Yuck! We’ve rated the grossest ‘gifts’ Lancs students have found in their accommodation

Silverfish are becoming our built-in best friends xoxo

6 months ago | UPDATED 6 months ago

Lancs students are all moved in and have no doubt finished making their new homes for the year all nice and cosy with some old fairy lights, fake vines and posters. But before we can get to the point where we have a room we’re proud of, we first have to get rid of all of the “presents” the last tenants left behind.

From dead bugs to Christmas decorations, student accommodation is home to the weird and weirder when it comes to move-in day. You’ll spend the first few weeks regretting all of your decisions up to that point until you finally manage to get the stain out of the fridge, and will constantly be terrified of finding mould behind your sofa – but hey, that’s student life for you. So in the spirit of move-in season, we’ve ranked all of the gross things Lancs students have told us they found in their new accommodation, just to let you know that it could definitely have been worse.

Prepare to be disgusted, because student accommodation takes no prisoners.

Hair and fingernails – 6/10

There’s not much worse than finding literal pieces of the last tenant when your letting agency hasn’t bothered to hoover up the old hair and nail clippings that have probably been festering in the carpet for the past three years. It’s just plain gross, and nobody wants to be the first tenant to move in and subsequently, the person charged with clean-up duty of the hair in the living room.

‘Smelled of death and cigs’ – 9/10

Honestly, the nine points are for the nauseating description given to us, because it definitely sounds like a gross flat to be in. The worst thing is, there’s not much you can do for a mysterious smell apart from opening the windows and hoping for the best. Somehow, though, the smell is still there six months later when you’ve gotten through 10 reed diffusers and six cans of Febreeze.

Unwashed dishes – 3/10

This is pretty tame on the grossness scale and is more of a nuisance than anything, but we’ve given bonus points for the mysteriousness of the dishes being found in the attic. Were the last tenants throwing a party up there? A seance? We’ll never know.

Squashed dead slug – 2/10

This definitely isn’t a nice thing to move into, but if that’s the only thing you find, you’re pretty lucky. Most of the annoyance comes from obsessively looking for any other bugs that might have been left behind.

Silverfish – 7/10

Ah, every uni student’s best friend. You might as well get used to them because there’s no way you’re figuring out a way of getting rid of your new besties!

Half a Christmas tree and some breadsticks – 7/10

This isn’t really gross but it’s a weird combination – were the breadsticks some kind of decoration?. We’re slightly confused about where the other half of the Christmas tree is, but at least it’s free decorations for your flat celebrations. DIY Christmas tree, anyone?

Dead plants – 5/10

We feel the pain of moving into your brand-new flat, only to find some unidentifiable plants growing through the door and, in one case, behind an extraction unit. They’re annoying to get rid of and can leave a smell, but it’s nothing some Dettol, a bin bag and some tissues won’t fix.

Underwear behind the radiator – 8/10

Definitely an unpleasant thing to move into; we recommend gloves to remove these.

‘Forbidden cupboard’ – 10/10

10/10 for the intrigue; this is definitely an ominous move-in present. Why is this cupboard forbidden? Were you told not to look in it for fear of death when you moved in? Is this where all of the gross items the last tenants left behind are? We need answers.