Visiting someone’s home can tell you a lot about them, from how they live to how they treat their guests. But sometimes, all it takes is one glance at the kitchen or one trip to the bathroom to make you regret accepting the invitation. Now, you’re mentally planning your escape and wondering how soon you can leave without being rude.
We’ve rounded up people’s stories about the things they saw at someone’s home that made them swear never to return. From downright disturbing discoveries to bizarre sights that left guests speechless, these experiences might make you think twice about your next house visit.
Get comfortable and scroll on, because some of these homes sound like places you’d need a very good excuse to leave.
#1
During a Zoom meeting, we could see a coworker’s background. Her cat was using the litter box, which was on the stove.
No one ate her holidsy potluck dish.
Image source: PepperCat1019, Jared Brotman
#2
Woman was making hamburgers she was forming the beef patties with her hands. She reaches down and gave some raw beef to her dog. Dog licked her hands. She went right back to forming the hamburgers with her hands. .
Image source: SunshineIsSunny, Sarah Chai
#3
Stayed at a buddies apartment who’d recently moved to a new city. We worked for the same company and I decided to come in the night before a meeting to hangout. The kitchen was unusable. Dirty dishes with food on them everywhere, piled high. Like, why even own that many dishes? The bathroom had a tub that wouldn’t drain, so there was like a foot of grey water in the tub. He was kind enough to “bail it out for me” the next morning when I went to have a shower. He then informed me he had only one towel, so I dried myself with a tshirt from the day prior. Alan buddy, you were a good friend but you lived like an animal.
Image source: Ignominia, Gary Barnes
There’s a difference between a home that looks lived-in and one that makes you wonder when anyone last picked up a cleaning cloth. A few clothes on the sofa or dishes waiting to be washed are hardly reasons to judge someone, because we all know life gets busy.
But when grime has built up on every surface and even finding a clean place to sit becomes a challenge, it’s understandable that guests might feel uncomfortable.
#4
Hoarders turn me off. So many people just don’t want to throw anything out. I feel sad for them. knew a guy who couldn’t find his cat. after 3 weeks it started to stink and he finally found it, unlike of course.
I knew a guy who had a log cabin on the edge of state parkland. He turned his basement into multiple bedrooms for drunks and substance users to sleep in for a modest fee. He also had a collection of squirrel heads on a shelf on his front porch. He claimed he used them for weather forecasting. Their eyelids would open and close based on humidity.
Image source: DeliciousWrangler166, * Doğukan *
#5
Cigarette buts and ash everywhere. Its like the entire apartment was a big ashtray. The smell was overwhelming anf my clothes smelled the same after only being there an hour or so.
Image source: akajondo, cottonbro studio
#6
Sleepover at friend’s house. They gave me a mattress on the floor. No sheets, no pillow, no blanket. Just a mattress. Rich family. Live-in maid. They all had proper beds and linens. Told my friend I would walk home before sleeping like that. She gave me the blanket off her bed. I don’t know if they thought I’d bring my own or that’s just how they treated guests. She had been to my house so she knew that wasn’t how we did things. That night her father got drunk and threatened to take the lives all of us so we ran outside and hid. But it’s the image of the bare mattress that sticks with me.
Image source: thankyoufriendx3, Наталья Маркина
The way a house smells can shape a guest’s first impression before they’ve even taken off their shoes. You might overlook a cluttered coffee table, but a strong odor that hits you as soon as you walk through the door is much harder to ignore.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that musty odors can indicate moisture problems or inadequate ventilation. So an unpleasant smell isn’t always a sign that someone hasn’t cleaned. Sometimes, there might be a bigger household issue that needs attention.
#7
A friend who was involved in local politics in the north-east and who was generally truthful (with me, at least) told a story of how he was knocking on doors once and was invited in by an elderly couple. They left him alone in the living room while they went to make tea, during which time the couple’s dog jumped onto the sofa and immediately shat on one of the cushions.
The husband walked in, tutted, shooed the dog off the sofa, turned the cushion over and offered my friend his tea as if nothing had happened.
Image source: GreatChaosFudge, Andrés Alagón
#8
The amount of properties I’ve been to in over 2 decades is well into the 4 digit range.
You ever had someone in your house and found yourself awkwardly apologising about the “mess”?
99% of the time, its honestly fine. Its not an operating theatre, its a home that is being actively lived in, especially if its a family home with kids running around etc
That 1% though, Christ. Its like you are just upset someone is living that way.
