What's the weirdest thing a guest in your house has done? (Lighthearted)

[ToddlerSwim]

DH had a close childhood friend. They were in their early 20s and friend had come over to hang out (just for the evening not to stay over).

DH was still living with his parents at the time and they were all in the living room chatting when friend randomly gets up and announces "right I'm going for a bath" and just goes off and has a bath in their house.

It's such a small thing but so bizarre. What odd habits have you seen from house guests?

Oops sorry....
Did you put your own child to bed and they just stayed on? Or you all stayed up until they left??
I've had adult friends staying really late and have just gone to bed and left them to it! But you wouldn't want to do that with someone you barely know.

We were living in Melbourne (Australia, not Derbyshire). Someone I'd met through work in Europe asked if we could accommodate a dear friend of theirs who was travelling in our area. We said yes: we had a spare room and we were both out at work all day. The friend turned out to be German and didn't speak much English. She didn't like the contents of our fridge and gave me a shopping list of organic vegan stuff to pick up for her from the health food shop next day (and never reimbursed me!) The weather was glorious and we lived by a world-famous beach and only a 20-minute bus ride to the city centre but our guest didn't seem to leave the house.

My DH began to get concerned after three days because our electricity consumption was very high and our dehumidifier had filled up, which it shouldn't have done. He also thought the house had smelled funny when he got home the previous afternoon, so he nipped home from work to see what she was up to when we weren't there. She had our electric kettle on permanent boil and was using the steam to steam-shrink a pile of woollen garments she'd knitted during her travels. It was a very slow process and our kitchen diner was steamy even on a beautiful sunny day. She'd rigged the kettle so that it couldn't cut out.

She'd knitted hats, sweaters, a cardigan and several huge tote bags two or three times the finished size and was steaming each square inch of them until the wool shrunk. It was an incredibly slow process. It ends up creating ordinary-sized felted wool garments that are super-warm. My husband pointed out that all she had to do was boil the garments in a huge pan, which would be quicker and less heavy on electricity costs. She insisted that she had to do it her way because it gave her more control. My husband told her she could do it in her own home, not ours, removed the kettle and went back to work.

She was very upset and left us a rude message on our answering machine in German. When we both got home she'd gone. My friend in Europe phoned me that evening to know why we'd been so horrible to her and seemed to think that what she'd been doing was absolutely fine. We had other strange experiences, including DH's young adult nephew who contacted us to say how much he wanted to visit and explore the country and how much he was looking forward to going to Sydney and seeing the sights of Melbourne, but then sat in front of our TV all day gaming for three weeks before flying home. Nothing we did or said would shift him.

Did she end up leaving or was it just for attention?

I think we have the same in-laws! Mine also bring an opened loaf of bread, margarine and a half used carton of milk. No ice packs. Their journey takes 6 hours 🙄

Not a house guest but I was rushed into hospital as an emergency, house left like a crime scene so MIL offer DH to take his key and clean up so it was ready for us coming home. She did a great job at cleaning, no stains or anything which was impressive on a white carpet. Except... she went through our badroom draws (nothing to do with anything) took out all our 'adult supplies' (condoms, massage oil, dildo etc...), organized and rearranged them 😱.

Other than that I found most house gusts just run of the mill rude, I had several friends who pretended they couldn't grasp the concept that the kitchen/bathroom/bedroom/conservatory does not class as OUTSIDE in our non smoking rental house. No opening a window doesn't count, just go outside (this was post smoking ban too so not an unusual requirement). Even when we smoked we never smoked in the house.

One kid (who wasn't even invited, just showed up as a tag-a-long of the invited kid) smeared chocolate all over the walls, ran from room to room uncontrollably and broke toys.

When I was a kid a visiting school friend stole my brand new just released 'must have' toy I got for my birthday, took it to school the next day claiming it was hers but didn't know my parents had marked it with my name.

The one that drives me mad though is when people snoop though, especially when they snoop then have the brass balls to criticize, 'Oh you just happened to look in our bedroom at the other side of the house on your way to the bathroom did you? oh and your appalled the chair has a pile of clothes on are you? I should organize the way you do should I? get to fuck and don't come back'.

All of these are reasons we don't host guests, we will meet you somewhere neutral like the pub.

Yes, 35 years and counting!
@Workhardcryharder Unfortunately, no joke. 😩

We most have the same mother/mil
My mother had my dc while I was in hospital having their sibling
She took everything that was upstairs and put it all back 'the way I like it' and when I put it all back,I was badmouthed to everyone who would listen
She also got my father to take everything out that was upstairs and not nailed down (while I was having baby no4) and throw it down the stairs-clothes,bedding,toothbrushes,shampoo,kids toys-every single item that was upstairs-hed even unhooked all the curtains
You name it,it was waiting for me when I got home-sat waiting on the stairs for me to put it away
The kids had a field day,jumping and breaking a lot of it (they where really young) encouraged by my mother
I'd given birth less than 13 hours beforehand and they gave me a cheery wave as they left me with 3 kids,one baby and half my house destroyed
I went apeshit and they just couldn't see a problem with it

It was 1 of a 1000 death cuts to our relationship and I'm now nc with them

My MIL could never find the fridge in the kitchen. I used to point to it every time she asked, but next time she couldn't find it again.

Maybe its a MIL thing... I'm sure the rearranging of our private drawer was a power play to let us know she had snooped, seen and disapproved.

Oh, that reminded me! My grandparents redecorated my uncle (their son) and aunt's living room while they were away and were outraged auntie wasn't happy about it.(understatement!)

