Are you a Hyacinth Bucket? The UK is revealed as a nation of curtain twitchers as our dirty secrets are revealed

Ever vacuumed around a sofa rather than underneath it? Skipped the
dusting? Neglected to clean the oven? According to a new survey it
hasn't gone unnoticed.

Eagle-eyed Brits are a snobbish bunch with nearly two
thirds of women admitting that the homes of their nearest and dearest
could do with a jolly good clean, according to a new survey by Betta Living.

Not only do we secretly think our friends are a filthy bunch, but women
across the country have admitted to carrying out grime investigations by
checking the tops of cupboards for dust or even peeking down the back
of the sofa. And you thought they were just admiring the new cushions...

Other common tactics for 'spotting a slob' include asking to use the bathroom on visits so you can have a good poke around and tip-toeing into bedrooms after a visit to the loo to have a quick nosey.

Barry Rourke from Betta Living says: ‘It seems that on the
subject of cleanliness women are discreetly creating a
league table of all their friends.’ Hyacinth would be proud.

******

So what's at the root of all this un-neighbourly behaviour? Well the
same survey also uncovered that we are hiding a few dirty secrets about
our own cleaning habits.

A whopping 75% of women surveyed admitted that they only clean their oven once a year and 69% said they only bother to vacuum underneath their beds once a month. Ever heard the expression about stones and glass houses?

If you've ever wondered which rooms in the house are the dirtiest, no it's not the kitchen or bathroom; shockingly it's the bedroom that takes the top spot in the grime league.

Thanks to us work-shy Brits not bothing to vacuum under beds and with freestanding wardrobes acting as dust traps, our boudoirs are far from clean.

And it seems that out of sight really is out of mind for most homeowners, with spare bedrooms and dining rooms ranking second and third in the filthiest-room stakes, as these get the least use and consequently the least cleaning. Phew, it's enough to make us break out the Marigolds and stock up on dusters.

So next time your friend or neighbour 'accidentally' wanders into your bedroom on the way back from the bathroom, you might want to keep an eagle eye on them, or alternatively ask them to do a spot of dusting while they're there...

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