Are these the worst flatmates ever?

They say you never really know someone, until you live with them. Photo / Getty

Whether they're your best mate or a Trade Me find, living with others can be tough.

But the next time you feel irked by your flatmate leaving their dishes in the sink, take a moment to remind yourself of the people you're about to read about.

Writer Dawn Foster tweeted her followers asking for their worst flatmate stories. She was inundated with a flood of horrific tales of gross habits and bizarre behaviour.

Appalling hygiene was a common theme, with the likes of Twitter user @soapachu revealing how her flatmate didn't clean his teeth for the first six weeks that they lived together.

If that didn't gross you out, she also shared that he had taken to urinating in cans at night and leaving them in his room because he couldn't be bothered getting up and going to the bathroom.

Another surprisingly common gripe was about flatmates who had issues with bowel movements.

@_Ashleighbear said a man she used to live with soiled himself on a bus trip then left his dirty underwear in her bowl in the bath for a week.

But Sibley The Best's experience with a defecating flatmate was also marred by the fact that they didn't pay their rent and faked three break-ins before leaving something on the couch.

Didn't pay any rent, faked three break-ins and then disappeared after he shat all over the sofa after a night out.

— Sib Vicious (@Goldfishwars) May 30, 2016

One woman told how her flatmate blocked the sink after vomiting in it then went and stayed at her boyfriend's for two days. She also refused to pay for a plumber.

Another renter described how once their rubbish bin was full, instead of emptying it, her flatmate would start putting rubbish in the fridge.

Melanie Rees revealed that her flatmate dried his hands on the curtains and threw light bulbs in an open fire "to see what would happen".

Dried his hands on the curtains and threw light bulbs on an open fire to see what would happen.

— Melanie Rees CIHCM FCIH (@MelanieReesCIH) May 30, 2016

By this point, you may be wondering what could be worse than a bad flatmate? Two. Living with couples presents its own array of issues, as these Twitter users can attest.

Clarke Jones lived with a couple who insisted on leaving naked Polaroids around common areas, while John said he had a flatmate who, after having a fight with his girlfriend, exorcised the flat with holy water.

woke up to find flatmate sitting on chair in my room. She said she liked to watch me sleep. #worstflatmatestories

— Clarke (@Clarkeyboy_) May 30, 2016

Foster also joined the conversation, sharing one of her own nightmare flatmate experiences.

She wrote: "Also had a flatmate who would hide in the garden and watch you through cracks in the bedroom curtains/bathroom window, whispering in German."

When it came to sharing a kitchen, the idea of a delicious shared meal was clearly not an option for these flatmates.

Pat Ashe explained how his old flatmate "boiled broccoli for hours', 'had 7 unused blocks of frozen lard' and 'watched Midsomer Murders full blast all day'.

For Anna Coatman, while her boyfriend's flatmate cooked meals for the flat, they soon wished he hadn't after discovering the sack of rice he used was being kept in the garden because it had hatched a swarm of moths.

But beyond dealing with bad hygiene and strange eating habits, Twitter user @piombo shared what some would deem the most infuriating behaviour from a fellow flatmate.

After becoming an intermediary for the landlord, @piombo's flatmate added 20 per cent to the actual rental price, pocketing a profit for herself.

- nzherald.co.nz