Christopher Finally Cleans Room Buried For 15 Years! | Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:03]Two years ago, obsessive cleaner Richard Hello, sir. and antiques hoarder Christopher made a life-changing decision to challenge their obsessions.

[00:00:14]Where'd you sit?

[00:00:16]Although not OCD diagnosed, IT manager Richard spends two months of each year cleaning and organizing his home. Soon as that front door's shut, I'm hoovering. I'm cleaning. I'm tidying.

[00:00:28]I'm organizing. I can't stop. Richard from Northampton was keen to showcase his obsessive cleaning skills to a stranger. I've got a special gift to bring in order to chaos.

[00:00:39]Um and I enjoy it.

[00:00:43]So, he took four days out of his cleaning regime to help ex-antiques dealer Christopher reclaim his four-bedroom Wiltshire home that was disappearing under three tons of antiques [music] and collectibles.

[00:00:55]Wow.

[00:00:57]The house is in chaos.

[00:01:01]But getting Christopher to join in on the cleaning wasn't always easy.

[00:01:04]>> I seem to be doing a lot of the grafting here, Christopher. Well, I'm not getting down there. [music] It's too dusty.

[00:01:11]Now then, run your mop over that bit.

[00:01:13]>> Look at that.

[00:01:15]This is something [music] I never thought I'd see. Amazing. Yeah, it's something I never thought I'd do.

[00:01:21]>> [laughter] >> With the help of Christopher's friend Chalice, That's gross. You don't want a sandwich, do you?

[00:01:30]They managed to clean and clean the living room and kitchen in four days and filled two skips.

[00:01:38]Revealing a house Christopher could comfortably entertain in once more.

[00:01:42]>> [clears throat] >> God, isn't it clean? Oh my god.

[00:01:47]How clean is that? That's amazing. It's a usable [music] working kitchen now, which is what one wants.

[00:01:54]>> [music] >> It's all about maintaining what we've put in place and it will keep the house in a proper [music] standard.

[00:02:00]>> I'm very appreciative. But because clearing downstairs was such a monumental task, Richard didn't have time to tackle the rest of the house, leaving the front room and bedroom in the hope Christopher would carry on the good work. Can you teach [music] us how to dog new tricks?

[00:02:14]I have absolutely no idea. We'll We'll find out.

[00:02:20]Now Richard's back for one day in Wiltshire to check on Christopher's progress and try and finish off what he started.

[00:02:27]My theory is that he's just gone back to his old ways. He's lazy. He's let stuff build up in his lounge.

[00:02:35]As to what Richard is going to think about the house, Mhm, I do not know. I think he'll be surprised. What would be really good and make me really happy was if he's actually gone the next level, sold some stuff, done some antique fairs, carried on the good work that we started.

[00:02:54]Initial impressions for me are there's not much of a change. I'm pretty sure those branches were what we put there last time.

[00:03:06]>> [bell] >> Hello, sir. Richard. How are you doing?

[00:03:11]Very well. How nice to see you.

[00:03:13]>> It's wonderful to see you. Come on in.

[00:03:15]Ah.

[00:03:16]Am I going to be shocked?

[00:03:19]Last time, Richard left a welcoming living room for Christopher [music] to relax in.

[00:03:30]I'm I'm quite impressed, Christopher.

[00:03:31]Are you? Yeah, I'm quite impressed.

[00:03:33]You've kept it to a good standard.

[00:03:40]On his first visit, Richard left Christopher with a new fridge and usable kitchen for the first [music] time in 2 years.

[00:03:52]It's certainly not chaos it was.

[00:03:55]Do you mind if I look in the fridge? You may. Yeah. Do you want a mask? I'm not going to need one.

[00:04:02]Last time you nearly passed out.

[00:04:03]>> Yeah, I don't know if Is that going to happen?

[00:04:04]>> It is on. Yeah. Oh, wow.

[00:04:08]Well, I'm certainly not gagging, Christopher. That's That's much better.

[00:04:12]Much better. Very impressive, sir.

[00:04:15]Richard is now keen to take a look [music] at Christopher's bedroom, a room he didn't have time to tackle on his first visit.

