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Original poster

Have you ever come home from holiday and opened you front door on disaster?

166 replies

longearedbat · 10/08/2019 13:02

Or something unexpected? The only time it happened to me was when my electrics went off while I was away. I was hot and tired, it was early evening and I knew there was a cold tin of lager waiting for me in the fridge. Couldn't wait. However, I opened the front door to the most horrendous smell. I would say the freezer had been off for the nearly 2 weeks I had been away. I spent the rest of the evening disposing of rotten food and the pool of mouldering blood and gunk in the bottom of the freezer.
I always think of that (now very old) episode of 'One foot in the grave', where they come back to find their house had burnt down. I always breathe a sigh of relief when I see ours is still in one piece, and can't relax until we've had a good check round. (That might be just me though being a bit of a worrier).

OP posts:
CottonSock · 10/08/2019 13:06

Same with freezer. Also came home to a house broken into, back doors smashed in. I knew though as rabbit sitter rang me.

HeronLanyon · 10/08/2019 13:07

Came back from Italy - flight late - heatwave here. Note from neighbour at door to say pigeon had flown into shared hallway had been there for a few days he thought and that it was ‘a bit messy’ upstairs.
Next 4 hours spent washing walls, carpets, windows. So hot. Finally finished around midnight.
Pigeon had been released and was fine btw! Only been away for long weekend ffs.

Eistigi · 10/08/2019 13:08

Once when we were in holidays a bird flew (or fell?) down the chimney. Poor thing obviously couldn't get out again and fly all over the sitting room pooing everywhere before it died in a corner. Not a pretty sight when we arrived home.

AlunWynsKnee · 10/08/2019 13:08

Yes. We'd been burgled.

TheInebriati · 10/08/2019 13:10

The smell of aftershave. The police came with a dog and searched the house for me, and I had the locks changed.

kalinkafoxtrot45 · 10/08/2019 13:10

My fridge freezer had gone on the blink while I was away and exH (who was feeding pets) knew but didn’t say anything, probably because it would mean he had to actually deal with something. Came home to defrosted rotten meat etc. I had just got a Teso delivery to coincide with my arrival, so all fridge and freezer stuff had to be lugged round to a nearby friend until the fridge was fixed.

Oldraver · 10/08/2019 13:12

Yes the same, came home after two weeks to the 5ft tall freezer having been turned off by my Dad

The stench was awful and as we opened the freezer there were 'stalactites' of mould. We were cleaning it out at three in the morning.

My folks ran a social club and the back door was connected to the bar door by a small corridor that was used to store goods. The bar staff and committe could smell the stemch and were contemplting breaking the door down.

My Dad was quite contrite though and cut down on his neurotic checking and switching things off

TitchyP · 10/08/2019 13:19

Yep massive leak upstairs, ceiling sagging, the works 😫

Original poster
longearedbat · 10/08/2019 13:19

Yes, I think I would find the smell of aftershave very worrying.
A friend came home to find all his lovingly grown tomatoes dead in his greenhouse. His father had been tasked with watering them. He had taken it upon himself to mist spray them as well, but he was old and shortsighted and had mistakenly used weedkiller instead of water. His dad was distraught, poor old soul.

OP posts:
TeamUnicorn · 10/08/2019 13:29

I really wish I hadn't opened this on day 2 of a 10 day break.

adaline · 10/08/2019 13:35

Ooh, the aftershave thing is a bit creepy!

marcopront · 10/08/2019 13:36

I came back from the UK to where at lived at 2:00 am to a dead fridge. Not much food in it so that was OK but I had cheese and chocolate I had brought back with me. Fortunately the people across the corridor were awake.

carlywurly · 10/08/2019 13:36

Our route home includes a road with a view across the valley to our house. It's always a relief to see it's still there.

I once left a back door wide open (god knows how) and came back to find a cat had moved in.

Other delights include broken boilers in January. It was 9 degrees in the house.

Mac47 · 10/08/2019 13:38

Another one here who got burgled. They trashed the house in their efforts, it was carnage when I walked in.

