S/O - How dirty is this house to you?

[Mrs Mungo]

My dh has had to weigh in on taking people's kids based on the state of their homes before. It always had to do with smell, feces, etc. Someone always throws up. It has never had to do with simple clutter. I don't think you could necessarily judge cleanliness from photos.

[Julie in Austin]

The bedrooms: messy, but not actionable.

 

Kitchen and living room: assuming that food on the floor had been there awhile, CPS should investigate but only do something if the investigation warrants.

 

Once you read about the bathrooms: CPS should have gotten the kids out IMMEDIATELY.

[Soror]

Disgusting. Filthy. The bathroom, wow, I was holding my nose just looking at the picture.

[Mom in High Heels]

Ack, ack, ack! The pics made me cringe. IMO, that's filthy and not a safe or healthy environment for children. I didn't read the article, so I don't know if the kids were actually taken away, but they certainly need to be out until it gets cleaned out.

 

My house is rarely spotless and my kitchen counters are often cluttered, but it is never filthy. I can have any room spotless in less than 10 minutes. I do a general pick up after Han Solo goes to bed, so it's neat(ish) when we get up in the mornings, but there are days when it's full on messy. I would never let it get to the point of those photos though. All that clutter would make me insane.

 

I have an aunt with 6 kids and her house always looked like that. I hated going over there, because there was never any place to sit down, as every surface was covered in stuff and it always smelled like pee because all of the kids wet the beds well into their tweens. To walk down the hall, you had to walk ON stuff (mostly clothing). I don't think I ever saw the floors, other than the kitchen floor, and it was always gross. My mom and I only went over every now and then, because while my mom loves her sister, she (my mom) is a neat freak and it grossed her out too. How CPS never took their kids away, I don't know.

 

 

ETA: I just went back and read the article and looked at the bathroom photos and I sooooo wish I hadn't. That is so horrible I don't even know where to begin. Just ewwwwwwwww.

[elegantlion]

So who else is cleaning their house right now? :rolleyes:

[SquirrellyMama]

I voted awful but no CPS intervention. Then, I read the article and realized I hadn't seen all the pics. I change my vote :( If it were just a messy house I would think that maybe something could be done but there is so much more.

 

Where is the bathroom picture. I didn't see that.

 

Kelly

[Hunter's Moon]

I vote awful but no CPS intervention. Then, I read the article and realized I hadn't seen all the pics. I change my vote :( If it were just a messy house I would think that maybe something could be done but there is so much more.

 

Where is the bathroom picture. I didn't see that.

 

Kelly

 

 

If you go to the main article, the link to the bathroom pics is in the middle of the article.

[MissKNG]

The condition of that house was so appalling, I couldn't even make it through all of the pictures without wanting to throw up.

[SKL]

When I was a teen, we had a dog who was sick in the cold winter. She would run around the house in the wee hours and puke all over the carpets. Many, many puke puddles per day. Once diarrhea was involved, too. I remember this because I had the honor of cleaning it up every morning.

 

That's the thing. It was cleaned up every morning. There was no question about it. The filth AND The stink was removed as soon as someone could get to it. There was no complacency about body wastes around the house.

 

I honestly don't understand how people can have that in their homes and go about their business.

 

My sister once agreed to go to a friend's house while they were on vacation to take care of their cats. It was so gross. They had the litter boxes under the tables where they ate. How do you live like that? This was a respectable family - the dad was a pastor of a church. The daughter was one of the most accomplished students in school. But they ate dinner over cat poop?

 

I've also visited an intelligent, accomplished man whose whole upstairs was littered with cat poop because he couldn't seem to keep up with cleaning the litter boxes. (He was having a party on the main floor; otherwise I assume the cats pooped there as well.) (At least he didn't have kids, though.)

 

Apologies to animal lovers, but IMO people who don't have housekeeping skills should not have indoor pets.

[Tammyla]

I went back and read the article. What the police officer found in the bathroom was something no child should have to live in.

[Mrs Mungo]

I think taking the kids out, as awful as those conditions are, is even more harmful.

 

Get someone in to clean the place, help the parents clean it, and then monitor.

 

Some people just don't have these skills. They've never been taught. They need help. I have met and seen such, and it was ignorance.

 

 

That is exactly what does happen, in my (limited) experience. The kids are removed until the house is clean. The parents are monitored once a week, then once month, etc.

[Guest]

I agree that that house is horrifying. Toys scattered about would not do it for me, but food and what appears to be feces are the "filth." One photo shows trash, soda cans and what might be pest control spray or automotive spray on the floor. That's terrible!

