All the cleaning jobs we love to hate
Vypr recently worked with Seep eco cleaning tools, to uncover our attitudes to cleaning our homes now the big spring clean is almost upon us.
With 60% of Brits claiming they spend at least an hour a day cleaning, the spring clean shouldn’t be too big a task, but why does it still feel daunting about where to start?
Decluttering for the spring clean
Laura Harnett, founder of Seep said: “The first thing to do is decluttering. If you’re short of time, like most people, stick to the five minute rule. I get my children involved and we take a couple of rooms each. Then we put two of our favourite songs on loud and spend the time it takes for them both to play by tidying and sorting as much as we can. It’s a great way to encourage kids to get involved as it’s so short and snappy.”
According to our research, decluttering is our favourite cleaning task:
- 21% decluttering
- 16% hoovering
- 14% laundry
- 7% washing the dishes
- 5% cleaning the car
Although 24% of Brits said they just don’t like cleaning!
When asked if they were houseproud almost a third (29.8%) of people said they weren’t house proud as more laid back.
How to just need to get started for the less house proud
While the majority of Brits clean regularly, a shocking 22% said they have not cleaned their kitchen for a month or longer and 17% said the same length of time for their toilet.
If cleaning habits fall more into those timescales then Laura says: “Break down the cleaning task per room, tackle each one methodically and for a set amount of time. Then reward yourself, have a break and do another job another day or week. It doesn’t all need to be done in one go but toilets and kitchens certainly need to be cleaned weekly to keep them hygienic. I always wash my dishes after eating as it’s great for your wellbeing to know you’re coming downstairs to a clean and tidy kitchen ready for a fresh day.”
What to do about mould
A large proportion of UK households suffer from mould according to the research, 59% of survey respondents said that they have mould. This can be removed and prevented from returning using white vinegar. Scrub it off with an old toothbrush and then spray the area with neat white vinegar and let it dry and it’ll prevent the mould returning. Many people use bleach but this doesn’t kill the mould spores so it just comes back.
Cleaning your fridge and oven
We found that most people clean their kitchens once a week so the spring clean is a chance to give it a deeper clean and look at the places you don’t do every week.
Laura said: “According to our Vypr research 40% of us only clean our fridges when something has spilled so the spring clean is a time to give it a good refresh. Go through those sauces and jars that end up stuck at the back to make sure they’re still edible. Take out the shelves and clean with warm, soapy water using a soft cloth such as the bamboo eco cloth which contains no micro plastics. Then wipe the inside of the fridge using white vinegar mixed with an equal part of water as this is antibacterial and eco friendly.
“The oven is another appliance that will need some attention and you don’t need to use harsh, toxic chemicals. Simply mix baking soda and water to create a thick paste and spread it on. Leave it over night to soak into the grime then scrub off using an eco sponge with scourer.
“Don’t forget the extractor fan and the top of the cooker hood. Spray on your white vinegar and water mixture to cut through the grease and wipe over the surface of metallic hoods with a lemon to bring up a lovely shine.”