To not understand how people can live like this?!

[RevoltingPeasant]

DH and I moved into our first owned home together three weeks ago. The people before us owned it for 24 years and I think they probably cleaned once during that time.

So far, I have found

• a kitchen drawer filled with a couple of years' worth of fingernail clippings
  
• a clump - an actual clump - of black mould hanging off the shower screen
  
• a half eaten butcher's bone from their dog (I hope)
  
• dust in the cupboards that was actually caked on
  

Generally, whole place filthy and covered with dust bunnies. And then today, fleas :( now have to have whole house treated.

DH says i am 'fastidious' but AIBU to really not get how people can live year after year breathing in dust and mould and being bitten by fleas??

BLEURGH. That's all.

[LondonMan]

Maybe we need the system they have in Switzerland, where apparently a government inspector has to certify that property has been cleaned to an official standard before hand-over can go ahead. In the newspaper column where a British woman recounted her experience of this, one of her inspection failures was because she had not disassembled the kitchen tap and removed lime scale from the inside...

[putyoursocksON]

When we moved in the teenage boy had Pantera posters up, he'd graffiti'd his wall, put locks on it which his dad or someone had bust and everything was filthy. It was going to be my 5 year old son's room. One of my friends said, 'ah just leave like that, not long til it'll be like it again!'

We also got loan phonecalls every day for the next year...

[Jan49]

I'm read this thread fearfully in case the people who bought our old house last year have posted. I left it as clean as possible but it was empty for several months before the sale went ahead. They probably wonder why I lived there for 10 years and didn't decorate or replace carpets in that time. Answer to the first part: I was too busy, Answer to the second part, the carpets seemed ok when we bought the house and then I was too busy. I'm also embarrassed about the amount of limescale in the upstairs loo and the condition of the sealant around the bath. And a few other things. But I didn't leave any belongings or rubbish. (grovel emoticon).

[EMUZ]

We moved once and parents are in a job where you never see the accommodation before you move in. Mum cried when she saw it. Friend offered to help but friend is like Keeping Up Appearances (Mrs Bouquet)
She came armed with cleaning stuff. The blinds we thought were black were pale green. The bath stunk so we took the panel off to discover they had put all their used nappies and tampons down there

The worst was a place we lived and turned into a lovely home. Moved out and ended up moving back maybe 4 years later and they had absolutely destroyed it
Holes punched in every door, random holes smashed in the walls. That was my childhood home and they ruined it

[ExasperatedSigh]

Years ago, I rented a room in a house share. My housemates told me that when they'd first moved in, the place was totally dire - rotting carpets, dried shit smears on the walls and floors, just grim all round. They had to clean and redecorate everything themselves as the landlord was a complete wanker.

One of my housemates went up to clear the attic and found several binbags. Inside, she found masses of ripped up porn mags...sorted into body parts. So, a bag full of nipples, a bag full of vaginas, a bag full of cocks All carefully torn out and filed away.

[StickyFloor]

"a bag full of nipples, a bag full of vaginas, a bag full of cocks shock All carefully torn out and filed away"

ha ha ha ha ha my favourite quote ever!

[morganster]

that has made me spit my tea out!! i must check our loft.

[Buzzardbird]

We found a secret room in our new home and in it we found a record player and albums of show tunes and Judy garland.

[Tiggles]

we live in a rented house.
On our inventory was a used sanitary towel stored in the airing cupboard .