[00:04:28]Now, that's what a bed should be like.

[00:04:29][music] Not with loads of clutter on it.

[00:04:33]You've done a cracking job in here, mate. For me, the biggest thing from from last time was the bed. I could only sleep on one side of the bed, and then move the boxes and sleep on the other side. Now, I [laughter] can Now, I can turn over at night.

[00:04:45]>> Now, you can entertain. I've got a new girlfriend who I met a month ago.

[00:04:49]Wonderful. And she's been to stay. I'm really pleased for you, sir. Really pleased.

[00:04:54]I thought if he kept the house tidy and kept it nice, he might might score with the ladies, and I and I think he has.

[00:04:59]He's got a girlfriend, and it's um yeah, it's brilliant. I think I did make a difference. I think I gave him probably the kick-start he needed to transform his life. I'm feeling kind of proud as well right now.

[00:05:13]Richard has got just 24 hours to make a difference to Christopher's life once more. Right, sir. Let's have a look in here, then.

[00:05:20]>> [music] >> The front room has been inaccessible for the past 15 years.

[00:05:26]I'm guessing there's stuff in here you want to throw away. There's probably stuff in here we can sell, but unless we get in here and get stuck in, we're not going to find out.

[00:05:33]>> That's very true. Yeah.

[00:05:35]>> [music] >> He's done well to maintain it. So, yeah, I'll give him another boost. I'll give him another hand.

[00:05:43]Suitcase. Okay. In Wiltshire, Richard has just 24 hours to help hoarder Christopher. A pair of moldy old shoes.

[00:05:50]>> Yeah, not very good, are they?

[00:05:52]He wants to clear the front room, last used 15 years ago.

[00:06:01]Previously, Christopher was buying 10 antiques every week to add to his collection.

[00:06:06]So, since I was here last, have you cut back a bit on your your collecting?

[00:06:10]>> I've only bought one thing, and that's the clock in the sitting room. Well, that's not so bad, then. You've made good headway, actually. You have.

[00:06:16]>> I have, yeah. Yeah, I think it's just breaking the back of this. Well, I mean, it'd be wonderful to see you have this room in use. Absolutely amazing. What we need to do is try and find some stuff that that you can sell or get to an auction.

[00:06:30]Do you reckon this would be be worth something?

[00:06:32]>> Yeah.

[00:06:34]Okay.

[00:06:38]Antique lobster.

[00:06:40]That'll be snapped [music] up at auction.

[00:06:42]>> [laughter] >> Let me guess, Hoover? Yeah.

[00:06:47]And I'm guessing it's quite old.

[00:06:48]Actually, it's Edwardian, yeah.

[00:06:52]It's got a big pump action on it. So, that's going to go to the That can go to the auction, yeah. Right.

[00:07:02]Christopher's off to the local auction house to get them valued.

[00:07:07]>> [music] >> Leaving Richard to continue to clear and clean.

[00:07:12]Don't think there's much antique value in it, but it's fun.

[00:07:15]So, I think we'd sell it. Do you? I think we would. Nice sort of vintage retro item. I'm sure they'll be quite popular. I'm very glad Richard has paid me another visit, because it looks like I'm going to get a bit of money out of it, and a sorted out room.

[00:07:35]Ha, sir, how are you?

[00:07:36]>> Well, all right, thank you. How'd you get on?

[00:07:39]Well, it was a surprise. It was absolutely amazing. But that dreadful plastic lobster 10 to 20 pounds.

[00:07:47]>> What for the lobster? Yes.

[00:07:48]>> [laughter] >> Ridiculous. The rest of it, I mean it all added up to between 215 to 335 pounds.

[00:07:55]>> Oh, wow.

[00:07:57]I'm making good progress in here. I think you'll be quite impressed. Trying to impress your new girlfriend.

[00:08:02]Yeah, can't wait to meet her.

[00:08:04]>> [laughter] >> In Wiltshire, after 24 hours, 10 bin bags worth of clutter has been removed.

[00:08:12][music] Richard and Christopher are putting the finishing touches to the front room ready for special visitor Julie. I can't wait to meet the girlfriend.