AliceLutherNeeMorgan · 10/08/2019 13:41

Once came back to find the toilet which had been flushed as we left (“anyone need a wee before we go?”) had malfunctioned and the float that stops it filling wasn’t working. Cue a flood through the upstairs that then ran down the kitchen walls downstairs, collecting in a massive puddle and lifting floor tiles. The only redeeeming feature was that it was at least clean water.

I have also had the rotting food in the fridge thing as I turned it off MYSELF as we left. It was a very hot summer that year...

Silversun83 · 10/08/2019 13:41

Ditto broken boiler.. Came back from honeymoon in Sri Lanka (30 degrees) at 9pm in January to snow on the ground in UK.. and a flat that was about the same temperature inside as out.

DramaAlpaca · 10/08/2019 13:42

DH & I arrived home from our honeymoon to find a horrendous smell which turned out to be coming from a defrosted freezer. DH realised he'd accidentally turned it off at the mains before we left. Luckily our home insurance covered the contents, but we had to keep all the rotten food (in the shed) for a few days until the insurance assessor had been to have a look at it.

ginghamtablecloths · 10/08/2019 13:45

We came back from a two week holiday to find that the boiler had sprung a leak. Our neighbours (who were cat feeding) had swept the flood of gushing water out of the back door and had phoned an emergency plumber who was very expensive. He did a make-shift repair - we got a cheaper chap to finish the job.

Plus of course puss decided he didn't want to eat and refused all food until maybe two days before we got back.

Hats off to our neighbours.

peonypower · 10/08/2019 13:45

Also had a pigeon down the chimney and on a second occasion, the cat caused a flea infestation

Alpacathebag · 10/08/2019 13:46

Yep, the original water tank in the attic had burst, above the stop cock line and water had ripped through a bedroom, the airing cupboard and the downstairs hallway. Gallons and gallons of water. It took months to dry everything out and redecorate and we had to fit a new combi boiler because they couldn’t get the old tank out of the attic because it was too big and heavy.

TremblingFanjo · 10/08/2019 13:48

Yep. Upstairs toilet had a leak, came back from 2 weeks away to find the ceiling was down in the hallway and living room, the hall/stair carpet was ruined as was the living room and everything in it including sofa and telly.

The bestest thing was I had somehow ended up with brilliant contents insurance which specified like for like replacement and also that any redecoration should match in with what was not damaged- I can't remember what the term is but basically although it was 'only' the living room and hallway that were trashed, because the living room was open plan with the dining room, that also got redecorated including the ceiling and new flooring. They also painted and carpeted the entire hall, landing and stairs. And the new sofas are brilliant and 10x better than the old ones. And the bathroom got a new floor. 70% of the house redone to a high standard, all project managed and sourced by the insurance company within a couple of months. It was like DIY SOS Grin

TeamUnicorn · 10/08/2019 13:50

I went away and left the back door open. Thankfully the neighbour noticed, climbed over the fence and locked it.

The worst though was we went just for a couple of nights so left the hamster. His water bottle malfunctioned so he couldn't get any out. He was very thirsty and drank loads once we had sorted it.

FrumptyLumpty · 10/08/2019 13:51

Well we're halfway into a 3 and a half week holiday and I was most concerned before we went (OCD sufferer) that in the chaos I'd forget to drop off the cat at the cattery as she rarely ventures into the house in the summer, or I'd forget to take out the rubbish or accidentally unplug the fridge.

Now going to ruminate about leaks, burglary etc Grin. Thankfully remembered to make sure home insurance was up to date!

Frownette · 10/08/2019 13:51

Kind of, I came back from a lovely happy day to find the house burnt down. I had a brain blockage about it and wrestled with the police as they were trying to stop me going back in the front door. I was a bit annoyed at first as I couldn't see what it was then assimilated that house was gone.

I had to move instantly.

ninecoronas · 10/08/2019 13:52

In my younger days, came back from backpacking dusty and exhausted to my flatshare, put my key in the door, opened it to the sight of my flatmate's boyfriend, stark bollock naked on the stairs. He gave me a cheery hello, totally unabashed. I continued into the living room where a complete stranger was reclining on the sofa.
"Hi?" I said
"Hi, I'm Fiona, I live here" she said.
Turned out my flatmate had moved the two of them in while I was away.