More than a third of women have admitted that they secretly like cleaning, a study has revealed.
Home and Garden on Female First
Although most would never tell their partners the majority admitted to getting excited when certain things needed doing around the house; they got a huge amount of satisfaction from making sure their home was spic and span.
Women reported feeling relaxed and satisfied after spending a couple of hours blitzing their homes with nearly half saying they found the experience therapeutic.
They said the smell of a clean home and the knowledge that anyone could drop by without causing them embarrassment gave them a sense of pleasure and achievement - even though most said they still made their partner share the housework.
The survey was commissioned by Zoflora, the UK’s No 1 disinfectant, who has been helping to keep Britain’s home hygienically clean and sweet-smelling for 90 years
Dr Jane McCartney, Chartered Psychologist and consultant to Zoflora said: “There are a growing number of common misconceptions about cleaning however, women can and do get a great deal of satisfaction from cleaning. There is the therapeutic routine or sense of control in creating a home environment but also perhaps, that homes also make a personal statement – cleanliness and choice of fragrance adding to their overall sense of personal pride satisfaction.
“Taking on tasks that you have a realistic chance of completing can provide immediate positive feedback; the undertaking and completion of the task will allow you to have a sense of control.
“The sense of achievement is an important factor in a person’s well-being and cleaning is an area where this achievement can live beyond the actual task itself. For instance if you’ve spent time cleaning and tidying a room, by revisiting that room in the next few hours or days you will also revisit the sense of positive achievement associated with it.”
One in ten women love cleaning so much they go as far as to clean other people’s homes because it makes them feel good.
Hoovering, tidying up and wiping surfaces clean were the top three household chores that women enjoyed; while cleaning the oven, the toilet and doing the ironing were the ones they were most likely to hate.
Household tasks that required too much time, too much effort and were disgusting were most likely to be left to the other half.
But chores that left their house looking noticeably clean were the ones women preferred and enjoyed like dusting and washing up.
Making sure their house smelt clean and fresh was also a priority for women with more than three quarters admitting that they would judge someone with a bad smell in their home or look at them in a negative light.
McCartney adds: “Not only is it just unpleasant to be near a bad smell, this also stems from our basic evolutionary development too. In the past unpleasant smells would signify a danger to survival, in as much as they indicate contamination, illness or even death.”
The average women spend just over four hours a week cleaning with the majority of women cleaning as they go and doing different chores across the week.
Forty per cent said they did all the cleaning themselves but most said their partner was equally responsible for the chores.
TOP TEN FAVOURITE CHORES:
Hoovering
Tidying
Wiping surfaces clean
Putting the washing on
Hanging things on the line
Changing the sheets
Dusting
Washing up
Ironing
Mopping the floors
TOP TEN LEAST FAVOURITE CHORES:
Cleaning the oven
Cleaning the toilet
Cleaning the shower
Cleaning the bath
Defrosting the freezer
Cleaning the fridge
Sweeping the floors
Washing up
Taking the rubbish out
Hoovering the stairs