And it almost always seems like they have some sort of underlying/untreated MH or other problems contributing to it, because nobody thinking straight would let it get like that
Worst ones I’ve seen ended up with me ringing social services because they were elderly/vulnerable with no help coming in and I couldn’t in good conscience do nothing, as those are the sort of people who “go” and nobody notices they are gone. This got worse after pandemic too as alot of people had their support yanked away during the peak and not given back.
Image source: Dissidant, Trọng Tín
#9
Friend in school asked I wanted to stay over. He had silk sheets and no heating, that was coldest night of my life. In the morning we ate angel delight for breakfast and then I rode my bike home in the rain.
Image source: SMYLTY, MANITO SILK
Being a considerate host means thinking about whether your visitors feel welcome. Nobody expects a friend to prepare their home as though royalty is coming to dinner, but visitors should be able to use the bathroom without an unpleasant surprise.
Running out of toilet paper or finding no clean glass to drink from can make a visit unnecessarily awkward. A little preparation goes a long way towards making people feel at home.
#10
I saw dirty pads lying on the floor in a mountain of mess and soiled baby nappies were thrown from the window into the garden forming a pile that was attracting all sorts of species of flies. The counters were full of week old dirty dishes. A multigenerational family of good health live there, so not sure why it wasn’t so clean. I needed water but didn’t even want to drink it from the house. I left promptly.
Unfortunately for personal reasons I occasionally have to go but I refuse to eat or drink from there..
Image source: Slow-Diamond-8725, Šárka Hyková
#11
A friend invited a few of us round for afters drinks, there was empty crisp packets everywhere like the floor was a carpet of empty crisp packets. The toilet didn’t have a seat and looked like it hadn’t been cleaned since the 80s. Needless to say we booked a taxi, made our excuses and left pretty quickly.
Image source: dinkidoo7693, Ryan Quintal
#12
Extreme flea infestation.
Remember those really fluffy fake sheep fleece throw cushions that seemed to be a thing in the ‘00s? They had cream ones on the sofa. When I sat on the sofa, I could see little black dots crawling through the fleece towards me.
The cats’ fur was so thick with flea dirt that when you scritched them it got under your nails.
I had to stay there for a week and the whole time, no one in the family acknowledged the fleas’ existence, though they must have been getting bitten to pieces like I was.
Image source: DoubleXFemale, CDC
Basic cleanliness matters for reasons beyond making a good impression with your guests. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, regular cleaning helps remove dirt and germs that can make people sick.
Wiping down frequently touched surfaces, washing dishes, doing laundry, and keeping kitchen counters clean can all help maintain a more hygienic home. Disinfecting every surface daily usually isn’t necessary, but staying on top of routine chores can stop dirt and germs from building up.
#13
A friend had gone to see a patient. They lived in a 5th floor flat.
She went to the kitchen to wash her hands. Opened the door and was confronted with a horse. Remember, 5th floor?
Image source: GingerbreadMary, Helena Lopes
#14
The Dad in the 90s was an alcoholic sheet metal worker he’s sober now but my friends and I were swimming when he came home. He stumbled into the backyard and flopped into the pool fully clothed with work boots.
He was floating face down like a corpse. I asked my friend if we should get him out. He seemed unconcerned saying his Dad was a scuba diver & could hold his breath long.
The mom came out yelling at the Dad who just started blowing bubbles face down. I left.
Image source: Googlemyahoo75, Ivan Le
#15
I lived in an apartment, many times when I was coming and going to work, the lady that lived next door would be sitting on the floor outside her door. I would always stop and say hello, or ask if she was alright. I had found out from management that she was a highly educated professor from one of the Ivy League universities, but had a mental breakdown. One day, I’m coming home from work, she is waiting at the elevator for me in a total panic. She has to show me something. She takes me to her door, tells me I need to leave all my electronics outside. She opens the door and I step inside to see that every square inch of her apartment is covered in tin foil, she then went into a rant about people spying on her, showing me a bottle of Mrs Butterworths pancake syrup and explaining how it was watching her. Yea…..that night we contacted her family, she was in the hospital for a few weeks after that.
Image source: Luking2thestars, Kier in Sight Archives
The state of your home may also affect how you feel. A recent study found a link between household clutter and lower psychological well-being. This means that living in a disorganized space may go hand in hand with feeling less satisfied with life and experiencing poorer mental health.
Keeping your home reasonably organized can help you feel more comfortable and at ease in your surroundings.
#16
Huge spiderwebs with a spider in the corner of each room. When I alerted my cousins of the spider, my cousins looked at me like I was crazy and said the spiders eat the bugs u_u as there’s little baby roaches crawling over the dishes in the sink
Yea my brothers and I got out of there so fast and went back to my grandparents.