[unsinkable]

Leave out the feces and bathroom sewage, and I don't think it warrants removal of the kids. But since there is human waste being spread around the entire house, then yes to removing the kids.

[speedmom4]

I imagine that if people can live in that filth there are other areas of neglect. I can't imagine that you can safely raise a child in that environment even if you love them.

 

Elise in NC

[dsmith]

I thought the house was filthy and I wouldn't feel comfortable with young children in that house. Too many dangers that I can see, and there is no way I could ignore the bathroom in that scenario. I could walk in to a clean house with a messy bathroom and overlook that. Feces on the floor, things that could topple on young children and injure them, dangerous cleaners and chemicals within reach, etc... I don't think kids should have to live in that. I would hope that kids were removed temporarily while the home was made habitable again, and monitoring and perhaps counseling offered, unless abuse was present.

[Cindy in FL.]

I think that it is pretty disgusting and that there needs to be intervention. That's without the story or bathroom pics. That doesn't mean that I think CPS should take the children away from their parents necessarily. Children should be able to walk from room to room safely and without stepping in feces, have a functioning bathroom, and a sanitary place to eat.

 

A little mess is one thing...

[Annie Laurie]

I am more concerned when toddlers are in a situation because toddlers get into things.

 

 

That was my thought too. I have a 2 year old who is very, very busy, and curious. I have never had a toddler like this before, and he makes me wonder how toddlers who live in situations like in those pictures survive. Mine can open "child proof" bottles, climbs things to get to stuff he wants, and still puts things in his mouth on a regular basis. We have to be very careful about what we leave out that he can access.

[fraidycat]

Wow, that makes me feel like the domestic goddess of the century. LOL When I think my house is a disaster it isn't even close to that.

 

This. Even when mine gets cluttered up with clothes, toys, papers, my floors underneath that clutter do.not.look.like.that. The clutter is picked up regularly so that the surfaces can be cleaned.

 

I only looked at the photos, I haven't read the article or seen anything of the bathroom. I need to go vote now.

[GraciebytheBay]

So, I didn't read the story and I didn't see the bathroom. I have to say that from what I see, that is only a couple of days with a sick-in-bed mom with little ones. When my 4 were young, they could trash a room in nothing flat. When I was on bedrest with dd and dh was working, he'd come home and his mouth would hang open! (Although, I don't think mine ever looked quite that bad...I hope.) Honestly, I feel that a few good friends giving a few hours of help could make this house acceptable. It seems I am going against the grain here, though. It's a little embarrassing to hold this opinion!

 

ETA: I just read more of the comments above. I didn't realize there was feces...NOPE. Can't abide by that.at.all. Bodily waste is a whole other ballgame.

[beaners]

So who else is cleaning their house right now? :rolleyes:

 

Yep, with anxiety quickly approaching a panic attack. I just went by the photos as requested, and what is sticking in my mind isn't the knowledge of other overwhelming filth. It's the semi-benign pictures that closely resemble my daughters' room where they just dumped their entire closet and bookshelf and dresser onto the floor. Freaking out. Me. Right now.

[Annie Laurie]

I'm not going to quote anybody because this is a general question for people that think CPS should have gotten them help/training on cleaning/monitored the situation. If two grown adults are using the bathtub as a toilet and have for a while (weeks?!?!?! based on the pictures) how can training help that? That's not a situation of "my mother never taught me how to keep house". That's something else. What? I don't know. But I can't imagine any adult in the US (or anywhere for that matter) that thinks it's okay to have WEEKS of sewage sitting open in your house with small children in the house.

 

Yes, this is more than people who were never taught how to clean. These people are mentally ill and/or are on drugs.

 

I, unfortunately (still feeling nauseous), looked at the bathroom photos, and my first thought was that there is a 2 yr old in the home according to the article, and a 2 yr old could drown in the feces and urine in the tub.

[Once]

I saw the pictures of the bathroom and changed my vote. Perhaps these children were removed because of the family violence and drunkeness the police were called about. The condition of the home is concerning....the bathroom is beyond enough reason to remove kids. I have seen worse though (without the bathroom situation). There are multiple issues with keeping kids in this home imo.

[aggieamy]

So, I didn't read the story and I didn't see the bathroom. I have to say that from what I see, that is only a couple of days with a sick-in-bed mom with little ones. When my 4 were young, they could trash a room in nothing flat. When I was on bedrest with dd and dh was working, he'd come home and his mouth would hang open! (Although, I don't think mine ever looked quite that bad...I hope.) Honestly, I feel that a few good friends giving a few hours of help could make this house acceptable. It seems I am going against the grain here, though. It's a little embarrassing to hold this opinion!

