While they may sound like odd things to ponder, they’re actually some of the most commonly asked home maintenance questions in the UK, according to a new study.

Experts at London home maintenance firm Aspect analysed Google search data from the past year to discover the issues that cause the most concern (and confusion) to UK residents.

The results revealed home maintenance problems ranging from the unusual to the frankly bizarre concerns.

The research also revealed that the type of concerns people have about their home depend a lot on the kind of property they live in. People living in houses typically made searches related to the specifics of home ownership, such as “why is my house not selling?”, “is my house listed?” and “is my house in a conservation area?”

But people living in smaller properties tended to be concerned with ongoing maintenance issues.. The most commonly entered searches for people living in flats were “my flat is so cold”, “is my flat making me ill?” and “why is my flat so dusty?”.

People living in apartments searched for “my apartment smells like onions”, “why is my apartment so cold?” and “is my apartment making me sick?”

As far as the maintenance issues go, the questions suggest that the average UK resident has a healthy curiosity in the condition of their home.

Common structural queries

Is my roof safe to walk on?

Why are my walls wet?

Is my floor sinking?

Weirdest structural queries

Is my ceiling supposed to wobble

Why are my walls sticky?
Is my floor going to collapse?

Common electrical queries

What is a consumer unit?

Are my electrics safe?

Why are my electrics tripping?

Weirdest electrical queries

Why do my electrics smell of fish?

Is my fuse box illegal?

Why is my fuse box clicking?

Common plumbing queries

Why is my central heating ticking?

Is my boiler pressure too high?

Are my drains blocked

Weirdest plumbing queries

Why are my taps vibrating?

Why is my bath water green?

Why are my drains gurgling?

Common bathroom queries

Why is my shower cold?
Is my shower valve upside down?
Is my toilet flange too high?

Weirdest bathroom queries

Is my shower making me ill?

Why is my toilet seat turning purple?

Why is my sink turning yellow?

Common external queries

Why is my door latch sticking?

Is my door hollow?

Why are my gutters dripping?

Weirdest external queries

Are my drains adopted?

Why are my gutters so loud?

Why is my roof green?

Aspect’s director of operations, Nick Bizley oversees all of our trade operations, said: “While some of the queries are quite obscure, it’s a positive sign that we’re so curious about our homes and what makes them tick. As long as people take the relevant health and safety precautions - especially concerning ladders and tools - and they don’t tackle any tasks that involve safety regulations, like gas or electric work, it can be extremely rewarding to figure out and fix our own home maintenance problems. There’s a lot of great advice online to help with this too.

“It’s also a good sign that so many of the queries - such as “is my roof safe to walk on?” or “are my windows energy efficient?” suggest that the UK has a healthy curiosity about safety and energy efficiency.”