Why do people boast about their cleanliness?

We once took on a short term rental property where it was agreed right from the start that the house was dirty - especially the cooker and that the teak dining and coffee tables were covered in damp marks form hot drinks. But it was cheap, convenient for school and jobs and we only wanted if gor a few months between houses.

I spent a day cleaning the cooker. I practically took it apart and reconstructed it. In an odd sort of a way it was quite therapeutic.

DH, comes form a family of antique dealers and he sorted out all the damp marks on the tables in less than an hour. He also repaired some of the electrics. We were there late Spring/early summer and as we had a field behind the house full of sheep and lambs and the weather was glorious, and as I am not good at sitting around doing nothing, whenever we were in the garden, I would do weeding.

At the end of our tenancy we handed the house back better than when we moved in and the estate agent told us that if we needed to rent again they would be delighted to find us a proeprty and would give a reference if needed.

Personally, I have never moved into a house and considered it dirty, everyone has their own little tics and obsessions, but that apart.

Our house is now on the market and I have already decided that when it sells we will move out a few days early and get professional cleaners in. I just will not have energy to do the final rush clean I have done when we have moved previously.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202405/medium-115426-img-5022.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202405/medium-372029-img-5092.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202405/medium-586532-img-5148.jpeg

A snapshot of what we were left with, not to mention the smell which took a year to get rid of.

Just out of interest ExDancer, why are you cleaning a house that you do not own and are not benefitting from in any way and for tenants whom you barely know?

Sorry if I've misunderstood and you have an arrangement with the owners of the property.

Blimey Smileless.
I bet your heart sank at all this.

Oh it did Urmstongran, it was so lovely when she moved in.

M y two neighbours are tenants,either side,both lovely people,but the state of their homes outside leaves a great deal to be desired amongst the rest of us,home owners

I now own a house I used to rent and that sounds like the kind of snobbish attitude I met from my NDN when I first moved in. As if "renting" and "owning" puts one into some kind of hierarchical social relationship.

The NDN had sent workpeople onto the property without permission or even notice. I told her that in the future she would have to ask permission. She retorted "I dont need your permission, your only a tenant."

I snapped back at her "I assume you have a motgage which means that you owe thousands of pounds to the bank so your not better than me. I pay my bills as I go along so at least Im not in debt to anyone."

I never forgave her for that remark especially as they were immigrants from one of the most filthy and polluted countries on earth and to which the UK still gives aid. I often reminded her of that.

I rent out our grannie flat which is within our house. We share the entrance hall but otherwise it's selfcontained. Over the past 16 years we've had an assortment of tenants who usually stay a year or two.

We always specify no pets and no smoking but once we weakened when the young man promised us his kitten was very clean and had a litter tray and would never go outside .
After about 8 months this man left with the cat and the bedroom carpet was ingrained with cat hair. DH and I, on hands and knees used a scraper to extract it all. The vacuum cleaner wouldn't touch it.

I think people believe what they want to believe. He would have said he was clean and tidy but he wasn't.

I am untidy and not houseproud by any means but I have basic hygiene standards.

My present tenant is excellent. Although even she has surprised me in some ways. I gave her a part of the garden as she said she loved plants and wanted to grow veg. She hasn't touched her part in over a year. She sits in the shared part with her friends if the sun is shining.

*he took the cat not the carpet

flappergirl

Just out of interest ExDancer, why are you cleaning a house that you do not own and are not benefitting from in any way and for tenants whom you barely know?

Sorry if I've misunderstood and you have an arrangement with the owners of the property.

I also wondered why the OP seemed to involve herself in helping various neighbours clean their property when they moved out, she must be a lot keener on housework than I am.

Doing my own is more than enough.

Grammaretto I am untidy and not houseproud by any means but I have basic hygiene standards - like you.

However, I do wipe out kitchen cupboards before putting my things in when moving house - even if it looks clean. It just somehow feels better.

In holiday lets I am particularly wary of cutlery and crockery initially - in one we used the same few plates, glasses etc for the whole week.
This is less likely to be a problem these days - now that most places seem to have a dishwasher!

We have a rental property which is now under offer . We’re selling because we’re fed up with tenants who don’t look after the property. We’ve had it for 10 years and have had some lovely tenants who kept the place clean and spotless . But the last two left it filthy and broke white goods and internal doors. We have insurance but it’s still a hassle. Recently I’ve spoken to other landlords who’ve also complained about messy tenants and have also decided to sell up . Landlords get bad press but tenants aren’t lily white either .

I feel your pain SmileLess.
One set of tenants left us with the dog shit as well. That was added to the the fact that they didn’t pay us another penny after paying the deposit. Like yours, this flat had been completely refurbished including new carpets.

