A How Clean Is Your House? star has lifted the lid on some of the most stomach-churning homes encountered while filming the hit cleaning show, including one property that had gone untouched for almost three decades.
The programme, hosted by Kim Woodburn and Aggie Mackenzie, became famous for tackling Britain's filthiest homes. But some of the scenes left even the cleaning experts struggling to stomach what they were seeing.
Kitchen left uncleaned for 28 years
Recalling one particularly grim job in Penzance, the star revealed how a woman's kitchen had been left uncleaned for 28 years, with dirty dishes piled up and stagnant water sitting in the sink.
They told the Daily Star in collaboration with Zingo Bingo: “There was a woman who lived in Penzance, and her house was disgusting. She hadn't cleaned the house in 28 years. So the dishes hadn’t been touched, and the water in the sink hadn’t moved.
“The minute we touched that water, the whole house stank of sewage because it had been rotten. The smell was horrendous. Cleaning the kitchen took a whole week.”
Resident brought items back inside
But getting the property clean was only half the battle, as the woman struggled to part with her belongings and ended up bringing items back inside after they had been removed.
The star explained: “Individuals that live in those houses find it very difficult to let go of their stuff. So as much as we're taking it out and they agreed and signed up beforehand, she ended up carrying everything back in afterwards.
“You’re talking about food that had been rotten for 10 years, and she's still wanting to bring it in and put it back. She put all the dirty newspapers back.”
Pork in fridge for five years
And the Penzance property was far from the only stomach-turning discovery made during filming. The star recalled finding a piece of pork that had been left in a fridge for around five years, with mushrooms and worms growing on it.
“I remember once it was pork in a fridge that had been there for about five years, and it had like mushrooms growing on it and worms. You can't believe you're seeing this stuff face on. You also have to act normal as the residents are standing next to you.”
Another job involved a toilet so badly covered in limescale that ordinary cleaning tools were no use. “There was one guy whose toilet was so bad, we couldn't remove it with anything. We had to take a literal hammer and chisel to scrape off the lime scale because it was that thick, because he hadn't pulled the flush in about five years.”
Rewarding transformations
Despite the revolting sights and smells, the star said the most rewarding part of the experience was seeing how much the transformations meant to residents.
“I think my favourite memory from working on the show is the sense of accomplishment that it brought at the end when you saw people cry. People were so thankful for what you'd done for their house. They could now invite their friends back or motivate them to clean it again. I enjoyed that aspect of it.”
