While we all have different levels of tolerance for tidiness, few would expect a home to resemble a “show home.”
However Louise, from Darwen, wants exactly that as she dedicates up to 30 hours a week to cleaning, wiping down her kitchen worktops every time she enters the room – which happens “eight or nine times a day.” The 32-year-old admitted on Channel 4’s Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners, aired in 2013, that if anything was “out of place” when she left the house, she “wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about it” sharing her unique cleaning method with viewers.
She revealed her tactic of using buffing socks to make the floors “come out really shiny” as she shuffles over them, highlighted her minimalistic approach to home decor, and affirmed that things like “bedside tables are banned” because she considers them additional clutter.
Her drive to clean is so powerful that she not only sorts through her daughter’s teddies for donations, but if they aren’t missed within a certain period, she’s quick to dispose of them. Her husband, Luke, said their friends find her obsession “mad” and while he finds it a “nightmare” to manage sometimes, he hopes: “Hopefully she won’t come back any worse”, reports the Mirror.
Louise was unprepared for the state of Tim’s house
Louise was unprepared for the state of 65-year-old Tim’s Portsmouth home when she walked through the door. He immediately confessed to being “ashamed” of his “horrible” living conditions, revealing he hasn’t put washing away for four months and was “disgusted” by the stained sink.
Viewers were gobsmacked to discover that Tim, despite the mess at home, works as a cleaner at a holiday camp for 30 hours a week. His house was swamped with clutter, which he felt overwhelmed by, admitting he had no idea where to start clearing up, and described his home as “not comfortable.”
Explaining the chaos, Tim said: “I bring things in, I put them down and they just stay.” Louise was taken aback by the sheer volume of items, questioning how one could maintain cleanliness with so much stuff, to which Tim conceded that his kitchen gets cleaned once or twice yearly at most.
The bathroom was labelled “horrendous
The bathroom was labelled “horrendous” by Louise, who couldn’t fathom how anyone could wash in such a place. With mould rampant, Louise felt compelled to reveal her cleaning habits, which included tidying for up to an hour and a half both in the morning and afternoon – something which Tim found “unbelievable.”
“It’s going to take a whole lot of bleach”, sighed a frustrated Louise, as she continued to dish out some tough love while they cleaned. She later tried to persuade him to chuck everything into the skip.
When he hesitated, Louise questioned his attachment to all his possessions. He responded: “10/15 years ago I had a family life and wasn’t on my own”, referring to his divorce and grown-up kids.
Louise spends 30 hours a week making sure her home is spotless – and even gets rid of her daughter’s toys
Later, during a deep clean of a sink that hadn’t been touched in eight months, they shared a heart-to-heart. Louise confessed: “I wish I could chill out a bit sometimes, but I like things perfect all the time”.
She expressed her desire to “throw caution to the wind and leave a coffee cup in the sink every now and again.”
Louise even managed to get Tim to polish the floor using her sock technique, although he said he wouldn’t be doing it again when she wasn’t around. At the end of the episode, Tim’s daughter Lisa came to inspect the results.
She exclaimed: “Blimey this is lovely”, noting that each room looked as it used to. She also told her dad: “You can now open the door wide when people are at the door instead of just poking your head through.”
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