 

Look at the bathroom pictures. That's a major component of this story.

 

Oops. Saw you added to your post. Now we are in agreement!

[Joanne]

You are kidding, right? There is no way that environment can be healthy for a child! CPS should have been called a long time ago from the looks of the place. Ewww!

 

Even without the story and additional pictures, I think that the state of the house speaks to issues that warrant intervention and suggest an unsafe environment for humans - especially minor ones.

 

That is not a case of housekeeping standards.

 

It is a case where the untreated illness of the adults has created a situation in which there are NOT a good choice. Officials must pick from the best of the bad choices. In this case, I believe the children need to be removed immediately and the adults treated and given the opportunity to build wellness (and a measurable, executable, plan established for remediation and follow up).

 

I lived in mess growing up (not nearly to that level) and I still hyperventilate seeing pictures like that.

[KungFuPanda]

Based on the OP's description, I expected to see a messy house, but that was just nasty and I'm pretty practical and relaxed about other people's living conditions. Now, the toddler's bedroom could have happened in minutes if a kid decided to empty a closet or look for something. The main living area, though, was horrific. That wasn't clothes and clutter. That was trash and filth and food strewn about. Even IF mom got the flu, that house did not get that way in a few day's time. The only way people could live in that mess is if they're USED to it.

 

Based on those pictures, there is no way I could read the bathroom descriptions. I'm not a neat freak at all and that house skeeves e out big time.

[awisha.]

Oh. my. word. :svengo:

 

My skin ITCHED when I looked at the photos of the floors. Ugh, the whole place is filthy.

 

The bathroom is just... there are no words to describe it... flipping disgusting x1,000,000

 

*shudders*

[magnificent_baby]

If that is poo, then yes I agree with them. That's certainly not the nastiest house I've ever seen, though.

 

 

 

I agree. The toys and clothes aren't that out there. It's the chemicals and waste that's a big issue. My house has never looked close to that, even on a bad day. Not that my house is spotless. You run the risk of being attacked by dog hair and Legos here, but not filth.

 

Is Hoarders not on Netflix anymore? This made me want to watch and I can't find it!

 

It was, as of last week anyway. Try searching Buried Alive and see if you can find it.

[Murphy101]

My dh has had to weigh in on taking people's kids based on the state of their homes before. It always had to do with smell, feces, etc. Someone always throws up. It has never had to do with simple clutter. I don't think you could necessarily judge cleanliness from photos.

 

 

This.

 

I voted that compared to that house, mine s spotless and I think CPS should be involved, but I don't know about taking the kids.

 

I didn't read the article until after I voted. It's a mix of stuff that I not care about and heck yeah that's nuts. One child was sleeping in the recliner bc he didn't have a bed. Meh. Don't care no big deal. Feces, poisonous chemicals on the floors? Yeah. That's nuts and needs dealt with.

 

The scary thing? I've seen worse and CPS did nothing at all. And oddly or not, those houses were immaculate outside. Weird, huh?

 

Now aside from the poor kids, the landlord has to gut the place and clean it up. Worst renters ever, yes?

[twoxcell]

I think there is more to the situation then the pictures show. I have seen some pretty messy houses that weren't condemned. When you have infestations, chemicals/drugs, and filth that include such things as feces you have taken messy to a whole new level.

[Jean in Newcastle]

 

Now aside from the poor kids, the landlord has to gut the place and clean it up. Worst renters ever, yes?

 

 

I've had rentals in this condition. It was horrible, horrible, horrible. One had a floor like that with vomit etc. and a baby CRAWLING on the floor. We don't have any rentals right now and after that experience I honestly don't know if we will again.

[gardenmom5]

this house is bad/unsanitary looking (and I don't consider myself the cleanest housekeeper!) and would make me shudder, but I've also been in hoarders homes that were more sanitary looking.

 

I have questions about some of the things that might be in the pictures, but from pictures I can't tell. in the living area, there appears to be food/crumbs on plates and spilled on the floor/ground into carpet. those are invitations to rodents. (and insects). on the kitchen floor, it looks like poop smeared on the floor and a diaper. but it's hard to tell from the pic, it might be food smeared and a trash bag - still don't belong on the kitchen floor. I don't see how the kitchen is useable.

 

we're currently doing fungus experiments - but we're using test-tubes, not the inside of the house.

[gardenmom5]

When I was a teen, we had a dog who was sick in the cold winter. He would run around the house in the wee hours and puke all over the carpets. Many, many puke puddles per day. Once diarrhea was involved, too. I remember this because I had the honor of cleaning it up every morning.

if the dog was being dependably sick all over the house every night, why was it allowed to roam the house and not crated or put in the bathroom/laundry room for the night?