Image source: dressedtodepresss, Torbjørn Helgesen
#17
I went over to a guy’s house once and he had, in his dining room, dozens of dog feces. It was a unique home feature that I’m personally glad I’ve never seen replicated in any other home I’ve been invited into.
Image source: Clawdius_Talonious, Kailun Zhang
#18
Baby laying unattended on a stained mattress on the floor. I was 12 at a sleepover, was too scared to go home and felt guilty that I was uncomfortable with my friend’s home life.
Image source: SpecificChoice770, hessam nabavi
Of course, not every reason to swear off someone’s home has anything to do with cleanliness. A host who rummages through your belongings without permission, makes you feel unwelcome, or ignores your personal boundaries can make a visit uncomfortable, no matter how spotless their home is.
And if you encounter something that genuinely makes you feel unsafe, you’re under no obligation to stay or accept another invitation just to be polite.
#19
The floor was literally just dirt. Not dirt on top of flooring, but you could dig in the floor like you were outside. A few spots had grass and moss growing.
Image source: RhetoricCamel, paul mocan
#20
Lots of food wrappers on the floor.
I don’t mind clutter, but garbage – things that rot? Get out of here.
Image source: alkatori, 𝕡𝕒𝕨𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕤
#21
Marilyn Monroe shrine.
That’s not to say it couldn’t be done tastefully, but this one was definitely not done tastefully.
Image source: midwestXsouthwest, Jarvik Joshi
Some visits leave you feeling right at home while others leave you wondering how quickly you can make your exit.
Now we want to hear your stories: What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve ever seen at someone’s house that made you swear you’d never visit again? Tell us in the comments and give us the juicy details. We have a feeling some of these stories will be hard to top!
#22
Their husband hiding in the wardrobe with a classic 80’s handheld VHS camera. For God’s sake man, it’s 2023, use a mobile phone like the rest of us.
Image source: EvillerBob, wtrsnvc _
#23
Went to the bathroom. Came out to wash my hands and the soap bar was just covered in pubes that you couldn’t see any of the soap.
Image source: ReasonableTotal8256, leah knipe
#24
A child sized coffin as a coffee table. I had a 2 year old at the time.
Nope. Bye.
Image source: Pypsy143, The Good Funeral Guide
#25
Smell. It’s always the smell. Overwhelming litter box smell at my daughter’s friend’s house. We have cats and I’m sympathetic, but it was bad bad.
Image source: whatevertoad, Neakasa
#26
The garbage piled halfway to the ceiling and the stench OMG I didn’t know homes could smell so bad unless their was an unalive body in it. I had to take a shower and throw the clothes in the wash. Or it was just so gross it stuck in my nose but I swear I absorbed the stench.
Image source: lost_dazed_101, Ariungoo Batzorig
#27
No books to be seen with a follow up, ‘Yeah, I never read’.
Image source: Many-Composer1029, Gülfer ERGİN
#28
Seeing a friend of a friend feeding her two cats up on the work surface, where she was making a sandwich for her kid. I thought at first the worksurface was textured when I walked into the kitchen. It wasn’t it was just dried on Felix in jelly.
Image source: SmartPolicy6430, khaled khazna
#29
A photograph of me, in a compromising position, that could have only been taken by a spy camera.
Image source: pulsarstarter, Bernard Hermant
#30
It was a cat rescue and the shelters they had the cats in were fine but their house was a mess and jumping with fleas. The two kittens we took were in a tiny cage filled with their feces. And the lady had the audacity to insist she inspected our house to see if it met her standards!
Image source: Glandular-Slaughter, Raul Varzar
#31
Well, now I don’t feel so bad about my own home. Thanks for all these comments!
My answer: When I was dating in my younger years, I saw my fair share of men’s beds without sheets and one single crumpled up yellow pillow without a pillow case. You’d be appalled at how common this is/was amongst 20 to 25 year old men.
Image source: IansGotNothingLeft
#32
Might be controversial but a dog. I’m talking a massive German Shepherd that did not stop barking the entire time to the point we couldn’t go to the bathroom in case we set it off.
Image source: Trippy_V
#33
My friends husband washing the cat’s litter box in the kitchen sink, on top of dirty dishes.
Image source: Fit_Satisfaction_268
#34
No hand soap/wash of any kind in the bathroom, there wasn’t any in the whole house, they had kids too.
