Link: https://old.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/1uvsug0/tifu_by_using_my_neighbors_laundry_detergent/

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The original was posted on /r/tifu by /u/No_Army7522 on 2026-07-14 00:09:58+00:00.

I live in an apartment building with a shared laundry room. A few months ago someone left a big bottle of Tide on the shelf above the machines. I assumed it was communal because people leave dryer sheets and random cleaning stuff in there all the time.

So every weekend I used a small amount. Never a lot, just enough for one load. I’ve been trying to save money where I can, so I thought it was one of those rare apartment perks nobody talks about.

I was doing laundry when my downstairs neighbor walked in, grabbed the bottle and said he was glad nobody had been touching it because he marks the liquid level after every use.

I immediately looked at the side of the bottle and noticed about twenty tiny pen marks going down it.

He then said the level had been dropping faster lately and he was planning to ask management to check the cameras.

I admitted it was me before this turned into some stupid building investigation. He just stared at me and asked why I thought his detergent was free.

I bought him a new bottle and now there’s a note above the shelf saying PERSONAL ITEMS ARE NOT COMMUNAL.

Pretty sure everyone knows why.

TLDR: Thought a bottle of detergent in my apartment laundry room was communal, used it for months and found out the owner had been tracking every drop.