[00:08:21]Hello Julie. How are you?

[00:08:23]>> This is my friend Richard.

[00:08:24]>> Hello Julie. Hello Richard. Very nice to meet you. Come and see what we've been up to.

[00:08:32]One day ago, the front room was hidden under 15 years of forgotten antiques and clutter.

[00:08:43]Now it's been transformed into a romantic dining room for two.

[00:08:51]Here we go.

[00:08:54]What do you reckon?

[00:08:55]It's amazing. You can actually open the door.

[00:08:57]>> [laughter] >> Looks amazing. Yes, fantastic.

[00:09:00]>> Everything looks nice. You see there's a photo of my mom and dad on top of that.

[00:09:04]Oh, that's lovely as well. Yeah.

[00:09:06]And you can see the mirror, can't you?

[00:09:08]Well, it was full from floor to ceiling.

[00:09:10]>> Yeah, absolutely. So, it's fabulous, isn't it? Yeah, it is.

[00:09:14]Beautiful. And all thanks to Richard.

[00:09:16]Not just me, no. You You certainly did done your fair share of work.

[00:09:21]And three more rooms to go.

[00:09:23]>> [laughter] >> Yeah, I'll be back.

[00:09:25]I'll make this my holiday destination every year, Christopher's house.

[00:09:32]I think from last [music] time, I think my motivation has definitely lifted Christopher a bit, and I think now with Julie's influence to Richard [music] >> it's going to keep him on the right path. Thank you to Richard.

[00:09:44]I've told him he can't bring all loads of clutter in here again. No, I'm not going to. So I think the two of us together we've had a positive effect on Christopher and I think he's he's going the right way.

[00:09:57]Last time obsessive cleaner Vinnie decided to help clear charity shop hoarder Robin's house of 20 years of grime and clutter.

[00:10:07]Hello, hello, hello. Would you mind?

[00:10:11]I ask you to.

[00:10:12]Not being offensive but yeah, you've got an animal in your hand. I empty back about 100 times a day. Although not OCD diagnosed, 51-year-old fitness instructor Vinnie from South Yorkshire works full-time and still manages to clean for over 30 hours a week.

[00:10:28]To challenge his obsessions, he left his ordered pet-free life to spend four days at hoarder Robin's which was overrun by six dogs.

[00:10:39]Come on. In, in, in.

[00:10:41]My god.

[00:10:42]Oh god.

[00:10:45]That is the strongest smell ever.

[00:10:48]Is this stuff I'm going to have to deal with?

[00:10:51]Dog feces.

[00:10:53]The state of the house was pushing Robin's nine-year relationship with partner Kevin to the edge. It's got to the point where I spend more time here at the allotment than I do at home. Yeah, that is a very special picture, mate. And you look both very, very happy there indeed. My hope for the end of the week is that when the house is in a presentable condition that he'll he'll come round and spend more time here with me. So charity shop owner Robin put up with Vinnie's vigorous [music] cleaning.

[00:11:22]Vinnie, you're so obsessed you've scrubbed the damn numbers off my cooker.

[00:11:25]I don't know what's what now.

[00:11:26]>> There was no numbers on there.

[00:11:28]Absolutely not. In four days they transformed three rooms returning Robin's home back into a place that he and partner Kevin could learn to enjoy again.

[00:11:38]Oh.

[00:11:39]Oh, that's lovely.

[00:11:44]Oh, that's wonderful.

[00:11:46]Yes.

[00:11:50]Vinnie's done this for you. I wanted to be with you so much, >> [snorts] >> but I just the house was such a wedge between us.

[00:11:59]Oh, thank you Vinnie. I'm just glad I brought these two people together again, and I can go away now and think, "Well, yeah, I did something good."

[00:12:08]Now Vinnie's back in Kent to catch up with Robin and Kevin. Have they managed to maintain Vinnie's high standards and keep their relationship on track, or is there still work to be done?

