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Being invited into a friend’s home can feel like a huge honor. They’re opening up their humble abode to you, and you have the opportunity to get an intimate peek into their life. They might have family photos on the walls, artwork from childhood on the fridge and dozens of books that mean the world to them lining the shelves.

But visiting someone else’s house can backfire when you start to notice things that terrify you. Redditors have recently been discussing some of the worst things that you could possibly find in someone else’s home, so we’ve gathered the biggest red flags below. Enjoy reading through, and be sure to upvote the things that would send you running for the hills!

#1

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ If they have children, but you see no sign of a child in the home outside of their bedroom.

Edit: I do not mean the home is trashed. I mean you see no photos, no coats, shoes, toys anything indicating a child lives there too. For example I tidy up every night, but you’ll still see my toddlers shoes by the door and his little paw patrol table in the living room. & photos around the house of him of course

Another edit: I am not going back and fourth with you sad beige parents that live for aesthetics. If you don’t get it I’m not explaining it.

DontWantNoCornbreadd , Jelena Mirkovic/unsplash Report

#2

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ Large political flags on the wall. I don't care what your political affiliations are, if you are that obsessed with it that you feel the need to hang a huge flag in your living room to announce them, that's a no from me.

NoFunction_ , skytheanimalman/reddit Report

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#3

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ House made of sweets and gingerbread. Boiling cauldron over chimney fire.

azinize , probablyA_cat/reddit Report

#4

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ I did some real estate photography on a home.

It was a Mass State Trooper. It was disturbing: A nice neighborhood, a nice home, clean and well maintained. Kids and wife photos decorating the walls and end tables. But I started noticing holes punched into walls (some of them plastered and repaired, some of them "fresh". Doors that had been splintered at the bottom from being kicked in. A couple doors that had padlocks on them that had been ripped out. There were just signs of rage everywhere I looked. It was disturbing and I felt bad for the family.

parkerjh , Lujia Zhang/unsplash Report

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Schmebulock
Community Member
21 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They need way better screening and treatment of police for mental health issues.

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#6

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ When their pets water bowls are empty. Monsters.

LoJellythings , tps12/flickr Report

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Shannimal
Community Member
23 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Gah. Remi drinks her bowl down and doesn't let me know, so it might be dry for a bit until I notice. She also isn't running any marathons, so she's fine.

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#7

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ This extreme beigeness. Especially if there are kids. I saw videos of parents painting colorful toys beige. It's just sad.

rusty_trashcan_210 , Gláuber Sampaio/unsplash Report

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Child of the Stars
Community Member
1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't understand this at all. It feels so impersonal. I dislike overly matched and perfectly decorated houses too. Being in someone's home should tell you who they are, but an overly-curated home always makes me feel like they're trying to hide themselves.

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#8

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ I change the bathroom towels in our guest bathroom every Friday. One Friday I told my son to go wipe up the urine he left on the seat & floor and then watched this imposter of my DNA, wipe the urine with a hand towel and hang it back up, in front of me. I've never wanted to disown a relative more in my life.

slightlydramatic , Daiga Ellaby/unsplash Report

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Debbie
Community Member
1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As a parent, this made me smile, not because of what he did ofcourse. But sometimes we forget that we never taught them how to do something. It kinda depends on his age though. At a certain age you could expect them to figure out to use toilet paper for that. But at other ages I am unfortunately not surprised that they do not think about what to use to wipe something up. My kids had the habit of taking a clean dishtowel (theedoek) from the cupboard to clean up spills. Instead of a rag (doekje) or a towel that was in use/more ready for a round of laundry. On one hand, ok, you are cleaning it up, but aaargh!

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#9

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ Dirty litter boxes if they have cats, and I mean filthy.

Ophede , B****Bussy/reddit Report

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#10

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ Crosses / jesus s**t everywhere.

NaiveOpening7376 , Midnight Believe/flickr Report

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Donkey boi
Community Member
23 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For clarity, as this one seems to be dividing, I read this as; 'People with a LOT of religious iconography' I don't think they mean just a crucifix or two, but like, a cross in every room, or a shrine type setup.

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#11

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ I don’t know if I’d go as far as “red flag”, but people who have zero books in their home give me pause.

notcool_neverwas , Francesca Tosolini/unsplash Report

#12

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ Really gnarly aquarium. If you’re gonna trap fish in a box for your personal pleasure, keep that s**t pristine.

NeitherWait5587 , Zealousideal_Event45/reddit Report

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Papa
Community Member
21 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pristine aquariums are not healthy environments for the fish. Much of that gunk is bacteria that takes the ammonia secreted by the fish and breaks it down into less toxic substances. One of the biggest mistakes new fish keepers make is to do regular deep cleaning. Regarding the picture here, that's just a buildup of algae on the glass. While it may be unsightly, it is not unhealthy for the fish.

