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

Was proudly showing off my first home to my brother and his girlfriend. Made them look in every room including the downstairs loo. Didn't notice the sniggering at the floating turd.

Friend asked to use my microwave to heat her child's milk...it was totally splatted with the pasta sauce that had exploded the night (or possibly week) before and hadn't been cleaned up

Why is it that when we've had a mammoth house cleaning weekend, no-one calls round but the second the house has settled back into its usual state of disarray the door goes and it's usually someone whose house looks like a show home at all times (generally happens when I'm wearing no make up and have unbrushed hair)

DH asked MiL to pick something up from our house whilst I was in hospital following the birth of DS. Thankfully the house had been fairly tidy before the start of labour but by the time we went to hospital I'd made a right mess upstairs and there were knickers left in the bathroom from when my waters had gone. I was so embarrassed when he told me his mum was going into the house!

We have a double oven- so twice the cleaning fun! I managed to avoid cleaning it for 9 months by telling DH that pregnant women can't use oven cleaner.....need a new excuse now

We had the family coming round for Sunday lunch once. Spent the day cleaning to make the house look spotless whilst DP slaved away in the kitchen.
The house was looking fabulous when our visitors knocked. I opened the door to find them rather queasily looking at the floor...one of the bloody cats had caught a wood pigeon and beheaded it on our doorstep!!!

Hoovering is the bane of my life, the only place we can put it is at the back of the cupboard, and I'm not strong enough to lift it out so have to get dp to do it.
He invited a load of new work friends back after work one day and the floor was so bitty I had my shoes on.. They all took theirs off and I could see them brushing the bits off their feet before they put their shoes back on.
I wanted to shrink into a corner!

When I was a student my aunt who was also my landlady came round unannounced. The floors were minging after a party (several days beforehand...)-beer on the lino floor -you could hear it as she walked over it. She went mental.

We had a chimney fire. Two rather gorgeous firemen were in the house after it had been put out.

Unfortunately the smoke and soot had decided to settle on every single cobweb. Even those really fine ones that you usually need a magnifying glass and the right light to notice.

It looked like Tim Burton had decorated for Christmas.

I have been obsessed with cobweb removal every since this incident.

I had set mouse traps in our living room having seen a mouse come up from the fire surround one evening.

Planning a homebirth, the lovely midwife came round to talk about arrangements. She placed her bag over the other side of the sofa arm, right next to a set mouse trap on the floor. Her bag was shallow an opened up flat onto the floor. I was sitting opposite and kept seeing her reach sideways down into her bag to rummage, without looking, for pen, book, phone etc, praying and praying that she would not put her hand in the mouse trap.......

She didn't. But I couldn't remember a thing we had talked about.

We use our back door to the house mostly because of muddy boots and paws and the front door rarely gets used

Halloween the other day put the pumpkin out first lot of trick or treaters swung open the door to compliments on my realistic spiders and cobwebs the door was covered in cobwebs the little critters had made quite a home for themselves.

The shame !

We were selling our house & showing viewers around, house spotless, kids out playing in the garden.

Unknown to me my son had nipped in to use the loo, so I show viewer into bathroom & yes there is a huge poo floating in the loo.
Mortified I flush the loo, nope it won't go, so I put the lid down & carry on as if it wasn't there.

I've had so many I'm not even sure where to start..
There was the day my MIL came round with Grandma in law and I was breast feeding, sat on the settee, eating chips out of a chip wrapper, DH was eating fish and chips on the floor. I was too ill to go out and DH refused to go shopping. They asked for some sandwiches and we couldn't even provide those. There was a pile of washing in front of the broken down washer too.

Or the time MIL popped round when I had four nappies by the door to go in the bin (2 under 2's in nappies) a vomiting dc, and no Hoover so the floor was covered in dog hairs and I was still in pyjamas at 2pm with no make up on.

Or another time when I missed the black bin collection and had to do a dump run, not before unexpected visitors turned up who were too polite to mention the bin bags on the kitchen floor.

Every Saturday when DH shaved and his golf friends pop by for a coffee and a bacon sandwich before they head out....only for me to realise afterwards that the previously clean bathroom is now covered with hair as he's trimmed his beard and not bothered cleaning afterwards.

