'I've never washed my bedding and don't use cleaning products - water works'

08 August 2023 , 11:30

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'I've never washed my bedding and don't use cleaning products - water works'

A woman who has lived in the same house for 29 years left a cleaning team utterly shocked after she revealed she had never washed her bedding or mattress, which she estimated was around 100 years old. Cleaning gurus Hayley and Dann encountered some startlingly grubby homes while presenting their Channel 4 show,

but few could top their experiences at Plas Teg, a Grade I listed 17th-century manor which was in need of a serious refresh.

It was here, back in 2013, that they met Cornelia Bayley, a then 74-year-old woman who was struggling to keep on top of the 10-bedroom property, and who refused to let Hayley and Dann use any cleaning products, directing them to use water and a sponge instead.

The mattress was estimated to be around 100 years old (Channel 4)

When given this unexpected instruction, horrified Hayley asked: "It doesn't kill the bacteria then, does it?" to which Cornelia simply shrugged, "The bacteria can live here, I couldn't care less." Retired antiques dealer Cornelia admitted she'd only cleaned the house a couple of times during her 29 years living there, but the biggest fright came when the discussion turned to her unwashed bedding.

After taking a look inside Cornelia's bedroom, Hayley, who was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in 2007, enquired: "Cornelia, when was the bedding last washed", to which Cornelia confessed: "Never". Mum-of-three Hayley pressed on, asking: "It's never been washed? What about the mattress? Do you clean the mattresses?"

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The duo couldn't believe their ears when Cornelia admitted she'd never washed her bedding (Channel 4)

To the great horror of the duo, Cornelia replied, "Of course not!", prompting Dann to nervously ask exactly how old the mattress actually was. In a reveal that resulted in Dann putting his head in his hands, Cornelia said: "It could be 100 years old, or something. You know, this is how people used to live years ago – and I still live like that." Reflecting on her experiences back in 2020, Hayley admitted she'd had a "bit of a breakdown inside" when she was informed cleaning products were completely off the table when it came to scrubbing the grime-coated manor.

Cornelia had only cleaned the house a couple of times during her 29 years living there (Channel 4)

Hayley recalled: "That was the first hurdle for me, and instantly I was like, 'This is going to go downhill very, very quickly. Because I was thinking in my mind things like, 'How am I gonna get these toilets clean? What am I gonna use to clean the sink drains and put down the drains and stuff?'." Thankfully, Dann and Hayley were able to come to a compromise by cleaning everything using water and a bit of washing-up liquid, and Cornelia, who is understood to still be living at Plas Teg, was quite "happy" with the results.

Julia Banim