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#13

My bicycle that I reported stolen 2 weeks ago. Big Red Flag.

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#14

I was looking at an apartment to rent in a very liberal part of the USA. Place was great! I’d have a huge windowed area and lots of nice amenities like a fireplace. I went to the other part of the place where the landlord lived. Above *his* fireplace was a portrait. A portrait of Nathan Bedford Forrest. Founder of the KKK. I noped right the f**k out of there.

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#15

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ Trashy neighbor's dog died in a kennel, probably from starvation.

They ignored the body until well after rigor set in, and then they couldn't get it out of the cage because the limbs wouldn't bend. So they just left it in there, in the house, surrounded by piles of garbage

Their 10-year-old eventually asked other neighborhood adults for help because the parents wouldn't do anything about it.

So... dead dog rotting in a cage is my red flag.

BeNice-ThisTime , Sarah Leo/flickr Report

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Smeghead Tribble Down Under
Community Member
1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

OMFG >.< I'd have had the cops, RSPCA, and anyone else I could think of on their fkn doorstep.

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#16

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ When they let their pets poop and pee in the house. Bonus if they let their kid sleep in a room that is essentially a massive litter box.

CamoWeddingDress , Sandra Seitamaa/unsplash Report

#17

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ No sheets on their bed but clearly they sleep on it.

badcatgarfield , jonathan fisher/flickr Report

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The Scout
Community Member
1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In a pinch, I have sometimes slept in a duvet cover without putting a sheet on. But directly on the mattress would be a big no for me.

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#18

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ When they don't do basic preparation for a preplanned guest coming over. For example, there's no toilet paper, they don't offer you anything to drink, house is really messy.

AriasK , Ivan Radic/flickr Report

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The Doom Song
Community Member
1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

First thing I do when I know I'm having people over is clean the toilet and make sure there's enough TP

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#19

Growing up my mom always told me if I saw a gun in someone's home to politely leave and call her and that she'd pick me up. How to tell in one quick story that someone was raised outside of the United States. I still get a jolt when I see a rifle in someone's house, I understand that there is responsible gun owners but I am not fond of being near weapons even when properly stored.

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#20

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ Dish rack was in the sink and had black mold on it, they put clean dishes on it to dry i was horrified they also just put water in the baby bottles and let them soak and used them. Never actually washing the bottles HORRIFIED.

sorrytooffnd , Simon Job/flickr Report

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Lyoness
Community Member
20 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's frightening, especially for the baby. I really, really hope OP was able to say something.

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#23

We were looking at a litter of German Shepherd puppies. Very large house, lots of land. Looked rather posh.

The mum and pups were in the kitchen. Dog poo, puddles of urine everywhere.

I managed to step in 💩

Owner said ‘oh sorry! Give me your boot and I’ll clean it’.

I assumed she had an outside tap? Oh no…she took it to the kitchen sink and washed it there.

We declined a cup of tea.

GingerbreadMary Report

#24

Books on Dianetics

My phone kept changing that to diabetics.

eatmeat2016 Report

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#25

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ When they use the sofa as a changing table with no blanket or anything on it. I went to someone's house and the kid had a blow out. The mom just put the baby with poopy diaper on the sofa to change her and looked at me when my jaw hit the floor and said "What's the big deal? It's just poop!" I never went there again.

It also explains why they purchased a brown sofa. 🤢.

Hangrycouchpotato , Getty Images/unsplash Report

#26

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ One major red flag is if their home feels too sterile or empty—like they don’t actually live there. Also, lots of signs of anger, like holes in the walls, can be concerning!

RosyRiddle86 , Steven Ungermann/unsplash Report

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Jay Scales
Community Member
1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Homes that are SO tidy & sterile that I feel I'm making a mess just by breathing!

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#27

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ They had only one kitchen cloth. Just that ONE. Used for wiping hands, wiping the counter, wiping the dishes, and wiping the microwave/stove after cooking.

Successful_Ranger_19 , Faruk Tokluoğlu/unsplash Report

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Bat cat in a hat
Community Member
1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I still have to colour code the kitchen cloths or my partner would use the same one for drying hands and face, the dishes, wiping floors, cleaning the cat litter box, alternative currency and summoning spirits

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#28

Roaches and people who smoke cigarettes inside. Heretics.

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#29

A thousand bottles of baby oil.

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#30

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ There was a guy who posted on r/malelivingspace who has 3 ‘obey’ prints above his bed.

lizabeth478 , highlife_/reddit Report

#31

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ Cr*ck pipe, cats but no litter box, liquor bottles are the only decoration you can find, barely any furniture.