Friends came round to stay, and as usual I had cleaned and tidied the house to perfect for them... Or so I thought.

We pulled open the sofa bed in the lounge for them to sleep on and there were bits of toys and food and even a teaspoon in there. I felt so ashamed.

I regularly clean inside the sofa bed now, just in case!

I was having a massive clothing sort out.
I'd told a friend I had a few things she may want before I gave them to charity. I told her I'd go and get them and whilst looking through the piles and piles of clothes she walked in.
I hadn't heard her. I think I felt embarrassed because her house is always pristine. It was only piles of clothes and at least it was clean otherwise.

MIL dropped a pen which rolled under the sofa so we had to pull it out to retrieve it. oh the shame months of crumbs, cobwebs, dust balls and even a bit of Christmas cracker still there in mid-Summer!! I am sure to vacuum more regularly now.....

I spent ages tidying up for MIL's visit and she said (not passive aggressive, she genuinely thought she was being nice) 'Oh, I wish I was like you and could just have visitors round without having to tidy up first!'

Colleague called in to collect some equipment I had at home to take to head office for me.
Ran out of dishwasher tablets night before and I planned to wash dinner dishes by hand in morning. Slept in (never happens typical) and Kitchen full of dirty pots. I was mortified when she walked through to kitchen with her empty coffee cup.

Had estate agent round to sell our house. Asked what we could do to help the sale.....he pointed out cobwebs lurking on the cornices of every room. I must have spent the last 5 years never looking up!

So ashamed to admit that I once hosted a dinner party and after a couple of guests came down from the bathroom looking a bit repulsed/sheepish/sniggering I went up to investigate and saw the used panty liner I had left scrunched up on the toilet cistern. Took a while to live that one down.

My DM popped round recentl, and as. She sat down she said "ooh, I've got some Nutella on my skirt!"

It wasn't Nutella. I had been doing a nappy change.

Luckily she isn't to precious about such things.

House was a bit of a mess. I was working, DH had the day off so left it for him to sort.
In laws came over and MIL decided to help her son with the house work. DH had brought in the washing and dumped it on the kitchen table. MIL proceeded to sort through it and fold all my knickers into a nice neat pile. When I got home we all sat round the table for coffee, FIL included, with my pile of knickers proudly displayed for all to see. Inside I was pissed but had to pretend to be grateful for MILs help!

We are very lucky to have a house with a beautiful view over our village to the hills beyond.
At least that is what I believe is the view behind the toddler hand and dog nose printed windows. It is always when we have someone in the house looking out that i notice the latest smear

Oh god yes! My best friend came to stay last year at short notice after having a tough time. He came upstairs and dumped his bag in mine and DH's room. As it was piled high with junk/ piles of clothes, with a messy unmade bed and was cobwebby etc he had thought it was the spare room! .

I had to correct him and direct him to the actually clean and tidy (ish) room. We had moved all the junk out of the spare room into ours to make space for him.

We have a three month old and a badly installed bathroom that is really difficult to clean, especially as we live in a hard water area. EVERY visitor we had during the baby's newborn days was embarrassing thanks to the stupid stained grout and limescale stains in the loo!

My husband and I were moving from a rented apartment to our house. We were on a tight budget as I was on Maternity leave and we decided we couldn't lose any of the deposit.

We cleaned like mad until the apartment actually looked better than when we moved in. We were really happy with the job we did.

The estate agents showed up to inspect the place and kept saying how great the place looked; we were on track to keep every penny of the deposit... until we got to the kitchen.

At this point I need to say my husband was responsible for the kitchen, not me.

Everything was fine until the estate agent opened the oven and this black slime trickled out. It was utterly disgusting.

Though my husband did clean the oven he had neglected to read and follow the instructions and the grime from the door all coalesced at the bottom hinge until the door was opened.

We lost £35.

in laws are normally those you come without a call and once they knocked on the door when I was pretty relaxed in my tracksuit bottoms and t-shirt with a room full of dirty plates and food packaging. Managed to spill my water as well as had to run upstairs to get changed and hide)