Dirty filthy things

Students, that is. Not all, but most. I am just as guilty as the next person for leaving the washing up for a week, or not making my bed, or taking clothes off the airer so that I can wear them straight away.

But there's a huge difference between being very messy and being dirty. I took over my new flat this past week, and at first was rather pleased with everything - I had a nice spacious flat, very near the university campus with parking spaces nearby to boot. What else could I ask for? Then I drove up with my brother at the beginning of the week, with all the stuff that I don't need with me at home for the moment. What's the first thing he notices when we get there? That what I thought was mainly dust that had settled over the past few weeks since the last person moved out, was in fact actual muck and stains that shouldn't have been there for the new person moving in (be it me or anybody else).

There is currently a bunch of newspaper/magazine pages stuffed around a pipe in the bathroom. I haven't taken it away to see what purpose it is fulfilling - just in case there is a leak, or worse I manage to pull the pipe clean from the wall. That would be a bit of a big problem. Then there's the filthy oven and the rusty hobs. Just a matter of it being used over time, you might say. Maybe so, but there's burnt food in the mix there too. Then there's the broken blinds, the broken electric socket, the broken and disgustingly filthy shower curtain, the (now removed) hair and God knows what else all over the bath, the burn marks above the heater on the wall and other grubby marks on the walls (in rather strange places). And then, as I opened the door to get back in the car to come home again, the handle came off in my hand. What a welcome!

Put it all together and it makes for a very annoyed little Welsh girl. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't expecting the place to be sparkling when I moved in, but I also wasn't expecting to have the give the place a deep clean before being able to unpack my things.

I've written a rather blunt (but exceedingly articulate) complaint to the estate agent, and submitted a maintenance request form (two in fact) full of the repairs that need to be done, that I shouldn't need to be dealing with. It can take up to a month for all this to be done, if anything gets done at all.

I'm sure I'll keep you updated on any progress (if any...) that's made. Don't expect any good news any time soon, though. We all know what these property types are like....