Minute_Marzipan4597 , Christian Lue/unsplash Report

#32

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ No furniture, black garbage bags as window curtains, and a box spring with no sheets just a dirty blanket..

Ill-Profession8600 , Shonduras/youtube Report

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#33

Carpet in the bathroom..

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Lyoness
Community Member
20 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unfortunately this is a thing in some older houses and the people living there either can't afford or don't know how to remove it. Agreed it's gross but I don't know I'd call it a red flag. Just MO.

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#34

A dog with a shock collar.

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john doe
Community Member
18 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You know most shock collars don't just shock they have a vibrate and audible beep setting that if the dog is trained properly gets their attention back onto you and what you are commanding them to do, the shock is really just for emergencies like your dog is going to run into traffic, the small shock will stop them and can save their lives. I think people who are against shock collars are the kind of people that are generally against training dogs at all, they will have a dog and love it but let it do whatever it wants and claim it's trained, I've seen that too much, if you love your dog train it.

WalterWhiteSavannah
Community Member
22 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Shock collars have a place, punishing the dog for parking ain't it. My dad takes his dog out in the bush regularly and let's them be off lead. One has a regular collar cause he won't leave my dad's site, the girl has a shock collar cause she will run off if he turns his back for one second. She only ever got shocked once though, since then she knows to turn back as soon as it beeps. Also I tried it. On the lowest setting it's just "eh that feels weird." Anyone who sets it to max is a sadistic bastard. That hurt like he'll and made me involuntarily smash my elbow into the fridge.

Stacy s
Community Member
14 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I adopted a dog and used a "shock" collar - it was really more of a sound/vibrate collar. I tried it on my arm - unpleasant but not terrible. Once he learned he couldn't ignore me just because he was on the other side of the property, didn't need it. Helped a LOT as he was returned to the pound 3 times before i took him.

David
Community Member
17 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Disagree. Shock collars are adjustable. They are not necessarily torturing the dog. A relative recently installed one of those underground fences because one of their three dogs strays off the property. The shock actually wasn't strong enough at first and the dog was walking over the line anyway.

Owen
Community Member
1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My dog barks a lot so we do it so she doesn’t wake up the neighbors

Stephanie Did It
Community Member
1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Did you test it on your family members first? You should probably wear it yourself for about a week to get familiar with all the features.

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Erika
Community Member
2 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But some people don’t even use the shock they like me use the beeper if needed and vibrate on its lowest setting if it’s running off. So don’t judge other people you don’t know how they are training and how they are using it

Hugh Crawford
Community Member
12 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Define shock collar? A GPS fence / invisible fence or one for barking?

Heather Menard
Community Member
15 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They do work but you only need it on for a few weeks then you take the battery out they don't know and won't bark

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#35

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ Roaches. My in laws place is full of roaches and they act like it's no big deal.

buoyant_nomad , Domas Mituzas/flickr Report

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JD
Community Member
21 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It depends. You can do everything right and still have roaches. Especially if you live in an apartment building or close to others with a roach infestation. My dorm in college had roaches the second semester because they were building a sports complex 30 feet away. All the roaches living in the field came to the dorms.

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#36

40 Unhinged Things One May See In A Home And Think, ‘Oh No, Not Today’ One of my best friends from middle school invited me to spend the night one weekend and their house was so unbelievably *nasty*. It was more than just trash and dirty clothes all over the place. My friend’s older sister had a baby and they even had dirty diapers and food scraps throughout their apartment. Aside from some odd behavior from their mom who was gone pretty much the whole time we were there. We went swimming in their apartment pool that same weekend and my friend told me that her mom actually had a d**g problem and she sometimes just wouldn’t see her for days at a time. So now I think any unusual amount of trash could indicate a serious issue someone there must really be going through something in order for their house to be looking like *that*.

ABluntForcedDisTrama , slothliketendencies/reddit Report

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#37

Toilet paper roll facing in the wrong direction.

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Upstaged75
Community Member
23 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Any time my dad argues that there is no "right" way to hang toilet paper I show him a picture of the original patent for it. He's a patent attorney. :)

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#38

Hoarders.

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CP
Community Member
21 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That is a mental disorder. In reality every one of these problems in this list is mental.

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#39

Bare mattress on the floor. No duvet cover or pillow cases. Crusty hand towels that haven’t been changed in days or weeks.

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"Disembodied voice"
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22 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Duvet cover is too much of a pain, I have a sheet between me and the blanket anyway

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#40

Crushed prescription pills lying all over the living room coffee table.

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Schmebulock
Community Member
21 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why are so many of these people hanging out in crack houses?