We had a holiday lodge...when we were not there, we only allowed close family to use it.
Son and partner were going up one weekend, and asked if they could also take his partners brother, his wife and children, as they were visiting from abroad.
No problem I said. They all enjoyed the holiday..

When I went back to do a clean up, the bedroom the brother and wife had used was a bit of a tip....and a used condom was left under the sheets.

This has been such a fascinating thread. Who are these people?

I've hosted lots over the years and had house guests but all my friends/acquaintances have all behaved consistently to how I thought they would, i.e. NORMAL.

I'm shocked some people on here have multiple experiences of weird behaviour. Some people attract them it seems, very strange.

WHY did they throw all your stuff down the stairs?! What a bizarre thing to do. Did they have an excuse - did they claim to be 'tidying'?

I'm expecting to see myself on this thread as I have taken what may have been regarded as liberties with other people's houses over the years. I'm generally quite relaxed about hosting, and until I found Mumsnet it didn't occur to me that other people might not feel the same.

Many years ago, my teenage son was in a special needs department in a mainstream school because he's autistic, and a couple of his classmates used to spend quite a lot of time at our house, generally just minding their own business, hanging out with my children and stepchildren, and getting fed if they were there at a mealtime. One day a new teenage boy came round. It turned out that he had an obsession with calling the emergency services, and he persuaded one of the other boys to pretend to be stuck up an old sycamore tree at the bottom of our garden and called the fire brigade to come and rescue him. By the time the fire crew arrived he hadn't been able to resist telling me what he'd done and I'd been out and chased the boy down from the tree.

Agreed

Ha! So glad to see that I'm not the only DIL who has to put up with MIL's mouldy tomatoes and warm yogurts.
Food control must run in their family because when BIL comes to stay he always brings a home-made curry/stew for us to share (which is lovely and thoughtful, even though I'd have meal planned for the week ...)
But then he'll take over the kitchen completely during his stay. From breakfast onwards he'll use my ingredients to cook what he wants to, while I stand by quietly fuming. He even criticises my kitchen equipment while he does it.
He ruined my best knives trying to sharpen them. Took over the BBQ and burnt the steaks I'd bought and laughed about it.
The one time I DID manage to get into my own kitchen and make dinner he looked at me pointedly then covered it in Tabasco sauce without even trying the food first.
I find it mad and actually quite rude that the in-laws think that when they come to stay they have total control over the meals we eat. I would never take over the kitchen in their homes!

@Tracystubbs Oh they absolutely did know that there was a problem with it. What you’re describing is an act of spite by them, without doubt.

This is rather tame, but years ago my best friend popped round (yes I know that in itself is weird according to MN), when she was passing with her new boyfriend. I'd never met him before.
A couple of minutes after arriving he got up and left the room without saying anything. I assumed he'd popped to the loo, bit odd not to say anything, but whatever.
Five minutes later he came in and sat down with himself a coffee, again not a word. It seems so trivial but that act sealed his fate as a boyfriend. It felt so rude.

Years ago, DP’s mum and his aunt (his dad’s sister, so his mum’s SIL) came up for a visit to see our newborn DS. After a quick peek at him snoring away for once, then a cup of tea and a biscuit, DP’s ma proceeded to give her SIL a tour of our house. It isn’t even that special and, pre loft conversion, was just a very small bungalow. I was so shocked I didn’t say anything. Neither did DP. His aunt, to be fair, looked utterly mortified. DP’s mum can be very domineering, but she does it in this cheerful, matter of fact way that knocks you completely off guard. Hyacinth Bucket with a Belfast accent🤣 No room for a pony though.

This person needs to be tested for narcolepsy.

I'm reminded of another one. Not a guest but a cat sitter.

We came home after a week away to the most awful stench imaginable to the point we gagged in the doorway. It quickly became apparent that whenever the cat did not finish all its (wet) food, the cat sitter was piling the next lot of food on top of it without cleaning out the old stuff.

When we asked what an earth had happened, he told us we had never told him that he was supposed to empty out the old food and clean the bowl.

Yep
'We've done your cleaning for you' as they walked out smirking and laughing

I'm stood there with a baby who was less than a day old,3 kids throwing themselves down the stairs,on top of every single thing I owned and most of it torn or broken

They didn't 'see a problem'

Sort of the opposite, in fact my parents might think I'm the weirdo for this...

They're obsessed with offering what we need as hosts. I.e. they'll buy coffee machines for each bedroom unasked, ask us what furniture to buy, even ask me how I'd like my room decorated.

I say that's all fine, unnecessary but kind etc. But what would really help is if I can store a small amount of stuff for us and our son when we visit (I'm talking 2x changes of clothes, toiletries, a few toys and books), so that we can come by train sometimes without bringing the entire kit. They live rurally so spare clothes are handy.

In spite of their obsession with being helpful hosts, every time I leave something in their house, they diligently bag it up and return it to me. Anything from a half pack of rennies to a pair of tights or an eyeliner.

I don't need a coffee machine or to pick the exact shade of blue. I need a bloody spare pair of trousers!

They probably think their nutty daughter is always leaving stuff with them...

@Jaq27 why do you let him do that? It’s your house, your kitchen and he’s a guest - why can’t you say no?

An old school friend who I rarely see as we live hundreds of miles apart came for the day, brought her dog, borrowed walking shoes from me to take the dog for a walk, (which caught a fungal infection from her and I had to throw them out). On return from the walk, while I was making tea, without asking she took her dog upstairs and gave it a bath in our bath, leaving mud everywhere - in the bath, on the floor, on our face flannels which she'd used to wash the dog and our towels which she'd used to dry the dog. She could have asked and I'd have found old towels. Didn't even mention that she'd bathed him. I found the mess after she'd gone.