Workplaces do not always prepare you for how far you may have to go to protect your comfort or your health.

So, what would you do if a regular customer repeatedly brought in items so filthy they left you itchy and miserable for hours?

Would you keep telling yourself to be polite and power through?

Or would you start thinking about ways to prove a point to them?

In the following story, one dry cleaner employee finds themselves in this exact situation and has been leaning toward the latter.

Here’s what’s going on.

WIBTAH If I wore a gas mask when a specific customer comes into the store.

I work at a dry cleaners.

The location I work at does not clean clothes; we’re just a pickup and drop-off location.

My job is basically to categorize clothes, tag them, and make sure they get sent to the right cleaning process.

There’s a specific customer who’s a regular and brings a sack full of clothes, which is pretty time-consuming; however, that’s not the problem I have with him.

The problem is that his clothes are covered in cat hair and other substances, such as urine, feces, and vomit.

We’re also supposed to check pockets, and every time we do, he has cat food in there.

There is just way too much cat hair.

I don’t like talking bad about customers’ clothes because it’s really never that bad, usually it’s a slightly unpleasant smell, which is whatever, they’re cleaning their clothes for a reason.

This guy’s clothes, however they are by far the worst I’ve seen.

You can see the cat hair going all over the place as he’s taking them out of the bag.

The cat hair is all over the counter and all over my coworker and me.

I’m not allergic to cats.

I’ve spent time with cats and never experienced any discomfort, but this guy’s clothes have so much cat hair that it gets on my face and arms, and they get extremely itchy.

Here’s what he’s been thinking.

Today, he came in and I washed my arms and face like I usually do when I’m done tagging his clothes.

I had told myself I would get gloves so that I wouldn’t have to touch his clothes with my bare hands.

That’s not really the problem I have I can always just wash my hands it’s about the cat hair and how itchy it makes my coworker and I.

I was thinking about getting a gas mask from Amazon because it’s such a problem.

I’m just not sure if it would be too much.

I don’t want to offend the customer but it’s just so uncomfortable for my coworker and I.

AITA?

Yikes! That may be a thin line that’s better not crossed.

Let’s see what advice the fine folks over at Reddit have to offer.

This person offers solutions for dealing with it.

For this reader, a gas mask is too much.

Here’s someone who suggests he talk to the boss.

Here’s a good way to look at it.

Something needs to be done, but wearing a gas mask probably isn’t it.

He needs to speak with the owner and see what kind of actual solution they can offer.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.