriously hope the OP does not follow this terrible, foolhardy advice.</p>

<p>By the way you should always keep a bottle of white vinegar in your room to use after you have cleaned up with the right cleaning solutions. It will get rid of all remaining smells. Dilute the vinegar in water and rub it into the affected areas.</p>

<p>M-t, referring to the original post, besides the unit at large, the roommate vomited over “[the] desk, [the] bag, and all over the futon.” I will venture to guess that the latter two are ruined.</p>

<p>Additionally, even if the OP were to clean, it will likely still discolour the carpet. Have you no sympathy when you play devil’s advocate for a useless drunk? The OP is being deprived of the use of living space for which he has paid. If only to avoid liability on his end, OP needs to get the police involved and retain a lawyer.</p>

<p>“The OP’s property is not ruined. He needs to get some cleaning fluid and gloves and give it a good cleaning. It may not be the OPs job to clean this up but it is his stuff and his room as well as his roommate. I just think sometimes it pays to handle things in a mature, responsible manner even if you are dealing with immaturity.”</p>

<p>The OP first needs to give the roommate a chance to clean it up. I doubt if delaying cleaning a couple more hours will cause further damage to the OP’s property. Seeing and being responsible for the results of his drunkenness also may prevent the roommate from drinking to that point again.</p>

<p>Otherwise, the roommate may not realize his behavior caused a problem.</p>

<p>The RA also needs to be involved since it’s clear that not only is the roommate underaged drinking, but his drinking is causing problems.</p>

<p>I agree with jym626: It would be a mistake to get a lawyer and police involved. That’s overkill.</p>

<p>Again, the bag and the futon are likely ruined. You presuppose that these things can be cleaned and returned to their original state, which has yet to be determined.</p>

<p>In this life, either one is the anvil, or one is the hammer. OP needs to chose wisely.</p>

<p>^^^^ I am sure your uncle would be proud of you.</p>

<p>Northstarmom…The longer that vomit sits the longer it will take to get it cleaned, and the smell will linger.</p>

<p>This whole incident happened 6 hrs ago. Hopefully the OP’s roommate is sleeping it off and not in a hospital with alcohol poisoning or something. Inexperienced drinkers can overdo it.</p>

<p>There is no indication that the futon belongs to the OP, and even if it does, the cover can be replaced if it doesn’t do well in the wash (which is step one). (I just ordered a futon cover for the one in ds’s off campus house. It cost $35.) Luggage can also be cleaned. Ds’s college charged $40 to clean a stain on the carpet from a friend getting sick on the carpet (migraine- not alcohol-related). The degree of damages here are small- and dragging a roommate to small claims court for this is absurd. </p>

<p>Interesting suggestion about vinegar, m-3. Will mention it to ds’s for future reference.</p>

<p>lol this is too funny. I would say his stuff is ruined. It’s the knowing part I guess? I wouldn’t be able to carry around a bag the has been pikes on even if it was cleaned.</p>

<p>This made my day.</p>

<p>I have a soft-sided cooler that someone dropped dead on. Literally. Barf on a bag is small potatoes in comparison.</p>

<p>(another story for another time-- lets not derail this thread)</p>

<p>And I agree with m-3. It is the stomach acids in the emesis that can cause further damaged if not addressed immediately. And since tis constitutes biohazard, the cleaning staff might possibly be able to get involved. Again-- wake up the RA on duty.</p>

<p>^^^^ do tell</p>