Caught out by a dirty room or appliance? Tell Kärcher for the chance to win a £250 John Lewis voucher NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

Kärcher would like to find out about moments where you've been caught out by a dirty appliance or room.

Here’s what Kärcher say, “We’ve all been caught out when visitors drop by unannounced and cringed when they pop in to find the house in disarray, what we would like to know is what has been you most embarrassing moment?”

So, have you ever been caught out with a dirty room? Maybe you noticed a hideous cobweb just as you had visitors over? Or maybe someone caught sight of your dirty oven? Perhaps you noticed something floating in your kettle, just as you were making a cup of tea for a guest?

Whatever way you've been caught out, Kärcher would love to hear about it!

Everyone who adds their thoughts to the thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £250 John Lewis voucher.

Please note that any comments posted on this thread may be used by Kärcher in further marketing material (anonymously, of course).

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

I had been meaning to clean my oven for ....a while but kept putting it off (not my favourite job). I decided to do one more Suday Roast and had the chicken happily sat in the oven. The house started to smell of smoke then my in laws knocked on the door. Everywhere was a tip after a lively weekend of the kids playing and the smell of smoke was pungent. They didn't stop long, I now clean my oven much more regularly!

I forgot was having a gas safety check and has to show the gas man my filthy oven with dirty baking trays too (yuck) so embarrassed

Had a problem with the fridge freezer so called next door neighbour round. Unfortunately I had just emptied 5+ boxes of paperwork all over the dining table.. looked a right mess!!!!

I was tidying the house for some friends that where coming around, it was all going great until I decided to hoover, the filter absolutely stank and made the house smell awful, just before they arrived!

We had unexpected visitors who brought a takeaway with them.
Unfortunately all our dishes "were in the wash"..ie in the sink ...so we had to eat out of the containers

Kitchen looked like a bomb had hit. I was about to start tidying and washing up when I noticed quite a loud hissing sound from behind the radiator.

It was a burst pipe behind the wall. I called the insurers who arranged to get an emergency plumber out. With the water turned off I couldn't do the washing up and the floor and work surfaces could not be cleaned properly.

Just to complete it, as I answered the door to the plumber one of my ever thoughtful cats decided to use the litter tray. Couldn't she have gone 10 minutes earlier?

That should teach me to keep on top of the housework but I doubt that the lesson will stay learned for very long:-)

My husband let the BT man go upstairs in my daughters bedroom. There was dirty knickers on the floor... I was mortified when he told me that the man had gone in her room to check her socket!

Ashamed to say to but one Sunday I put the chicken in the oven then carried on with my usual chores, cleaning, looking after the kids etc. I could smell burning so ran through to the kitchen to find it filled with smoke and flames coming out of the oven. Panicking I grabbed the kids and took them to my neighbour then called the fire brigade.
When they arrived and inspected my oven they told me the bottom of the oven was so mucky it had caught fire. I was so embarrassed and have always kept a spotless oven from that day.

I hate people dropping in unannounced, but my Aunt and Uncle have done it a few times in the past and the house has been a tip. One time I was up a ladder removing polystyrene tiles from the kitchen ceiling and there were grubby chunks of polystyrene all over the floor.

in the bathroom where some curly friends were not cleaned properly

landlord's builders came round to fix a leak in the roof when my house was a right tip

mine was my first pad and my boss dropped me home from work it was so kind of her but little did I know she wanted to be nosey. Can I come and have a look round ? Well I couldn't say no so in she walked. There in the middle of the floor was my dirty knickers I was in a rush as was walking to work as couldn't afford a bus how red did I go! Next time I will make sure everything goes in the laundry just in case!

the worst one i can think of was when i had Seb, forgot about the appointment with the health visitor and decided to have a bath (with seb) after washing him and drying him down i left him in his walker at the side of the bath - stairs were gated off as was his bedroom. a knock at the door and the door bell ring i suddenly remembered who was there, as i was in the middle of shaving my legs i jumped out of the bath promptly slipping slightly out of the door, when i landed on my knees on the landing i noticed the window cleaner at cleaning the window at the top of the stairs, legs covered in foam, nothing on, on all 4s with a child now crying and the health visitor at the door.

