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

in laws...caught just as I removed the rubbish from the bin... bag split... all over kitchen floor... despite me explaining what happened... they still looked kind of disgusted at all the trash all over floor...like it was already there & I was just moving it because of them. Lol x

My nan phoned me one day to ask were we in now and could she drop my children's Easter eggs off. "Erm... yes okay" I said. She would be 10 minutes max. It was just before 12 noon and I was still half in my pyjamas as half term had just started and we were having a lazy day! I ran around like a maniac trying to get dressed, apply some make-up, tidy away kids toys etc. There was no way I had time to wash the mountain of dishes, vacuum the floors and put everything in its proper place. My nan arrived. Only she wasn't alone. She'd brought her husband with her too who hadn't been to my house before as we'd only moved in 5 months earlier and he didn't often tag along on visits. "Ooo it's a big house this isn't it, what a nice place." he said. And of course my nan wanted to then show him every fine detail of the house seeing as he hadn't been here before. "You don't mind if I show him the upstairs do you?" my nan said. I couldn't say no could I? Beds were unmade, dirty washing everywhere, toys everywhere. I didn't realise how many pieces of Lego we actually had. But that's not the worst of it really. They came back downstairs and my nan showed my step-grandad the kitchen. "Do you like our house?" My daughter asked, dancing around the kitchen. She knocked the oven glove off the oven handle as she danced around. My nan went to put the oven glove back through the handle and the oven door opened as she did it, revealing the mountain of dirty dishes I had packed the inside with! Oh the shame.

I had visitors early morning and hadn't had time to clean after the kids had gone to school. Ran upstairs did a quick loo inspection and threw the dirty washing down. Saw my guests in and there hooked on the bannister was a pair of skiddies that I missed when I threw it down.

my brother in law came around to help us move house, he and my husband were pulling out the washing machine and a pair of my frilly knickers were behind. cringe!

When my Mum came to visit me, I showed her to the guest bedroom to find a pile of cat sick on the floor, and also on the brand new duvet set that I'd bought specially for her! Luckily she saw the funny side, but it was horrible! :)

i was sat n the kitchen with a neighbour she was talking about how dirty and awful another neighbor's house was ok bitching saying she had gone and washed the outsides of their windows to help out in the hope they would do the inside ,i was like ohh no nasty oh my thats not on how can you live in a dirty house etc , while talking to her i moved my chair which caused the radiator cover to topple over exposing mths worth of dust and a few cobwebs along with the odd green potato and carrot the kids had posted down there , i was so red faced i bet she talks about me now lol

I often feel the house is too untidy when visitors drop by unannounced that we've ignored the doorbell a few times and made our excuses!

Guest making themselves breakfast. Toast. In toaster. Decided to be helpful afterwards and tip crumbs out into sink. A massive pile of old toast crumbs cascaded out. I don't think I'd known this was even a thing people do.

I live in the midlands and my sister lives in Exeter. She travelled up to me and we were planning to go to our brother's birthday party. Her party outfit needed an iron so I offered to do it for her. Sadly, my iron spat grungy water and limescale all over her party dress. She laughed about it and told me not to worry but it was horrible to see her turn up at the party in clothes she had travelled in all day, just because of my grungy iron!

When the repairman came to fix my cooker I nearly died when he pulled it out to find all the grease and bit of food that had fallen down the sides. Well it is a built in appliance LOL!!!

After a hol in greece DH came down with a bad D&V bug and ended up in hospital with pericarditis. My parents came to keep me company as I was really frightened for him (and 16 weeks pregnant) - I was so grateful for them but the house was in such a state, my mum gets all Monica Gellar about cleaning as well

A while later I was chatting to my grandma about it all and she said "yes your mum did say it was a mess".

My friend came over for a cup of tea yesterday and when she tried to put her cup down I could see her eyeing the loose blusher on the mantelpiece that I had dropped earlier as I'd quickly put some make up on. I had forgotten to clean it up. I quickly grabbed a baby wipe!

