Toilet seats we can understand. Even bath mats are logical.
But what the hell is urine doing on your furniture?
A new survey by Guardsman (they clean people's furniture) found that wee is the most common stain, followed by vomit. (But at least the latter makes sense in a house party/pub night context).
They compiled the data over three years, and found that red wine, chocolate and milk are some of the most common food stains. People with kids tended to have play-dough, silly putty and paint marking their furniture.
Also - gross alert - some findings included bird droppings, slug trails, animal and human excrement, semen and even blood from dogs in season.
Even more worrying - the fifth most common stain was an ‘unidentifiable stain’. Our imaginations are running riot.
Here is the top 10:
1. Urine
2. Vomit
3. Ink
4. Drink
5. Unidentifiable Stain
6. Red Wine
7. Food
8. Water -
9. Milk
10. Chocolate
How to get rid of red wine stains on furniture:
Ingrid Johnson, Professor and Assistant Chairperson of Textile Development and Marketing at Fashion Institute Of Technology (FIT) says:
1. Salt is the best option for cleaning up freshly-spilled red wine.
The solution holds true for bedspreads, curtains, couches and other home items, which all "absorb slowly," making it easier to get the wet stain out. If the item is made of cotton, hot water is enough to do the trick, according to Johnson.
2. Oxi products are the best thing for getting out old, dried stains.
"Old or set in stains from wine can be more of a challenge," says Johnson. But it is possible to get dried wine stains out. She recommends saturating the area with hot water, applying a pre-treatment and then letting any oxi product -- usually a combination of granules and water -- "work its magic" for anywhere from 2 to 10 hours.
3. You shouldn't use white wine to clean up spills.
Johnson shoots this home remedy myth down. "In both cases the stain is essentially fruit juice and not matter how clear the white wine seems, it has color from the fruit," she adds.