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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to expect a new house to be clean?

84 replies

Trazzletoes · 10/07/2012 10:38

When we moved in to our new house, it was absolutely filthy - dirty toilets, dirty cupboards in the kitchen... All the furniture in the master bedroom is fitted and EVERY SINGLE drawer boasted short, curly hairs. Don't even get me started on the slug infestation in the kitchen and the fact that the dishwasher doesn't work... freezer not been defrosted in, apparently, several years. I am not a particularly clean and tidy person, but I would be so ashamed to leave my house in such a disgusting state for someone else to move in... am I alone in this? By the way, the people we bought from were a middle-aged couple with adult children who appeared to be perfectly capable of using a j-cloth and some Cif, but it looks like they just chose not to. I understand that on buying someone else's house there will always be shoddy DIY. I can cope with that because I had the opportunity to notice that before purchase but am bitter about the slugs and gross hairs. Am I alone? Anyone have worse new house stories to make me feel better? Please? :o

OP posts:

carabos · 10/07/2012 10:40

Its not a new house though is it? It might be new to you, but its not new. AFAIK it isn't obligatory for people to clean a house before moving out, and why have you got their freezer etc?

YABU. You should have sorted this out before you moved, either by insisting that the place was professionally cleaned by the previous occupants or by arranging for that to be done yourself.

eurochick · 10/07/2012 10:41

It's polite to clean but regularly defrosting the freezer for the good of the new owners? That seems over the top.

Original poster

Trazzletoes · 10/07/2012 10:42

All kitchen appliances also fitted.

OP posts:

FriedSprout · 10/07/2012 10:45

I couldn't leave house like this either.
If it helps, when we moved into ours there was a carpet in the bathroom. The previous owner was a young bloke on his own so we were prepared for a little cleaning. However, when we ran the Hoover over, armies of little pubes stood up and waved [shocked]
I feel your pain [ grin]

ilovedarthmaul · 10/07/2012 10:46

Im with you Trazzletoes - it should be clean! Im putting mine for sale but not before thouroughly cleaning it! I would be horrified if I moved into a house that wasn't - and Ill be defrosting the freezer before we go too.

whattodoo · 10/07/2012 10:46

I get your point, and do like to leave a relatively clean house, but there is so much to do when moving out of a house it isn't really reasonable to expect a gleaming shiny clean home unless you arrange professional cleaners.

In any case, I always give everything a deep clean before unpacking boxes into kitchen cupboards etc so that I know it is clean to my standards.

Having said that, I once moved out of a house and the removal men packed the hoover before I got chance to run it round the house. I still cringe with embarassment when i recall the horrible state the carpets were in as I shut the door behind me (really grim

KatherineKavanagh · 10/07/2012 10:47

Omg !!! fried

Subarashii · 10/07/2012 10:48

Ours was rank when we moved in. I think they stopped cleaning when they accepted our offer.

gothicangel · 10/07/2012 10:55

when i moved out of my last house i left it clean, its not hard to go around with a cloth and wipe down cupboards ect,

but when we moved into this house it was a mess, :(

SoSoMamanBebe · 10/07/2012 10:58

Other peoples mess is always so disgusting! Mine is shabby chic and verging on aristo levels of slatternly .

Kazriina · 10/07/2012 11:02

I had to wash the walls in every room of the house we moved into! I then started pulling the toenails out of the carpets! Toenails upon toenails! Grim

StrandedBear · 10/07/2012 11:03

The 2 houses I've moved into have been okish. But I have scrubbed other peoples grub out of the cupboards. I now expect to have to clean up a bit. But that sounds digusting!

daenerysstormborn · 10/07/2012 11:04

we are currently living in our third house, i have yet to move into a house that had been cleaned. the first, they'd had a party when it was empty, but left all the empty glasses, cans etc behind. second house was filthy, kitchen cupboards full of mouse droppings. third house was minging too, took us days to clear the rubbish they had left.

stinkymice · 10/07/2012 11:06

How can you stop slugs getting into kitchen??

fortifiedwithtea · 10/07/2012 11:06

YABU. Doesn't everyone love their tale of what they found when they moved?

The survey showed the electrics were unsafe but we still went ahead with the purchase. The electrician was booked for the same week we moved in and up came the floor boards. The vibration of the sawing shook loose a crusty thong from behind a bedroom radiator. The electrician never said a word. Just left it on the floor for me to find .

My mother said I should tell the bloke it wasn't mine. I didn't feel that was necessary. There was no way that thong would cover my fat arse .

Original poster

Trazzletoes · 10/07/2012 11:08

stinkymice I have no idea. They're still coming in. I appreciate they were never going to tell us about that one. But standing on one the 2nd morning in the house wasn't a pleasant surprise. Have never encountered slugs inside a house before. I appreciate my unreasonableness on that account, was just being bitter.

OP posts:

geegee888 · 10/07/2012 11:08

If I couldn't get a house clean enough myself when leaving, either rented or owned, I would simply get in some cleaners. Even when I was a student, I used to clean and then clean again when I moved out. I would also defrost the fridge - I thought this was standard when moving out?

OP, if its that dirty, just imagine what it must have been like when they were living there.

valiumredhead · 10/07/2012 11:09

Every house I have every moved to has been rank!

ripsishere · 10/07/2012 11:09

We moved into a house in a foreign country, we found a kitchen cupboard full of chicken shit.
The previous tenants had kept hens inside prior to slaughter.

alemci · 10/07/2012 11:10

horrendous. I cleaned my house thoroughly before we moved.

The next house was filthy. In an ideal world people could clean their houses before they move

flatpackhamster · 10/07/2012 11:12

No, I don't think it's unreasonable. I'd be ashamed to leave a house filthy. A bit grubby, if I hadn't had time to clean up - maybe - but never filthy. But some people are just disgusting slatterns.

First against the wall when the revolution comes.

DamselInDisgrace · 10/07/2012 11:12

It took me 2 whole days to clean the kitchen when we moved into this (rented) house. It was covered in thick layers of grease that had to be repeatedly scrubbed, not to reveal yet another layer. Every single surface. I don't think the previous occupies ever cleaned it at all; not so much as a quick wipe over with a cloth. The household included a surgeon (we still get some of his mail); I hope he's more hygienic at work than he was in this house.

The landlord had reprinted all the walls (badly - and he used matt white emulsion on all the woodwork, with no preparation) but hadn't bothered to clean up the bathroom afterwards, so the bath and sink were covered in paint (on top of the mank the previous tenants left). Grim.

As it's rented, we just took photos of everything (before cleaning) and made note of what a disgrace the place was on the inventory. Even if we don't clean anything at all until we move out (soon, as we're buying a house), we'll still leave it in a far better state than we found it.

Original poster

Trazzletoes · 10/07/2012 11:12

fortified

OP posts:

HandMadeTail · 10/07/2012 11:13

Once we sold a house, and due to long chain, our buyer didn't get to move in until nearly 5:00pm.

We had spent a lot of effort cleaning the house, and I was so pleased we had, because I did feel sorry for her, standing around waiting for the keys to be released.

The house we had moved to, a few days earlier, well, that was a different matter.....

BarbarianMum · 10/07/2012 11:14

Whilst it is polite to clean a house when you leave, it is not mandatory. But feel free to JUDGE as you clean.

When we moved to this house the lovely lady we bought from scrubbed it within an inch of its life. We scrubbed it again anyway, then let our standards slip safe in the knowledge that it's now our dirt.

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