A son who has been caring for his sick mother since he was seven had to call in ‘extreme’ cleaners to help remove the 20 years worth of dust and grime that had built up in their home.
Christian, 22, from Luton, has dedicated his life to caring for Joy, who is in constant pain from arthritis, but had struggled with the upkeep of the flat admitting his laziness meant their home had become neglected.
The father-of-one explained in ITV’s Call the Cleaners that as her health gradually declined, Joy became unable to do housework.
‘She could do less and less, and I was a lazy teenager and as you can see I haven’t cleaned up this house,’ he told cleaning duo Maxine and Jasmine in the programme.
‘Looking after a sick parent takes up a lot of your time. I have to help mum in and out of the bath because she can’t do a lot for herself. I’ve always been a carer for mum.’
Christian had dedicated his life to caring for his sick mother but the house had become neglected over the past 20 years
The build-up of dirt, cobwebs and dust was revealed when the cleaning team pulled out the units
Christian had been caring for his mother but admitted his laziness was part of the problem when it came to the flat upkeep
Christian’s mother Joy had moved from her messy bedroom into the living room where she was happy to stay
Maxine and Jasmine, left, spent three exhausting days cleaning the flat for Joy and Christian, right
The kitchen had piled up with dirty crockery and packets of food, and Christian wanted it all to be cleaned away
Maxine and Jasmine promised to help remove the build-up of filth that had accumulated as chores were neglected over the years.
The mother and son had lived in the house for 20 years, and Christian explained he was ready to move out but didn’t want to leave his mother alone in the house as it was.
Joy’s bedroom had reached such a bad condition that Christian moved her bed into the front room.
She was happy to continue sleeping there, with her son explaining he wanted to give everywhere in the home a lick of paint and turn what was his mother’s bedroom into a space for his little girl when she visits her grandmother.
Stacks of DVDs littered the rooms which Christian said he was happy to throw out. Two decades of dust covered the counter tops
After three days the cleaning duo scrubbed walls and wiped down grime from the windows of the living room
They were able to transform Joy’s former bedroom into a small living room complete with a sofa
The kitchen was unrecognisable after Maxine and Jasmine tackled it, with Christian saying he would be able to keep it clean now
Joy’s bed was set up in the former living room to make things easier for her when it came to manoeuvring around the flat
It’s took a long and exhausting three days but the cleaning duo were able to make the flat feel homely again.
A thrilled Joy tells the cleaning pair: ‘I can’t believe it, you’ve done such a good job, I didn’t think anyone would be able to do it. Before there was just mess everywhere.
‘It will be a new chapter, I learned from my mistakes so I know what I will need to do now,’ Christian adds.
Call the Cleaners is available to watch now on ITV player