Posted by Charlotte Salter, on March 1, 2022.
One in ten people admit they’ve broken up with a partner due to their lack of cleanliness and the findings from a recent report show that this is the second most important thing people look for in a potential partner.
With over a third (36%) of houseproud Brits cleaning their homes every single day, it’s no surprise the nation is spending almost an entire week (6 days and 7hrs) cleaning every year. Some are so obsessed with keeping their home life clean that they go behind their partner’s back and hire a secret cleaner (6%).
The report from Ideal Home Show, in partnership with NatWest, analyses attitudes towards cleaning at home as well as how much importance Brits put on the cleanliness of their partner when it comes to finding a potential match.
| Most important qualities in a potential/current partner | Percentage | |
| 1. | Their humour | 61% |
| 2. | Their cleaning habits | 59% |
| 3. | Their grooming upkeep | 39% |
| 4. | Their family/friends | 26% |
| 5. | Their looks | 25% |
| 6. | Their financial situation | 15% |
| 7. | Their job | 13% |
Whilst most of the nation prefer to clean their own homes, those who hire a cleaner do so because they are too busy with work (49%) and almost a quarter (24%) simply do not like cleaning or admit to being too lazy to do it themselves (15%).
With the rise of cleaning social media stars like Sophie Hinchliffe, 32% of respondents said they are inspired to clean more because of Mrs Hinch, and just over a third (34%) like to pick up tips and tricks on the best cleaning hacks from the influencers they follow.
“Prior to the pandemic, cleaning was already becoming ever more important to homemakers in the UK – you only have to search #cleaning on Instagram to see over six million posts on the subject. Add to that, it is of even greater importance now, for obvious hygiene reasons, and it’s easy to see why it is such a huge topic.
Giles Perry, Event Director at Media 10, the organisers of The Ideal Home Show, in partnership with NatWest
“We wanted to find out just how much importance Brits place on cleanliness in the home and family life and it’s clear to see from our research cleaning is a top priority – both in terms of happy home making and, interestingly, in relationships too.”
