Do you remember waking up on the weekend and cleaning the house with your family? You’re not alone if that was part of your standard weekend chores. It’s a pretty common practice for a lot of families. But now, our lives are busier than ever, so the whole house clean-up every Saturday morning may no longer be feasible. Instead, you might do a few chores here and there throughout the week or even hire a cleaning crew to do it for you!
Our cleaning habits change over time and even from generation to generation. Our grandparents and parents (the boomers) grew up cleaning in the days of vinegar, bleach, and steel wool, while the younger generation (Millenials, Gen Z) trust antimicrobial and antibacterial cleaning products. A recent survey from SC Johnson found a few differences between how boomers and millennials clean their homes. Here are a few examples:
- 38% of millennials vacuum daily, and another 48% own a robotic vacuum. However, only 1 in 6 boomers does the same.
- 52% of boomers change their sheets weekly, compared to only 36% of millennials
- 94% of boomers clean their kitchen, and 89% clean the bathroom weekly, but only four in five millennials reported cleaning their kitchen weekly. Only three in four reported cleaning their bathroom weekly.
The cool thing about these survey results is that they show us how some of our cleaning habits change from generation to generation. But that’s not the only way cleaning habits change. Sometimes large-scale events like living through a highly transmissible global pandemic change our perspective too. So the survey also looked at how COVID-19 has changed our cleaning behavior. Here are a few of the findings:
- Americans have increased their cleaning time and spend nearly six hours each week cleaning their homes.
- Cleaning doorknob handles and other high-touch areas is now a bigger priority, with 45% of survey respondents reporting tackling these areas. Many also reported using more antibacterial and germ-killing products as part of their cleaning practice.
- Millennials are leading the way in cleaning their homes by spending an average of 8.2 hours per week cleaning, and they are making it a family affair too! Of the people surveyed, 4 in 10 reported that their children are helping with cleaning tasks more than before the pandemic. In addition, nearly 71% of the parents said they expect their kids to keep helping with the family cleaning tasks!
Living through an ongoing global pandemic has changed us and our cleaning habits. But change isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We believe that the best way to meet your cleaning needs is to find what works best for your home or business. As a cleaning company, we do that for our customers. We offer flexible cleaning contracts, specialized services, and even our MicroShield 360 antimicrobial program. At System4 Utah, we’re not afraid to try new things or different cleaning methods. So if you’re looking for a fresh cleaning perspective, call us! (801) 994-6924
