DEAR MISS MANNERS: My husband and I own a condo at the beach with two other couples, dividing up the weeks among us. Our agreement is that, at the end of their week, each couple will leave the condo in tiptop shape — fresh sheets, scrubbed bathrooms, vacuumed carpets, etc.

This has worked out well and saved enormously on cleaning fees.

During the summer months, my husband and I frequently invite friends to join us during our week. Is it appropriate to enlist the guests in the cleanup if we are all leaving the same day?

Some guests have volunteered, unsolicited, to clean their bathroom and change the sheets on their bed. Others seem to be oblivious to what needs to be done after their departure. Would it be unseemly to ask them to participate in some of the cleanup activities?

GENTLE READER: It will depend on how well you know the guests and how much warning you give them.

If the guests are your husband’s boss and his third wife, you may wish to do the cleaning yourselves after they leave. If, instead, it is your kid brother with whom you have shared chores since you were teenagers, Miss Manners leaves you to it.

Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, [email protected]; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.