We had another property where we let to a couple and her niece. They added another 6 people to the property ( 2 bedrooms) but they were all hot bedding it.

The best tenant we had was what we called the lady of the night We didn’t know this until after she moved out. She was a tenant for 6 years. The property was kept spotless and never missed a rent payment. In 6 years she only called us once for a plumbing problem ( no jokes please😂)

The tenants in the flat above me left the agency (who were less than sympathetic about the absolute misery they caused) buckets of human crap and pee to clear up.

I now let my flat through an agent. They do all the background checks and follow up references as well as advertising on their website. The photos made it look so appealing even my DC were impressed.

This cost about a month's rent but was worth it for my peace of mind.

How disgusting petra.

We had a 'no pets' policy and it turned out she kept ferrets and let them run around. They were urinating everywhere which explains the terrible smell.

We're keeping ours for the time being Tenko and stay there ourselves from time to time but would never have a tenant again.

Not sure why landlords go to the trouble of putting in new carpets etc. When we rented out our house in Suffolk - years ago, the agents told us that they did not like to deal with furnished flats - unfurnished was better - less aggro.

I don't think carpets are considered furnishings Dianahmo. Whose going to rent a property with bare floorboards?

My neighbour and I became very friendly, and still keep in touch. That's why I helped her with the cleaning. She had two small children under school age and although I am much older we became firm friends.
I've always made friends with neighbours, when we were younger we baby-sat for each other and saw each other at local events. Now most of us are grandparents, but the house next door seems to attract younger families who are renting.
Maybe its a country thing, we are in an isolated area, six families so I suppose we do tend to live in each others pockets.
It was a good thing during covid.
Does it sound odd?

It's a constant refrain !

A Turkish neighbour had an immaculate home and when she sold it to an English lady - she told me that she'd had the bathroom removed because it was disgusting and that they couldn't possibly use it .
It certainly wasn't - it was brand new .
I've discovered that this neighbour is highly competitive over everything .
She alone has private medical care and was annoyed that I know and have been treated by her gynaecologist .
I had a cancer scare .

She was also furious that I have Veni Infantini clothes .
I bought preloved .
She paid over the top in a Kensington or Chelsea boutique !
Good luck to her if it makes her feel superior over the other neighbours !

ExDancer

My neighbour and I became very friendly, and still keep in touch. That's why I helped her with the cleaning. She had two small children under school age and although I am much older we became firm friends.
I've always made friends with neighbours, when we were younger we baby-sat for each other and saw each other at local events. Now most of us are grandparents, but the house next door seems to attract younger families who are renting.
Maybe its a country thing, we are in an isolated area, six families so I suppose we do tend to live in each others pockets.
It was a good thing during covid.
Does it sound odd?

I probably sound rather mercenary but cleaning someone else's rental property without reciprocation of some kind is a bit odd. I could understand a dire emergency or if one of your children owned the property. Otherwise you're effectively saving the owner the cost and hassle of employing a cleaner. I'm a country girl but this would be a stretch in the close communities I've lived in. I expect the owner is delighted with the set up.

I have mainly been a homeowner and landlady. Our kitchen was ripped out and replaced to their taste. Our sofas were left down the garden to rot. Their wild dog was locked in our bedroom and scratched the door from top to bottom. The neighbours complained to us as his girlfriend was a lady of the night and brought home her many clients for rowdy parties.
Now we are tenants and employ a cleaner and gardener. No nails in the wall etc.

I couldnt care less just how spotless anyone else is.

I let a flat for about 6 years and had very few problems. Most of my tenants were well behaved and elft the flat in good condition.

The worst were a couple of Irish new graduates who, quite simply had no domestic skills or knowledge. An (irish) friend told me that Irish mammies ran round their sons as if they were little gods, and they never did anything for themselves - these lads were born in the early 1980s, and things may have changed.

None of the damage was deliberate, and none of the dirt was offensive. They just did not have a clue. Duvets were damaged because they were slow getting bedlinen, lampshades were resting on the wrong light bulbs and had holes burnt in them. They only ever hoovered the centre of the room, they left the grill on all one night and melted all the knobs that operated the burners on the hob. This event also, as I discovered, after we had signed everything off, damaged the electricity consumer unit, which cost over £500 to replace.

However that one disastrous year apart, most of my tenants were excellent and we became good friends with the last ones before I sold.

Many years ago I lived in supervised student accommodation and shared a room with someone who left food lying around. I used to clean up after her but one day I had enough and stopped. Some of the food went mouldy and I was asked to see the supervisor who laid into me about the state of the room. I just asked why they were speaking to me and not my room-mate? They obviously were making assumptions because my room-mate was always sweet and charming (she still is, we're still great friends).
After she moved out I was asked again to the supervisors room and she apologised. It clearly hadn't been me making the mess!
I just smiled and walked out.