People Are Sharing the Times Houseguests Took 'Make Yourself at Home' Too Literally

People online are sharing the times their houseguests took the phrase "make yourself at home" a little too literally.

In a now-viral thread started by u/Mr_Yus_uwu in Reddit's "Ask Reddit" forum on Monday, commenters shared that they've put out house fires, been forced to pay expensive utility bills and even had parts of their homes rearranged, all because their guests made themselves too comfortable.

So far, the thread has received more than 12,00 upvotes and over 4,200 comments.

It's important to note that there are dos and don'ts to being a good houseguest, according to experts.

On its website, the Emily Post Institute says that a good house guest is adaptable, offers to help out around the house—especially in the kitchen—and makes their bed, among other things.

"Guest manners are called for, even when you stay with relatives," the institute explained.

Additionally, Real Simple emphasized that "amazing" house guests "act more [appropriately] than usual."

"Before you walk down the hall covered by only a towel, curse or tell inappropriate jokes freely, or come downstairs for breakfast in your PJs, take cues from your host—when in doubt, err on the side of modesty," the publication suggested.

According to commenters of u/Mr_Yus_uwu's viral Reddit thread, however, it appears that not everyone knows, or follows, proper guest etiquette.

"[A] dinner guest asked to stay overnight because of the snow (which wasn't forecasted until much later that night)," Redditor u/user256049 shared in the thread. "Spouse and I agreed as we didn't have work the next day. But [the] guest did, and at 7:30 in the morning he was freaking out because we hadn't shoveled the driveway for him yet."

Redditor u/makin_the_frogs_gay, one of the thread's top commenters, claimed that a guy they'd been on only two dates with rearranged their kitchen after being left alone in the apartment for a few hours.

"That b***h," u/makin_the_frogs_gay said of the man.

In one case, a Redditor was slammed with a hefty utility bill because their guest used—and subsequently forgot to turn off—the pool heater.

"I had guests turn the pool heater on in February and not turn it off or tell me it was on. I noticed steam coming off the pool a week later and it was 90 [degrees] F. The bill was just under $1000," said u/Fickle-Willingness80.

A host under the username u/tdefreest said that a houseguest once "started a kitchen fire by cooking spaghetti in cake pans without water."

Another shared that they once found one of their guests treating their kitchen sink like a bathtub.

"Came home, [the guest was] sitting in his boxers on my kitchen counter washing his feet and trimming toenails in my sink has got to take the cake," said u/Spamh8r.

Similarly, u/soleildelalune_ alleged that a guest once "took his freaking socks off and put them on the dining table."