 

I hope the carpets were professionally cleaned if not ripped out.

[gardenmom5]

 

That was my thought too. I have a 2 year old who is very, very busy, and curious. I have never had a toddler like this before, and he makes me wonder how toddlers who live in situations like in those pictures survive. Mine can open "child proof" bottles, climbs things to get to stuff he wants, and still puts things in his mouth on a regular basis. We have to be very careful about what we leave out that he can access.

 

my toddler who used to dive face first into her sandbox with her mouth *wide* open (I hated having to clean her mouth out, I was constantly trying to stop her), rarely if ever gets sick. (she jokes about all those germs she was exposed to) she's my pharmd student.

[Murphy101]

 

if the dog was being dependably sick all over the house every night, why was it allowed to roam the house and not crated or put in the bathroom/laundry room for the night?

 

I hope the carpets were professionally cleaned if not ripped out.

 

 

I know! Glad I didn't point this out.

 

My ex sil used to let her boxer dogs poo and pee in the house. She would just cover it with a towel and leave it. She said the towel would absorb it and when it was dry she would wash the towel. Gag. And lice. And fleas. And worms from the dogs. *vomit* She used to get so mad because I would not ever visit. Well I think maybe twice over 20 years I went in and did not stay or sit. I still itch just thinking about her home with two kids. She used to complain that people were so stupid getting upset about lice and worms. (the kids missed a lot of school between live and worms and asthma keeping them out and if they made friends, theyd lose them shortly after the other parents discovered where their sudden infestation was coming from and forbid interaction) Don't they know that just part of having kids she would say. *faint* heeeeeelll no it is not I would respond. And be accused of being stuck up.

 

Whatever. *scratching non existing itches now*

[Murphy101]

And just to not be seen as too cruel and ununderstanding.

 

I had a little one that liked to poop paint and bob for floating poo in the toilet. Then there is the not so wonderful laxitive effect of a warm bath on a little one. But even if someone just happened to have knocked right when all three converged, I think you can tell the difference between that and letting things just go ick everywhere. I mean, as soon as most people discover their kid did that, they start cleaning things up, yk? You can tell the difference between wow mom has had a really bad afternoon today vs holy cow, what died in here 3 months ago and was left to rot.

[Jeannie in NJ]

I would go stark raving mad if I had to go inside that house. Honestly the pictures made me almost hyperventilate and I refused to look at the bathroom pix. I hate even clutter. Also I have 8 cats and I am obsessive about constantly cleaning their litter boxes and any throw up. We keep the littler boxes out of sight in extra rooms and when people come over, I will move the litter boxes to our detached garage and put them into closed bins to cut down on the smell. I will leave 1 or 2 boxes upstairs for the cats far away from my visitors. I have never seen a house look as bad as that one. Maybe all my friends and family are kinda neat or really clean up for company.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Okay, my children came from worse (at first, I didn't understand that from CPS investigation reports; but at finalization, I got pictures and cried).

In the county my kids are from, these parents would be allowed to just clean that up and probably get their kids back almost immediately if that was the only issue. If they maintained for 3 months, CPS would be out of their lives. If they couldn't keep it up in the 3 months, the state would pay someone to teach the parents how to clean (like literally how to clean a toilet type stuff). They would even, if they thought it necessary, provide a caregiver for the children so mom wasn't so overwhelmed with her responsibilities. And they would do this for way too long.

 

Anyway, yes, I think CPS should step in if the family chooses to remain like that, family hasn't/can't step in, etc. Children in those conditions are often sickly and neglected in other ways also.

 

ETA: I didn't read the article or see additional pics and not sure I want to.

 

I *will* say that I'm happy pictures of my children's first home weren't on the internet for them to find well before they are ready to cope with it.

 

ETA2: So I saw the bathroom pics. Honestly, I was surprised it wasn't worse based on comments. I guess being involved with CPS has really changed what I consider really really bad.

[PrincessMommy]

 

Yeah one episode of hoarders sends me into a cleaning spree. LOL

 

But really, from the outside of that house I'd have no idea.

 

 

LOL!! me too!! My kids give me a hard time for watching that show sometimes. I don't think they appreciate the benefits it incurs.

[Murphy101]

I thought of that too, Pam.

 

If nothing else, one would think it illegal to post pictures of inside someone's home without their permission. Even in cases of crime, i don't think it's a matter of pubic record?

[Dandelion]

I read the article, looked at the pictures, and watched the video (which did include bathroom shots).

