Life’s largest inconveniences unveiled – and also you is likely to be responsible of some

Life’s biggest inconveniences include queue-jumpers, poor Wi-Fi and boiler breakdowns, according to research.

A poll of 2,000 adults uncovered the top 50 things that irritate people when they’re trying to get on with their day – with struggling to find the end of the sticky tape and getting a wobbly and loud trolley at the supermarket also making the list.

While 37% find themselves annoyed when it rains after they’ve hung washing out on the line and 14% have been left having to endure a cold shower thanks to their boiler packing in.

But 40% claim something always breaks when they’re having a ‘skint month’ and can’t afford to get it fixed or replaced.

It also emerged 36% feel these daily inconveniences have a knock-on effect for the rest of their day.

To mark this year’s Gas Safety Week, Gas Safe Register – which commissioned the research – has released a new tongue-in-cheek public service-style announcement film to bring to life the consequences and impact on people’s day-to-day lives ‘when the gas goes’ at home.

Actor Will Mellor, who narrated the new film, said: “Why does it always feel like things go wrong at the worst moment? I’ve been caught out myself, coming back from a holiday to find out the boiler had packed in, it was Baltic.

“Have to admit, I didn’t realise you needed to get all of your gas appliances safety checked once a year, but now I know why staying on top of this is so important. You’ll be less likely to run into issues and any faults can be fixed before they become more expensive problems.”

The study also found 46% have up to four inconvenient things happen to them a week.

But 67% believe being a little more organised ahead of time can help avoid problems happening.

When things do go wrong, 38% of people react by swearing, 32% moan to others while 28% take deep breaths.

Household appliances breaking down and not working properly is the cause of the biggest inconveniences in life, followed by technology.

50 OF LIFE’S BIGGEST INCONVENIENCES:

1. People pushing-in in a queue

2. Needing the toilet but can’t find a public loo/no loos open

3. Wi-fi cutting out

4. Raining when the washing has just been hung on the line

5. Public transport not turning up on time or at all

6. Boiler breaking down leaving the household no heating, especially during the colder/winter months

7. Leaving something in a pocket when putting clothes through the wash

8. Staining a favourite item of clothing with food

9. Struggling to find the end of a roll of sticky tape

10. Holding the door open for someone who doesn’t say thank-you

11. Getting stuck at every red traffic light

12. Getting splashed by a vehicle when walking

13. Getting stuck behind a cyclist when driving

14. Getting a wobbly or loud trolley at the supermarket

15. Drivers not saying thank-you when you let them out

16. Locking yourself out of your home

17. An engine light flashing up on the car dashboard when about to drive somewhere

18. Having to pay for someone to come and fix something which only takes a few minutes

19. Getting stuck behind a bin lorry when driving

20. Discovering the milk in the fridge has gone off

21. Light bulb blowing and not having the correct replacement

22. Needing to reset all digital clocks after a power cut

23. A laptop/computer automatically restarting without a warning

24. An unexpected bill leaving your bank account

25. Colour running in the washing machine

26. Food exploding in the microwave

27. Alarm clock not going off

28. Forgetting an umbrella when it’s raining

29. Forgetting to pack a specific item for a holiday

30. Being late for work due to no fault of your own

31. Realising the clothes you want to wear are in the wash

32. The temperature being too hot or too cold e.g. in the workplace

33. A pen running out of ink when taking important notes

34. An online bus/tube timeline not matching up with the actual times

35. Boiling the kettle and not having enough water for all the drink requests

36. Accidentally burning toast

37. Getting caught in rain after washing or styling hair

38. A biscuit breaking off in a cup of tea or coffee

39. Gas stove/oven packing in unexpectedly when going to cook

40. Having to have a cold shower as the boiler has stopped working

41. Loud building works going on when working from home

42. A video call freezing

43. Realising the item of clothing picked to wear needs ironing

44. A load of washing not fitting on the airer

45. Accidentally reading a message on WhatsApp but not being ready to reply

46. Shower or bath not working on hair wash night

47. Forgetting a poo bag when walking the dog

48. Neighbour’s dog barking when working from home

49. Waiting ages for the bathroom in your home

50. A work meeting being put in the diary for 5pm