Image source: Hulkenberk
#35
Watched a family member put some meat in the microwave to defrost, but just on the glass turntable plate, not in a dish or anything. Then just left the plate in there and shut the door, not a chance he was going back to wash it. I couldn’t avoid going back but that was the last time I ever ate at their house.
Image source: justdont7133
#36
My neighbour’s dishcloth. I look after their pets when they’re on holiday and have the misfortune of having to wash their cat’s dishes with this dishcloth that i swear hasn’t been washed or replaced in ten years, it’s brown, slimy, smelly, and disintegrating. Absolutely revolting.
Image source: BeanOnAJourney
#37
Twice I visited someone in a home that was mostly a static caravan in a field and the first visit showed a messy caravan but still tidy. Come the next visit eight years later – a very different story oh my. The caravan is there but messy and there was an extension added for the bathroom – a basic one by the way. I was offered tea that I barely touched because it came from unfiltered water and then there’s the smell – made me gag. It was from all the junk littered around the field.
This is in Wales by the way – someone who lived off grid and disconnected from society.
Image source: Prudent-Mountain-888
#38
When they never open the windows and the damp air and ammonia smell (what even causes it?) just hit you the moment you walk in the door. I end up coughing for the rest of the day.
Image source: Fruitpicker15
#39
Used sanitary towels all over the place in the bathroom. They also had unused ones where the insides had been torn out. We are talking back in the 90s and these sanitary towels were made of a cotton wool type material.
Image source: BlueRose26403
#40
While at university, I was invited to stay for the weekend at the parents’ house of my handsome new boyfriend. We had dinner with his mum and dad, the four of us around the table; I was doing my best to impress … and after dinner I suggested that I take the used plates back into the kitchen. “No need!” breezed my boyfriend’s mum, at which point my boyfriend and his parents (still seated) picked up their dinner plates and held them low for their roaming dogs to lick the plates ‘clean’. “Of course-“breezed the mum, “-we do put the plates in the dishwasher afterwards.”
My new relationship did not last even half that weekend.
Image source: East_Combination6807
#41
Her dad had his machete collection out and was sharpening them. He was talking to them like they were his friends; it was really bizarre. The guy was obsessed with knives and blades.
We decided to play at my house that night.
Eventually, that guy tried to take the life of my friend’s mom with one of the machetes, and it was a whole ordeal. I lost my friend overnight; her mom moved her away and didn’t give out any contact details.
Image source: Walmartian_Beta
#42
Their parents were fighting hard, throwing stuffs at each other.
I was a child, just wanna go my friend’s house to play. There were other kids crying. I immediately said to myself maybe other time.
Image source: Hour-Tomato-645
#43
Went to dinner at family member’s house and they fixed the plates for everyone I asked them not to put peas on my plate because I hate them and was told “In this house we eat what’s served” I was a grown woman I walked out.
Image source: Appropriate-Care6971
#44
My ex kicked me out of the house (rightfully) and I didn’t have anywhere to go until an old friend said I could go to her place. She wasn’t there but said to let myself in. I walked in and there was trash and dirty diapers everywhere, plates of old food on the stairs and the bedrooms, trash piled ankle height through the whole place and oh God the smell. I walked out with my suitcase and told her I found somewhere else. Haven’t been back since, though she invites me over every time we see each other out and about.
Image source: literarytrash
#45
I was asleep on the couch. I woke up to my friend’s dad leaning over me, just looking at me. I got up later and called my parents to come pick me up. Soon after that, my friend told me that his father said, “Your friend can not come over anymore. I was in junior high school, and I am a male.
Yep, dodged that bullet …. turns out the guy’s dad was arrested a few years ago for CP.
Image source: anon
#46
Met a stranger through a temp agency at a job site that didn’t quite pan out, so we hung out for the rest of the day, he started getting drunk immediately (9am) but I was driving and didn’t really mind it. We go to his house and it’s nice, clean, effort was put in to keep it that way. I was around 21 at the time and this guy was well into his 40s anyways shortly after we got there his wife came homes and started screaming at him, threatening him, threatening to call the cops, and reprimanding him for “bringing this white boy into my house” (they both were black and I’m white) he was yelling back throwing insults and threats and telling me to stay. I told her she had a lovely home and thanked her for having me over (I don’t know if she heard me she was screaming at him the whole time) and promptly left. I always thought that dude should’ve left as well because she was making it quite clear that he was not welcome there but it didn’t seem like he was listening.
Image source: fatestgirl
#47
So many candles lit and scent things plugged in, instant migraines for me so I had to step out.
