Swiss Hygiene Inspector

...Don't most people clean so they'll get their deposit back?

I know I do...

I could understand having to clean out a rental before you move. But I think the author of the article was talking about having to clean out a house she owned, before she moved out of it.

Ahhhhh right.
That is bizarre then.
Maybe halfway between that and not cleaning at all sounds about right to me.
Mr Swiss the Swiss Hygiene Inspector...

Does anybody have Master Bun the Baker's Son?

If you've ever known any Swiss people, this story is entirely believable.
It's deeply engrained in them that more rules and regulations are always better, and more cleaning is always better.
So even if the report isn't literally true, I say it's metphorically true.

nothing unusual - this is an example of goverment inventing new jobs and standards to make people busy.

That's right...I'm in the U.S. Military and before you move out of your house or dorm, they make sure of the same thing...
I think it's a good idea. I wouldnt want to move into a house that's been treated like crap.

Not a surprise to me . . . Remember, Switzerland is a crowded country and they were isolated by the Black Plauge for years, so they fear disease and dirt more than the Dutch.

Also, let's recall that in Switzerland, women could not vote until 1972, their is a semi-voluntary natioanl servic ethat includes the fire department and sanitation, and if you are over 18, your a required by law to own a three-shot carbine rifle, and take a two-yearly proficiancy and safety exam for its storage and use. The country only joine dthe UN in 2004, along with east Timor, and refuses to become part of the EU.

No wonder Robert Heinlien modelled the Federation of the bokk "Starship Troopers" on its government.

When I was in Germany, I heard that the law in The Netherlands was that you musgt clean the street in front of your house at least once a week. I don't remember what the fine was, but it was substantial for the time. I don't doubt that this happened in Switzerland. I don't think Germany had anything like this.

I had a neighbour once who was from Switzerland. He married a Canadian woman and they moved here (Canada). He joked that he was a Swiss refugee. He couldn't bear the way life was regulated down to where you kept your broom in the house. Had they stayed in Switzerland he told me that inspectors would have come to make sure his foreign bride was living up to Swiss cleanliness standards. Even the cows there on the mountains are largely for show he said. He was a bit odd himself mind you.

Hmmmm, odd isn't it. Although maybe they just have to clean their houses really well so an Obsessive Compulsive Swiss will actually buy it?

I would like to move into a house that clean, but I don't think I could leave it that clean. Although, when I move into a house, I scrub every inch...I have dusted out places that you wouldn't normally.

I actually live in Switzerland. This is not true. However, if you rent an appartment in Switzerland and you move out, you have to clean the appartment or otherwise they'll charge you for the cleaning costs. If you opt for cleaning, some inspection is involved, usually done by the agency that rents out the appartment.

I am also from Switzerland and at the moment residing in Toronto. There is no such thing as a Hygiene Inspector in Switzerland who goes around annoying people who move out of their apartments. Most of the Swiss people live in apartment buildings which are mostly owned by big companies who have a person appointed like a caretaker.
It's true that the caretakers look very thoroughly if you have cleaned your apartment before leaving but probably the BBC correspondent forgot to mention the condition of it the day she moved in this place. It's true Swiss people like cleaning a lot, but not everyone does it like described. So, those who don't clean regularly have to clean it the last day to the same condition as they found it when they moved in. This cleaning has nothing to do with the crowded nature of Switzerland, or because space is limited due to mountains and to live comfortably they have to be clean and tidy, as she mentions. How uninformed a correspondent can be to say that the Swiss are not noted for achievements in Arts and Literature because they pour their creative energy into cleaning. Just google "Swiss achievements" or innovations and you have your answer. Probably you never cleaned, assuming that back home that's normal and were frustrated when Mr.Swiss came and said "still dirty"....