Mancunians are sweeping British spring cleaners under the carpet, says a new study.
The study of 2,000 Britons found that 85% believe the traditional spring clean is on its way out – and that nowadays less than half of adults bother to do an annual spruce up.
The statistics for Manchester reveal a more traditional approach to clearing the clutter than the rest of the nation – with 40% still getting their spring clean on once-a-year.
One-in-ten Mancunians confessed to keeping their homes obsessively clean, with 16% spending more than 7 hours-a-week cleaning – almost double the national average house cleaning time of three hours 42 minutes.
It seems the traditional spring clean is well and truly a thing of the past – lost in the loft, gathering dust – as most Britons have ditched a yearly blitz due to a lack of time.
Yossi Erdman, Head of Brand at ao.com, the company behind the survey, said: ”There was a time when everyone would do a spring clean of their home to get everything spic and span for the months ahead.
“As soon as the sun came out and the temperatures started to creep up, homeowners would sort through their belongings to clear out unwanted clutter and clean their home from top-to-bottom
“But it seems this traditional job is getting buried in the past as house-proud Brits are now keeping on top of those chores all year round instead of saving it for a certain time of year.
“We are leading busier lives than ever and many find it easier to fit in their chores in small snippets rather than trying to devote entire days to the task.”
Only 37% do a spring clean just once every few years, while one-in-five never do one – with 36% claiming they are too busy and 14% admitting they simply cannot be bothered.
One-in-three only de-clutter when they move house and more than one-in-ten confessed that the only time they really clean their home from top-to-bottom is when the mother-in-law is coming to stay.
But this doesn’t mean that the rest of us are all living in squalor, in fact, the survey revealed that most people opt for a regular ‘clean and go’ approach, keeping on top of their cleaning all-year-round.
Four-in-ten Brits revealed they make extra effort to try to do their chores and clear clutter monthly, or even weekly, so they can avoid the need for a big clean.
Visitors and celebrations see Brits making more effort than usual, but for the North West almost a quarter of people admitted they felt pressured to keep their home spic and span all year round – not just in time of visitors.
Aside from busy lifestyles, there’s another culprit for the death of the spring clean: modern technology.
Of the 2,000 people that took part in the study, 18% of those who avoid the traditional spring clean say modern technology means they don’t need to spend long laborious days tidying as their appliances do it for them.
With robotic vacuums that do the work for you and lightweight compact cleaners, it is unsurprising we have become a nation of ‘round-the-clock cleaners’.
Erdman added: “With the advent of more sophisticated appliances it is becoming easier to stay on top of cleaning on a weekly basis.
“Our customers tell us that the latest generation of hi-tech gadgets such as robotic vacuums – which do the cleaning for you.
“Also, Steam mops that offer a deeper clean than traditional mops and vacuums with sensors that alert you when an area is cleaned have revolutionised their approach to cleaning.”
Image courtesy of Arlington County with thanks