Image source: Redddittorio
#48
I was a Chevy Astro van driver, there’s apparently a following for this. Met a fellow Chevy Astro van owner on a dating app and met for coffee. They wanted to show me their van. When I got in I realized it was gutted with only a bare mattress, toilet paper and a bucket in the back. He was living out of it and not in the glorified van lifer way. I got out promptly and went home.
Image source: ejrob815
#49
At my in-laws, the the partly eaten turkey was put in the microwave overnight so it could be used for leftovers the next day. I couldn’t really never go there again as long as I wanted to stay married but I was careful about what I ate.
Image source: my_clever-name
#50
1. Uncle had an unsecured firearm tucked under the couch in the children’s playroom basement. It was a high caliber revolver, loaded. ( Most revolvers don’t have safety switches, they rely on heavyish trigger pull.).
My 5 yr old little brother found it..
Image source: Several-Feeling3409
#51
I was a service professional going to someone’s house for a job. I had met them before, it wasn’t a one-time kind of service. This time I needed to knock on the front door to confer with the homeowners about something in the back yard. I heard a woman’s voice saying “you little jerk! You’re a little jerk *from hell*!!”
I went into the back yard to do my work. She came out a few minutes later and said “sorry I couldn’t come to the door, I WAS CHANGING MY NEWBORN BABY’S DIAPER”
OMG. I still had to go back, though. The husband later said “don’t ever get married”. Yeah, not to *her*, that’s for sure.
Image source: Grandpa87
#52
Filth with roaches and rats. Only experienced that once, thankfully.
Image source: Flash5916
#53
They were an “if it’s yellow let it mellow” household. I held it in and left early the next the morning.
Image source: Dragonfly2919
#54
I had a girlfriend in college where the romantic relationship didn’t last long but we remained friendly. It came to pass that she asked me to feed her cats while she and her new boyfriend were away. I really liked the cats, and the new boyfriend wasn’t a bad guy either so I said yes.
And letting myself into their apartment for the week is how I found out they were substance users. When I changed the litter boxes, it was clearly the first time this had been done in a while.
I was probably 20 years old so I didn’t make a big deal about it, I just backed away from them. The cats appeared well fed, at least.
Image source: Unlikely_Suspect_757
#55
Making sandwiches by hand and licking their fingers every five seconds.
Image source: HD64180
#56
Went to a guys house that had a bunch of guns and knives laid out on his table like they were on display. Which isn’t the worst because I live in the south but it was a bit weird. But we watched a movie and when I went to leave (because I just honestly wasn’t interested in anything further) he made jokes about not letting me leave and he could keep me there if he wanted and physically picked me up and tried to walk me back towards his bedroom and acted like it was a joke but I got extremely uncomfortable with the bit and was scared he was serious. Luckily I got out of there unscathed and blocked him.
Image source: Fireheart757
#57
They let their pets urine and feces freely in their carpeted house. They’d pick up the big pieces here and there, but lots of it was caked into the fibres. Didn’t seem to think it was weird.
Image source: schaweniiia
#58
Tiny studio type room with a board on the window ledge for cats to come and go. There were 16 cats walking on the table, cat hair in food, cat feces on floor. One (at least one) cat had diarrhoea. Back home l had to take a shower immediately and all clothes into washing machine l stank so bad.
Image source: Draigdwi
#59
My friend’s dog and cat both up on their dining table eating leftovers off their plates while their kid was sat eating her dinner.
Image source: littlehamster_
#60
One of my best friends lives in a house that is literally a tip.
And he isn’t poor by any means, he is quite well off. But the house is just filthy. Boxes scattered everywhere, floor dirty because shoes aren’t being taken off.
I’m not in a rush to go back.
Image source: Infamous_Tough_7320
#61
I didn’t leave immediately but wanted to, all of the doors locked from the inside and only their Dad had the keys. Neighbours invited me inside because I’d lost my house keys.
We watched original star trek for a bit because that was apparently one of the show’s they were allowed to watch?
Nice enough people but complete weirdos in hindsight.
Image source: BurlHam
#62
In high school, my friend’s house, they had like 5 or 6 Shar Peis. The smell, oh god the smell. I left as soon as I could and never went back.
Image source: tactleng
#63
The undressed photos of his wife on every wall in the apartment. Right after he had introduced me to his wife. Awkward…
Image source: Goblue5891x2
#64
Yep I wen into a clients house and there were roaches crawling everywhere. I’ve never been more repulsed.
Image source: unoptimisticoptimist
#65
They had a rotten turkey from Christmas in their fridge. It was March.
Image source: Userdataunavailable
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