[00:12:19]I'm worried to a certain degree whether Robin's gone back. Hopefully, you know, he's brought his relationship with his partner forward, because I know it was pretty much on a very rocky road, so it's important, you know, that I walk into a situation where I feel that he he really has made some changes. That's what I would like. It's never going to be up to Vinnie's standards, [music] despite all my hard work that I've put into it.

[00:12:41]I want to get inside. I definitely want to see the guys as much as I want to see the house.

[00:12:53]Hello, Vinnie. How you doing? Fine. How are you?

[00:12:56]>> Well, I was expecting you to come to the door with the dogs in your hands. And you know what? Now you've not got the dog in your hand.

[00:13:02]Good to see you, Kevin.

[00:13:03]>> Good to see you, Vinnie.

[00:13:06]After 50 hours cleaning and five bottles of bleach, Vinnie left a hygienic kitchen.

[00:13:14]Well then, guys.

[00:13:17]The one good thing is you actually got the dogs out in the kitchen. Yeah.

[00:13:23]Before Vinnie transformed Robin's bedroom, removing piles of clothes [music] from the floor and putting new cotton sheets on the Cobbles' bed.

[00:13:32]>> [music] >> What happened to those beautiful white sheets? About 10 days after you were here the last time, the Jack Russell had her babies on it.

[00:13:44]>> Yeah, yeah.

[00:13:46]And the puppies after that ate the rug that was on the floor, so that ended up going as well.

[00:13:53]>> [music] >> After removing a skip full of rubbish, Vinny left Robin with a relaxing living room, but that was 12 months ago.

[00:14:10]I I As a matter of fact, I cannot wait to hear. Well, this I have to say I am ashamed of this. Basically, closed the shop, my own personal stuff that I hadn't given away, it came in here. And that's your excuse?

[00:14:24]I shut the shop. Yeah.

[00:14:27]I've been busy working on the house, Vinny.

[00:14:29]Whatever you say to him, quite welcome to it cuz he drives me potty. I used to love coming sitting in here.

[00:14:36]>> Yeah, cuz we made a massive effort with it.

[00:14:39]I I'm absolutely lost for words, mate.

[00:14:45]I'm just really really really pissed off now that we've gone to such effort and and it's just just been totally ignored.

[00:14:55]I feel very much like I was ganged up on. I didn't get any support off of Kevin whatsoever, even though he's added to that mess. He won't admit it, of course, but he has.

[00:15:06]I don't like walking away, but I need to see if we can turn it around now again.

[00:15:15]In Kent, with partner Kevin out at work, charity shop owner Robin's living room has become a dumping ground again, and Vinnie has just 24 hours to improve it.

[00:15:25]I want to go in there, get that front room back to the way they wanted it, and hopefully that will inspire them to finish the rest of the house, uh and move forward.

[00:15:35]Woah. Right.

[00:15:36]Where do you want to start?

[00:15:39]There's a brush in here.

[00:15:41]I wonder why that's in here.

[00:15:43]It's out of place, isn't it, really?

[00:15:45]>> [laughter] >> That's the second brush in there I found.

[00:15:49]But here, it's not been used for the proper job, eh?

[00:15:52]Moan, moan, moan. I'm sorry I need to pick up on this point, but this is the third brush I've just found in here.

[00:15:59]I've had an awful lot to do. Vinnie doesn't know what's been going on in my life over the past year.

[00:16:04]Um cleaning the front room was the least of my priorities.

[00:16:09]Okay, what's with all the albums? Uh these are my photos of my my best friend who died earlier this year. Right. It was very painful. I had to look after him while he was dying, and um >> [snorts] >> it was hard. Okay. Okay.

[00:16:29]Okay. Come on. Come on. Let it out.

[00:16:37]Seeing Robin break down like I've just seen him over the pictures of his friends kind of has made me realize that he's just been left [music] alone in this surrounding which he's not happy with. He wants it finished, and he doesn't see any way through this.

[00:16:55]And And I sympathize with him as well.

[00:16:59]Hopefully he >> [snorts] >> Vinnie realizes you know, a bit more why things have become the way they have.

[00:17:08]I've had a lot to cope with in the past year. As I was um it's just the way it's been.