I has surgery on my shoulder but for 2 months an infection festered away until suddenly it was bad enough for the doctors to take notice and to be admitted to hospital. Over those 2 months house work and keeping the place tidy slipped more and more as I was too unwell to manage it. A friend who had a key to the house decided it would be nice for me to come home to the place tidied as I had to have more surgery and a week IV antbiotics so was wiped out and needed plenty of rest. I thought it would be her doing it so i didn't mind, but found out she gave the kay to someone who wanted to help but who had high standards. At that time my room became a dumping ground for anything and everything, I was just mortified at some whose house looks like a show home had gone in and seen my place such a state.
Also, when my washing machine had to be repaired, when the guy pulled it out the crap behind was shocking, and there were a load of ants that had not long made their way in and were trying to get past the machine itself, so I had to clean it all up before the guy could start the repairs. Another time to feel mortified.

I had the worst looking kitchen imaginable after the kids had been running in and out of the garden on the Saturday (very muddy) and we had gone out all Sunday with the kids and come back very late. I had an all day appointment for a dishwasher repair the next day and thought that I would have time to clean it all up and mop the floor before anyone arrived...so of course the engineer turned up first thing on the Monday morning! Of course if it had all been tidy then he would have come round at 4pm! I'm sure he didn't believe me when I apologized and said that it wasn't usually like this!

I remember my daughters 1st birthday party. I had planned it to every inch and everything was perfect - or so I thought. My daughter didn't have heated bottles and I don't use the microwave very much so it hadn't crossed my mind so when one of my new baby group 'yummy mummys' asked to use the microwave to heat her baby's bottle I was mortified - especially as DH hadn't bothered to clean up his over boiled hot chocolate from a couple of nights before.

I had moved to a new town and was expecting the family to visit my new flat. I realised I would not have time to do a good tidy up and clean so collected everything lying around up and threw it onto my bed and bedroom floor. My aunt mistook the bedroom door for the living room and went in their much to my chagrin.

constant sticky hand prints on the glass doors - it looks like I never clean them but I tell myself it's just a sign of a healthily active toddler!

Tmi but shortly after giving birth, a view friends visit me and DS at home, we were in bed and as they've entered, past my dirty washing basket, I've noticed some dirty (post labour) underwear hanging in the washing basket!!
I was absolutely horrified and to this day (DS is 9months) haven't dared mentioned it! If they've noticed they've been kind enough not to mention it haha!

A friend who I don't see that much, popped round for a surprise visit (we are good friends but only see each other sporadically). That day I'd decided was going to be a pyjama day (ie, I couldn't be bothered to get ready). So the 3 of us were still slobbing around at midday and the house looked like a bomb had hit it, literally, it was a complete state.

My dear friend was overjoyed as it happened. She said she had always seen me as a very tidy and organised person and that I'd made her feel a million times better about her own bomb site! She actually couldn't stop laughing at the state of us! (and the house)

My parents came over just to collect our boys for a day out -- downstairs was spotless but my son ran upstairs asking for grandad to follow and into our room. But our bedroom was a disaster! Clothes everywhere, the biggest cobwebs on the walls, bed not made, our old water glasses left about.... yes it had been a room I'd neglected for a little bit. I learnt my lesson!

My friend came over unexpectedly when the kitchen was a mess. Whilst making her a coffee I shoved all the dirty dishes into the oven. This was before I had the luxury of a dishwasher.

I had all my friends round for a Cooked Breakfast and wanted to do it all nicely and have jugs of juice, coffee pots and reached for the teapot and then had to discreetly clean out the old mouldy tea pages and tea that had been left in since last time and put back on the shelf!!! Yuk

Our previous house was rented and after we moved in we discovered it had suffered flood damage from a leaking bath upstairs while the owners were on holiday. Fine, it was repaired. Until we had an infestation of small bugs coming through the walls and into the kitchen onto all our plates, crockery and food! It was so gross, and after an unsuccessful pest removal visit we had enough and moved out! Yuk.

Telephone Engineer came to fix a new socket for fast broadband. I assumed ( wrongly) that the main socket would be the huge one located on the stairs, however it turned out to be the one sited on the skirting board behind the TV stand. He pulled the stand away from the wall, and there were balls of dust just sitting there :/ . I made a a quick exit for the duster, then thanking help for helping to clean as I swiftly removed the mess.

We have a huge cupboard under the stairs which is ideal for throwing all the clutter in before people come round for dinner. The door to the cupboard is in the middle of the living/dining room as our stairs come directly off this room.

All sat down to dinner when there's an almighty thunk, clatter, dunk of random bits of junk we've stuffed into the cupboard falling onto the floor.