What's the broken thing in your house that everyone just puts up with?

[Yebbie]

I'll start. We have a three legged Henry Hoover, and any time anyone hoovers you hear lots of banging and "fuck offs" as it falls over every 3 seconds. It's been like it for five years and rather than replacing it we all have just grown to accept our disabled Henry.

What's that broken thing in your house that everyone just accepts and lives with, despite how annoying it may be? I feel every family must have one

@Bonheurdupasse

Ensuite shower door...hanging on at 45 degree angle:(

Snap

We've just had a tap fixed after about 4 years. Had a plumber in for something else and he fixed it in 10 minutes, for nowt. Bloody game changer, being able to turn a tap on without the water exploding out of it at a force equal to Niagara.

Long list of other jobs to tackle. This thread has actually made me feel LOADS better about my wonky old house!

You can download a tv remote app on your phone - my dc regularly hides the remote so that I can't change the channel or turn the TV off. One click of my phone and zap!

I love this thread. I thought everyone else had perfect instagram-ready homes.

So many defective toilet seats!

My mum had one with a tiny hairline crack in it that used to pinch your bum when you stood up

My ensuite toilet has no seat and has had no seat for 5 months. DH is a plumber.

We also have multiple lightbulbs out that no one can be arsed to replace. Fuck it, it'll be summer soon.

@GlomOfNit

Oh shit, I know another one which is a ticking time bomb - the overflow hole thing in the bath. There's a metal fixing over it which has come unglued and I think the pipe behind has too, so any water that sloshes out is probably going straight onto the cement floor under the bath. That's not good is it?

No that's not good, is it downstairs or upstairs?

have spent hundreds on replacement toilet seats. £100+ each time been through about 8 all due to blind fittings and a curved toilet pan that does not accept universal seats.

Of a mind to get them removed and replaced with a bog standard old fashioned fittings.

thanks Ideal Standard absolute junk

We moved into the house in the middle of a heatwave, there was a ceiling fan in the conservatory that wouldn't come on. Then in the middle of winter in randomly came on. It was temperamental, but we soon worked out that as long as we didn't use the wall switch to turn the light on, (had a pull cord on the light) the fan would remain working. We replaced the conservatory and no longer have the fan.

There is some dodgy looking electrics in places, we have outside lights that are sensor controlled but we have absolutely no idea how they work or where the power source comes from, there are two external plugs and we have no idea what they are for. (Not the lights)

Door handle to the bedroom is quite stiff and makes a loud noise when you use it, not so great for night trips to the bathroom.

There is likely some dodgy floor boards, but not going there.

We discovered an urgent need for some repointing, this has gone from a small section that was quite bad, to the whole house being done, to the whole roof being replaced as well. At this very moment in time I am roofless.

I will need a long lie down after this to recover.

The next thing will be a full electric overhaul, there are lots of dodgy things that need looking at.

Toilet seats have been an issue here too, never fit quite right.

@Ancientdreams

Dodgy flush. It only works if you press the knob quickly at the top. Otherwise it gets stuck and makes a whooshing sound for hours.

Also the freezer door needs a quick after opening.

My garage freezer needs a new seal which a) costs a fortune and b) won't be easy to fit, so I have created a 'new' seal from gorilla tape, not pretty but only I see it in the garage and it works!

@Allmyarseandpeggymartin

So many defective toilet seats!

My mum had one with a tiny hairline crack in it that used to pinch your bum when you stood up

Ouch, I had one like that until one night I staggered into the bathroom half asleep, slid on a disgarded pair of socks and land very heavily on the seat. It cured the crack problem, it was now in two pieces.

@MrsPear

Toilet seat. It moves around and won’t tighten. It’s the only toilet - shock horror - and being the only female I’m the most annoyed but still not got round to replacing it.

Depending on the type you can buy new fittings for your loo, not a hard job.

The front door. Noone except me can open or close it (I live alone so this doesn't matter). When I do it, it makes a huge bang. I'm leaving it broken on the basis I'll wake up if someone tries to burgle me!

@TupilaLilium

Bathroom light on a string. You have to pull the string between 1 and 500 times for it to catch and the light comes on.

Ours got stuck this weekend so that the light was permanently on. I had a fiddle with it (turned electric off first!) but couldn't fix it. Electrician came out today and fixed it in 5 minutes by replacing. Phone an electrician and get it done!

This thread is so heartening. My late father was so handy that his house was totally ship shape. He would notice problems at our house and bring the right tools and fix them on his next visit. Since he died we have so many annoying things that need fixing in our house. We don’t have the time, tools or know-how to fix them. It has cheered me right up to hear we are not alone in this. Thank you for sharing.

@Thenoonbell which table top catering oven do you have please?

When we bought this house 15 years ago the built in double oven was hopeless, so DH bought a plug in counter top catering oven, even though we replaced the double oven, the catering one was used far more, except now the fans no longer work.

Apart from that:

Weird shaped toilet seat, not wobbly, but cracked. Bought replacement from broken bog, wrong colour, but same thing happened, we just wrap a flannel around it so it can’t pinch your bum.

Broken outer panel on a skylight
Bowed ceiling in. Bathroom where rain leaked in due to blocked guttering
Unusable shower in the en suite as it leaks at the back of the cubicle unit, but company went bust so no guarantee
Blown double glazing panel in one window
Broken outer panel in our en suite fan light.
Door missing off kitchen unit. I spent 12 years fixing it, shoving matches into the too big screw holes. Sister babysat for me and I came back to door lying on the floor and bent metal bits. Got it fixed last year, lasted 2 days!
Broken outside door to “conservatory” doors don’t shut properly and glass broke, wood nailed over it.
Hole cut through laminate to fit new central heating and part put back in, been like that 14 years.

And I forgot the broken freezer drawer. Which I would replace, but I can’t find the model number to order a new one

A cat whose internal alarm is set perpetually for 15 minutes before the alarm on the clock goes off, no matter WHAT time the alarm on the clock is set for!

@Mogloveseggs

Toaster. It's a 4 slice but only one side works so it's a 2 slice. Bloody annoying as it was bought so Dh could make his breakfast quicker (he has 3 slices of toast for breakfast) but as 2 slots still work it lives on. It does have a big note on the broken side so the dc don't use it.

We had the same issue for about three years. We finally replaced it last week because the kettle started leaking so we decided to replace the pair.

Our freezer drawers no longer have fronts or slide out. They're just shelves these days...

Wow. You lot need some DIY lessons! Just google. Most of these are fixable.

Also when redid kitchen I got a nice big range with small oven and big oven in it. The big oven stores stuff and I only ever use small oven. All toilet seats defective in this house. I’m interested to read that square ones are more stable- if less comfy. It’s very comforting reading this thread. I feel so much better!

Oven door- plastic thing at bottom falls off when opening and closing-surprised the inner glass hasn't fallen out and smashed yet!
Washer and tumble dryer on together in laundry room is ok- switch on extra plug socket for fryer or extension for lawn mower and I'm on my knees in back of cupboard flicking the fuse on again!
Vertical blinds in square bay window held up each end with a clothes prop and extended pole as fixings in false ceiling too loose...
Tv remote button - trying to scroll down channels is practically impossible- goes sideways! And constantly spinning/pushing batteries- even new ones!
All same for at least 7 years plus!

Until 2 years ago, an alcoholic and adulterous wife!

Until last week, I had a crappy airer/drying rack that constantly collapsed. I kept putting it back together until it collapsed again….been doing this for about five years. DH lost his temper with it last week and threw it out. 🤣