[00:17:17]In Kent, Robin and germaphobe Vinnie have cleared the living room of 200 plastic bags, a wheelie bin of rubbish, and three brooms.

[00:17:25]Yeah.

[00:17:26]That's what you pick up rubbish with.

[00:17:28]Yeah. And that's a little bin.

[00:17:30]>> [laughter] >> With just a few hours left before partner Kevin [music] gets home from work, the boys are loading up Robin's van for a trip to the local tip.

[00:17:40]You're surely [music] happy about this, eh? Yeah.

[00:17:43]Good.

[00:17:44]I'll get quite sad. I don't like to go to rubbish tips. Oh, really? Why is that, then?

[00:17:47]>> See what I can find to bring back.

[00:17:49]>> Oh, you won't be bringing nothing back, mate, cuz my eyes will be all over you.

[00:17:52]Yeah?

[00:17:54]Let's get in. Let's go.

[00:17:57]>> Uh uh uh It's covered in dog hairs, and I really am not sitting on them.

[00:18:01]It's your dog's seat, isn't it? Yeah.

[00:18:03]The only way I'm going to get in that car is if I'm allowed to bag up all the seats, put black bags all over them, even on the floor bit, cuz I'm not getting in, and I need to cover my face.

[00:18:14]So, let me tell you, Robin, this is a big deal for me, mate.

[00:18:18]Since visiting Robin, Vinnie has managed to cut his cleaning back by an hour a day, but he's still as germaphobic as ever.

[00:18:25]Vinnie's very extreme.

[00:18:27]I think we're poles apart. To be honest, I'm probably He thinks I'm extreme with the dogs, and I think he's extreme with his manic cleaning.

[00:18:36]And last of all, not least, yeah, I'm just going to put this one round here, lads.

[00:18:41]Do you want a hand with it? No.

[00:18:43]>> [laughter] >> I hope I don't get pulled up for carrying a terrorist van with me.

[00:18:57]>> [music] >> I'm well pleased that he's managed to um throw all the stuff away now, and hopefully this time now there is no going back, and he will go forward with it.

[00:19:14]Back in Kent, Robin and Vinnie are adding the finishing touches to the living room before partner Kevin arrives home from work.

[00:19:21]It'll be good for Kevin to have the living room back cuz I know [music] Kevin will make good use of it.

[00:19:30]Hello, hello, hello. Hi, yeah. Hi, Kevin. Hi. Yes. Are you all ready for uh seeing what we've been doing all day for you? I've been praying it's half as good as last time.

[00:19:40]>> [music] >> 24 hours ago, Robin and Kevin's living room had slipped back into chaos.

[00:19:47]Now [music] it's been cleared and cleaned back up to Vinnie's standards once more.

[00:19:52]Right then, Kevin.

[00:19:55]Keep your eyes closed. Keep your eyes closed.

[00:19:58]It's all yours.

[00:20:01]Oh, lovely.

[00:20:03]Ah, it's wonderful.

[00:20:04]Somewhere to sit, somewhere to just spend time with you.

[00:20:08]Yeah, it's going to be so lovely. Good.

[00:20:11]>> Happy? Yes. Good. I want to say something which I think is very, very, very important. Um I kind of think to a certain degree that you have got to shoulder some of the responsibility, Kevin. I know you go out to work and Robin's here majority of the time, but this is your home. Mhm.

[00:20:29]Both of yours. Okay? I want to make a deal.

[00:20:33]Yeah. Yeah. I'm gifting the room to you.

[00:20:35]I won't put anything in here. You keep it.

[00:20:37]>> Yeah.

[00:20:38]Thank you. Thank you, Kevin.

[00:20:40]Thank you so much.

[00:20:42]I think this time, [music] cuz he's seeing that I understand him a lot more now, I think that he will make more of an effort to keep the place going.

[00:20:49]Seeing them both together again, yeah, I'm overjoyed and I'm happy and I can go away [music] thinking that, yeah, I've accomplished something.

[00:20:57]Cheers. Cheers.

[00:20:58]It's been great having Vinnie back in the house. Um I'm happy to keep in touch with him and and stay friends. I'd I hope that's what we'll do.