How Clean Is Your House?

[grumpygirl]

I agree about the OCD-related hoarding issues. It's a wonder we haven't seen someone with 104 cats yet. The ones with tiny children are the most frightening, it's a wonder that they haven't killed the poor kids yet.

Yes, my house is dusty and usually messy since Mr. Grumpy is Oscar Madison, but it's nothing close to anything that they have. I can clean the whole thing by myself in a day. They have 15 people working days straight to make a dent.

It's funny though as I always thought of people in England being very neat and clean and houseproud. Probably because all of my British friends are like that.

I watched the one today with the mother and son living on the horse farm and the son is blind. How in the world did he make it around that house?

[Deleted]

Bio powder is just biological washing powder. Here's the book on Amazon.com

Seriously guys - BEST BOOK EVAHHH!

[nitenurse]

Yup, but the thing is I don't think those of us have ever seen our washing powder (aka laundry powder in Canada) labelled as biological.....

I just buy liquid for the front loader and hope for the best.

Besides, I'm on cleaning strike. MY bathroom is spotless. I live with three men who let's just be polite NEED help and I refuse to do it all anymore. Have your own bathroom, keep it clean. I have a basket with all sorts of easy to use cleaning products and disposable gloves for them but.... I still get phone calls "Mum, please tidy my bathroom up before me and the guys get off the bus from school?!"

[grumpygirl]

I'm watching some of the shows that I've recorded and they're cleaning this hovel and the woman is arguing with them that it's not dirty. NOT DIRTY?! It's horrible and she says that she keeps it clean. The kitchen was a life-sized petri dish. These people are insane. That's all there is to it.

[indygirl]

I always feel so sorry for the children in these families. How embarrasing this entire experience must be for them. Before the show assists their families, they cannot have friends over because of the filth. And after their homes are cleaned, all of their friends--as well as all of those mean kids who populate every school--have seen just how bad the situation was.

[grumpygirl]

I can relate. My mom is a horrible housekeeper and was on her way into hoarding madness by the time I was in high school. When I was younger she was a good housekeeper, but it was some sort of descent into madness. I used to do a lot of the cleaning myself including all the dishes, vacuuming, dusting, etc. Then I went away to college. Yowsa. And then moved away after college. Well, it went downhill from there. They moved into an apartment and I just don't go and visit. I expect that Kim and Aggie will make a U.S. appearance at some point and feature my parents.

[Deleted]

grumpygirl said:

I expect that Kim and Aggie will make a U.S. appearance at some point and feature my parents.

Sorry to hear about your mother, GrumpyGirl. I thought they had been in the U.S., although I could be thinking of another TV show. I know I've seen a show about health inspectors who checked out horrific conditions that had been reported by neighbors or the police and that was very depressing: true hoarders, the sorts of folks who have 30 years worth of newspapers blocking doorways, kitchens thick with cockroaches and rats and yards so overgrown they weren't navigable.
Yesterday, BBC America's "HCIYH" episode featured the horsey country woman (a dead ringer for Camilla Parker-Bowles ) with a teenage daughter. The woman admitted she hadn't vacuumed in 14 years. Their house was thick with HUGE spider webs and moths and the daughter's room was infested with flies (and, consequently tons more spiders and webs)! They hadn't picked up their cutting board in years and when Kim and Aggie did, the counter under it was thick with an encrusted goo of food drippings! The dishwasher had HORSE MANURE in it, because the woman put horse items like stirrups in it along with their dishes!! Their stable, however, was immaculate and shining...

[grumpygirl]

I just watched my recording of the horse woman and teenager and not only were they filthy and disgusting but they were rude. That teenager needed to be smacked but it was only because the mother was all "it's not that bad and cleaning isn't fun." I was sickened when I saw the stirrups in the dishwasher. Those people were stupid and filthy.

I'm glad that my parents are in an apartment because at least they have less space to mess up. My dad is obsessed with taking things to their trash room, so hopefully it's not as bad as their house was. With them it's more of a standoff to see who can do things. Mom wants dad to help her, he doesn't, so she doesn't do anything either. It's a great, healthy relationship. I just do things and then give Mr. Grumpy a hard time about doing it, but I'm not going to let things get into such a state.

[nitenurse]

Tonight's family took the biscuit. K&A went back one year later to visit. The family (Husband was Gareth) had knocked out child number 8, and remodelled both the kitchen and bathroom. The now pay one of the kids a fiver a week to clean the bathroom. If you can afford two remodels (with American appliances) you can afford to pay for a cleaner.

[grumpygirl]

nitenurse said:

Tonight's family took the biscuit. K&A went back one year later to visit. The family (Husband was Gareth) had knocked out child number 8, and remodelled both the kitchen and bathroom. The now pay one of the kids a fiver a week to clean the bathroom. If you can afford two remodels (with American appliances) you can afford to pay for a cleaner.

Eight kids and two remodels? Then they can definitely afford a regular cleaner.