The Worst Cleaning Stories from Real Professionals

Carpet Cleaning I'm a carpet cleaner by trade, my worst experiences are always when I'm called to clean a stain and the owner has tried to do it themselves before calling us. I've lost count of the times when I know if they'd called us straight away we could have recovered the carpet, but in their efforts to clean they've set the stain so much it will never come out.Elderly People who Just Can't CopeThe ones that make my heart sink are when we're called in by relative to clean a house while a more elderly relative is in hospital. It's not so much how dirty it is, though sometimes things are in quite a state. It's the thought that someone just isn't coping any more. Sometimes there are pictures up that you think might be the owner in their younger days, looking so proud and smart and happy....then you look at the house and see what they've come to. It's quite heartbreaking at times.

Badly House-Trained Pets....and People!I went out to do a 'Move in cleaning' service. These are generally pretty easy because the house is empty and that makes it much easier to see exactly what has to be done. This one was a bit of a nightmare. How the people who moved out of this house were able to stand it I will never know. It was clear they had pets that weren't house-trained and they'd left carpets behind which were far too stained and smelly to be savable. There was also carpet and wallpaper in the bathroom. The cats had been there too, but worse, the men in the house didn't seem to have very good aim, it had to be men because women aren't equipped to aim that high! So the wallpaper was stained and smelly too.The house needed more than cleaning, we were able to contact the new owners and explain. They'd noticed the smell when they viewed but hoped it would go when the people and animals moved out. We were able to arrange for someone to come to strip the wallpaper and take up the carpets. It was lucky for the new owners that we're a end of tenancy cleaning in London that also offers handyman and rubbish removal services. By the time we'd finished, things were at least hygienic enough to live in. It's such a shame when houses are allowed to get into such a horrible state. I hope that the people who were brave enough to take it on got a bargain, because most people would have run a mile from it.

Rouge TenantsWe were called to do an 'After Tenancy' clean up by a landlord. The tenants had run away without paying the rent and they'd trashed the house. The walls had been written on, there were broken taps, cupboard doors hanging off their hinges and I still shudder when I remember the state the carpets were in. Such a shame because the flat was nice once and it must have cost the landlord a lot of money to put it right.

Flood Damage2014 Chiswick, I helped a family who'd been flooded out. By the time I went to clean the house was pumped out and a lot of stuff had been taken away but it was awful to see the damage caused. I don't know how much they lost but I'm sure it was a lot. I just hope they were well insured, and that they'll be able to get the house insured in the future.Breaking Bad NewsPulling out the fridge or the oven and seeing that there are pests in the house is always my nightmare. It's a difficult thing to tell people about if they haven't noticed, but it would be irresponsible not to. Most customers are grateful that I've told them but I once had someone who acted like it was my fault that they had cockroaches in their kitchen.

Benjamin Dover is a freelance writer and internet persona. He is interested in technology, app development, home design and others.