University Students Back To BBC 'Young Ones' Era: 80 Per Cent Live In Filthy Conditions

Return To Young Ones Era: Four In Five Students Admit To Living In 'Filthy Conditions'

Students are harking back to the seedy days of the BBC's 'Young Ones' era of bad hygiene, as a new report reveals a third arrive at university without ever having done housework.

The study, conducted by cleaning giant Vileda, saw a shocking 81 per cent of students admitting to living in conditions they described as "filthy".

After the hit BBC comedy series The Young Ones, cleaning experts have now dubbed the appalling hygiene conditions "The Young Ones Syndrome".

Although 36 per cent of fresher students describe themselves as the "very model of cleanliness" when they leave home for university, a further 30 per cent admitted that while they know how to do housework, they simply won’t be bothered once they leave home.

Many freshers arrive at university lacking even the most basic knowledge of how to clean and carry out basic household chores.

A spokesperson for Vileda described the chances of contracting an illness from the unclean accommodation as a "lottery".

“It is concerning so many admit they have been or are likely to be living in filthy conditions just because they can’t be bothered cleaning up or don’t know the basics of keeping things clean and hygienic."

Laura, a second year student at Cardiff, said although she tried her best to keep her student flat clean, it was difficult as her housemates had very different ideas of how they wanted to live.

"When I arrived at university one of my housemates, who was an international student, asked me if I was going to be doing his cooking, cleaning and washing up."

"But," she added, "my other housemate - who was English - was even worse. He used paper plates and plastic cutlery so he didn't have to wash up. And he also used newspaper when he ran out of toilet paper."

According to the report, which surveyed 3,000 students, an astonishing 40 per cent of freshers said they would eat off paper plates so they don’t have to wash up.

Another 34 per cent arrive at university not even knowing how to wipe a kitchen surface or mop the floor. One in 10 former students admitted during their first year at university they swept dust under the rug to save them having to hoover the floor.

The Vileda spokesperson added: "Learning to do housework properly at this age is not only an important life lesson, but it’s easy if kept on top of regularly.”

And almost a third admit they had take-out meals which they ate directly from take-away containers almost every night to avoid washing up.

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