Mother cleaning
House proud women will spend the equivalent of two years of their lives cleaning the family home, a study has revealed.
Day-to-day chores such as vacuuming and cleaning the bathrooms and toilets means busy women will spend 50 minutes making sure their home is spic and span every day.
That’s more than 324 hours – almost two weeks every year – or a total of two years and four months from the age of 18.
But for many even that isn’t enough, especially in the run up to Christmas, with 66 per cent spending an average of three hours and 28 minutes – more than nine days over a lifetime – extra on household chores throughout December.
An unexpected visitor can leave house proud mums going into a panic if they haven’t had a chance to spruce up their home...
Despite the added time spent on the chores, more than half admitted they are still dreading festive visitors seeing their home in a less than perfect state, with the ever-troublesome mother-in-laws named as the most feared caller.
Ildiko Egresfalvi, spokesperson for new Bloo Flowers toilet fresheners, which commissioned the research, said: “Most women are extremely house proud and want their home to be as clean and fresh as possible. And it seems that the constant stream of guests over the Christmas period only adds to the worry of making sure their house is as tidy as it can be.
“An unexpected visitor can leave house proud mums going into a panic if they haven’t had a chance to spruce up their home beforehand. There’s nothing worse than thinking that friends and relatives might be sniping about the state of your loo because you didn’t have the chance to give it a once over.”
The study of 2,000 women revealed 70 per cent consider themselves to be house proud, with an incredible 86 per cent admitting they spend even more time tidying if they have guests due to arrive.
More than three quarters even give their home a quick going over with the vacuum before their guest arrives, while another 73 per cent quickly wipe down their bathroom and toilets. But because of this, 72 per cent feel put out if people arrive unannounced.
And while it’s mother-in-laws who women named as the person they would least like to visit their home before they had a chance to clean, their own parents and siblings weren’t far behind.
Researchers found that the largest chunk of time women spent cleaning is on washing up, which accounts for an hour and 33 minutes every week. Vacuuming, wiping and mopping floors takes an hour and 22 minutes each week, while the average mum also spends an hour and nine minutes dusting and wiping down surfaces and skirting boards.
Scrubbing the bathroom or en-suite accounts for an hour and four minutes, while cleaning the toilets takes mums another 44 minutes per week.
On top of that, 50 minutes of each month is spent wiping out cupboards and drawers, and 46 minutes is taken up with cleaning windows.
Researchers also found that far from being a chore, 52 per cent of women actually enjoy cleaning their home.
Ildiko added: “Cleaning doesn’t have to be so time consuming and stressful. Quick solutions, which not only clean but look nice in use and on the shelf, show visitors how much effort has gone into keeping the house in tip top condition and can’t help but impress guests.”
WEEKLY CHORES
Washing up - 1 hour and 33 minutes per week
Vacuuming/wiping or mopping floors - 1 hour and 22 minutes per week
Dusting/wiping down surfaces/ skirting boards - 1 hour and 9 minutes per week
Cleaning the bathroom - 1 hour and 4 minutes per week
Cleaning the toilets - 44 minutes per week
Total: 5 hours and 52 minutes
MONTHLY CHORES
Wiping out cupboards and drawers - 50 minutes per month
Cleaning windows - 46 minutes per month
Total: 1 hour and 36 minutes
How long do you spend on household chores every week? Tell u sin the comments below or tweet us @FemaleFirst_UK