'I still live like that': Woman admits she never washed her bedding despite a '100-year-old' mattress
FLINTSHIRE, WALES: When it comes to cleaning the bedding, opinions often divide. While some people launder their sheets once a week, others wash them once every two weeks or so. But there is one woman, who left everyone horrified after admitting that she has never washed her bedding, which she claims is 100-year-old.
In 2013, Cornelia Bayley appeared on ‘Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners’, where she revealed that she lives in a Grade I listed 17th-century manor in Flintshire, Wales. Then aged 74, the retired antique dealer said she spent £70,000 in 1985 to lease the 10-bedroom Jacobean home, which was built in 1610. Bayley dedicated herself to preserving the historic home after moving there from London when she ended her relationship with a man, whom she described as the love of her life, according to Daily Mail.
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Bayley spent all her money on preserving the beauty of the manor and was forced to live on a meager pension that she supplemented by hosting paranormal evenings in her home. She had only cleaned the mansion once or twice in the entire time she had lived there, which had caused the entire place to become progressively more filthy. During the episode, Bayley confessed that she is now struggling to clean the house all by herself and that’s why she enlisted the help of cleaning obsessives Hayley and Dann.
'Living in another age'
"200 years ago, there would be 20 or 30 people looking after the house. Now there is just me and the cat" Bayley said. She admitted that she hadn't taken a bath in two or three years due to a broken boiler and her inability to afford hot water, but claimed that she was simply "living in another age" because people didn't take daily baths in the 18th century.
However, the jaw-dropping confession came after she opened up about the cleanliness of her bedding. The retired antique dealer admitted that she had never washed her bedding or mattress – which is believed to be 100 years old. Cleaning obsessives Hayley and Dann were outraged by the revelation, as well as by the general grubbiness of Cornelia's house Plas Tag, according to the Mirror.
The pair was examining the bedroom, when Hayle, who was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in 2007, asked 'Cornelia, when was the bedding last washed?' To which, Cornelia replied 'Never.' Horrified Hayley then said "How old is the mattress," to which Cornelia replied: "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."
'The bacteria can live here, I couldn't care less'
Bayley made things difficult for Hayley and Dann after she restricted her from using modern cleaning products. When Bayley requested for this, Hayley asked: "It doesn't kill the bacteria then, does it?" To this, the homeowner replied: "The bacteria can live here, I couldn't care less." In a 2020 YouTube video reflecting on the episode, Hayley said she had a "bit of a breakdown inside" when she was told she could only use water.
"That was the first hurdle for me, and instantly I was like, 'This is going to go downhill very, very quickly," Hayley said. She added, "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?'" However, Hayley and Dan managed to complete the cleaning task by just using a huge amount of cleaning liquid. While Bayley appeared reasonably happy with the cleaning job, she admitted she had no intention of using the now pristine bath.