 

I voted based on just the pictures. Even so, I think this goes way beyond messy or cluttered. Some of the pictures show conditions that could be dangerous for young kids - easy access to chemicals, stuff stacked dangerously so that the wrong move could cause everything to come tumbling down, unsanitary conditions in the kitchen, etc.

 

I have no idea what the CPS guidelines are for how dirty/unsafe/unsanitary a house has to be before they remove kids. But to me, the conditions in this house would be unacceptable. The fact that mom was drunk and the tub was full of feces just sealed the deal, but IMO there was enough there to act on even without those factors.

[ChristusG]

That is a horribly filthy house. Old food everywhere.....it looks like feces on the floor. Gross.

[Sun]

I think I should have titled this thread "I can make you clean your house!"

 

I wonder how different some of the responses would be if I'd just posted the pictures in this thread and not as a link. I'm probably naive, but I would never have imagined that those brown smears were feces if I hadn't read it in the article. It just would never have occurred to me; I would have thought it was mud tracked through the house or something!

[Carrie12345]

I scrolled only through the main pics before voting, then went back to read and see the rest.

 

Can I just say that the bed thing burns my butt? Because we had a visit (unfounded, of course) from CPS over a year ago, I absolutely make sure I keep beds set up for each child. We were in the middle of reorganizing bedroom space when they came, and we got a nasty attitude over our temporary one-less-bed arrangement. And it's a HUGE waste of space in my already small house. My 5yo can't stand sleeping in his bedroom. I think he may have spent a dozen full nights in his bed in his entire life.

[Lisbeth]

OK, looking closer now that I'm not on my phone, it does in fact looks pretty dirty. On my phone it looked like mostly clutter.

[LibraryLover]

I knew a family who was very clutter-y & messy. It's not the way I feel calmest, but they were lovely people and it worked for them. It was the sort of home you really had to step over items in nearly every room. However, it did not stink. Food was put away or tossed etc. There were no dirty diapers left around etc.

 

I am thinking there might have been a terrible stench which photos cannot show. Were any animals in the home well-cared for, were the children's diapers cleared away? How many visits did the family receive from authorities before the children were taken? Does the family have a history in the 'system'?

[unsinkable]

 

if the dog was being dependably sick all over the house every night, why was it allowed to roam the house and not crated or put in the bathroom/laundry room for the night?

 

I hope the carpets were professionally cleaned if not ripped out.

 

This is funny.

 

SKL is in her 40s, IIRC. You're worried about about her family's carpets from probably 30 years ago! LOL

[Desert Rat]

I don't know if CPS should have removed the children. I think they deserved a warning and a recheck. But, I didn't read the article and don't know the extenuating circumstances. I do think that was a dirty diaper and poop smeared across the floor in the kitchen. That was enough for me to worry about the kids, especially if they were toddlers, which judging by the toys, they were.

 

The second part of the poll was to compare my house to the house in the picture. My house is spotless comparatively. Laundry is washed every other day. Entire house is cleaned once a week. Toys are all organized and in bins. Linens are done weekly. I have, from time to time, had poop on my floors. I do have children after all. That poop never sat for more than 5 minutes. Ever.

 

I'm not judging. I have seem some terrible, dirty spaces. We all have problems. But adult problems should be kept away from children, if at all possible.

[Farrar]

Having just looked at the photos sans bathroom... it seemed pretty bad, but it also needed context for me before I thought CPS should ever be involved. I mean, if I had the flu for a week and my kids were younger, the house would look probably like that at first glance, to be honest. My house is always a bit messy and I have been known to discover some icky things here. For example, my elderly cat has a toileting issue that just decimated our basement for ages no matter what I did until I finally figured out the only solution was to permanently seal it off from him. And the one shot of the kitchen... good grief, my kitchen goes from wreck to clean to wreck pretty much every single day, so dishes undone doesn't necessarily mean anything and our stove also has cooked on gunk that will never come off.

 

But with the context of the article and the bathroom and so forth, then it seems clear to me that it's pretty legitimate that CPS be involved. Whether the kids should have been removed... well, that I cannot say. But a house in a persistent state like that, and the feces, and the stench... Well, that deserves an intervention on behalf of the kids.

[aggieamy]

I'm kind of surprised by the votes here. I almost want to post a poll with just the bathtub picture and ask the question:

 

"If this was the only bathroom in the house do you think CPS should remove the children?"

 

I just didn't think a house with a bathtub full of poop would even be up for discussion on if the children should remain there or not.

[NoseInABook]

I thought it was disgusting but CPS shouldn't take the kids UNTIL I realized that that was feces on the floor and saw the bathroom pictures. That is horrifying.