When we tried to turn on our heating this season, it wouldn't work. Before we called the gas people, we had several family friends round to try and fix it.

One of them took a look into the top of the gas boiler thing and said, it might not work because it needs a clean . I'd never even realised that it had an open top, so the amount of spider webs and dust in there was unbelievable.

I had to hoover and wipe for ages. And no, it wasn't the reason why it didn't work (something to do with the gas supply). I will still try and remember to clean it every now and then now.

Bought a friend back to meet my new addition to be greeted by a very sorrowful puppy with an tummy upset - the kitchen was a disaster area.

MIL paid an unexpected visit, I was still in bed and the house wasn't as clean and tidy as it usually is, the smug look on her face has ensured I'll never be caught out again!

I've been caught out when things are untidy now and then but the worst was when I was sorting laundry after holiday and a friend made herself a cuppa and was sitting there happily among the unwashed socks and undies.

the catch on our bedroom door is broken so the slightest win can oush it open when its shut. Im a photographer and had clients with a newborn round for a shoot. My bedroom floor was stacked with piles of clean un-ironed clothes that i had stashed out of the way. The clients asked if they could pop upstairs to change the little ones nappy and lo and behold the bedroom door has opened with my piles and piles of laundry all over the place. They must have thought i ran some kind if laundry business in my spare time! Cringe.

Surprise visits from family I'm always getting caught with the house being an absolute tip it's really embarrassing!

I remember the time when I was doing a large spring-clean in the lounge, piling everything into one corner, when I suddenly remembered it was time to pick up the kids. I then also remembered the car keys was under the pile somewhere!! I had to call my friend to collect the kids!

My son has a habit of turning up with new girlfriends unannounced. On this particular day my rather infirm dog decided today was the day he was not going to make it outside to do his business. So my sons turns up with his latest girlfriend and there I am kneeling on the floor with rubber gloves on trying to clean up the dogs awful mess. The smell was awful. She never said anything and they are still together almost a year later so its not all bad.

The door from the lounge into the kitchen is usually open but when I have visitors I shut it to keep the dog away and only then spot all the streaks and dirty fingerprints all over the glass in the door.

My boys have a terrible habbit of leaving a sprinkle when they tinkle. I usually always check after they have finished using it just beofre we leave for school. Well, the door knocked and it was a delivery lady with a parcel for me. She recognised me as I used to go to school with her son a very long time ago. She asked very nicely if she could use my toilet as she is a little older now and struggles holding it in like she used to, of course, I obliged. However, I was mortified inside as The boys had just been in. When I check afterwards, not only was there sprinkles like I thought but it looked like they had had a fight with the tooth paste and half of the toilet roll was all over the floor. She must have thought we were so messy :( lol

The cat brought in a mouse that we didn't know about and a visitor came round and moved the sofa to get one of the kids toys out only to find this dead mouse

My worst ever episode was when I was on holiday in Florida with my three daughters, my sister and her two children. We had three rooms - my niece and nephew in one, my sister and one of my daughters in another and a third room, which I shared with 2 daughters. One afternoon, when we had briefly returned to the hotel, I spent a little while in the toilet. Unfortunately, when I then went to flush said toilet, it wouldn't stop trying to flush. Despite our best efforts it continued trying to flush and so we went out and hoped it would sort itself out. Returning about 11pm, all was quiet. Everyone was tired and keen to go to bed and, as normal, we all just popped to the loo before turning in - unfortunately, as soon as we flushed the toilet we had the same problem again. Eventually we had to call maintenance. My two daughters hid under the bed covers whilst they came to take a look (2 workmen) and they had to leave again as they thought they needed to repair an alarm clock??? They returned a short while later and fixed the problem - however, it wasn't until they left that I remembered the bath was absolutely full of ice - we were using the ice machine along the corridor to keep all our drinks cool. I was so embarrassed.