Little Bay Amanda White said she was particular about cleaning. Picture: Sam Ruttyn
The COVID-19 pandemic has made us all obsessed with cleaning, according to new research.
A study of households across capital cities revealed Sydneysiders devoted the most time to cleaning their properties and were more likely to get into arguments over household chores.
Harbour City residents also spent the most time ironing and washing up, with about a third of those surveyed admitting they spent an average of more than six hours every week doing these activities.
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Adelaide residents were the messiest measured by the amount of time they spent cleaning, with Brisbane residents close behind. About 77 per cent of residents in these cities said they spent less than three hours cleaning their homes each week.
The time Perth and Melbourne residents spent cleaning their homes was marginally lower than in Sydney, according to the poll of more than 1000 Aussies by Fantastic Services Group.
The cleaning firm’s CEO Rune Sovndahl said housing styles in capital cities may also have an influence on different cleaning priorities.
Sydney residents tended to have the smallest properties, which may explain a lower tolerance for clutter.
Housing costs were also higher — an incentive for Sydney residents to be more aware of the upkeep of their properties, Mr Sovndahl said.
Sydneysiders spend the most time vacuuming their houses.
“It could be that Sydney residents feel a sense of pressure to maintain these high standards, or perhaps are just more house proud than our other capital cities,” he said.
Little Bay resident Amanda White said she could empathise with that sentiment.
“You go to work and most of it’s to pay the mortgage. You want to be proud of your house so you want to keep it neat and tidy. We do a lot of cleaning,” she said.
“It easy for clutter to build up and, I wouldn’t say I’m OCD, but I really don’t like that.”
Mr Sovndahl said there was a general sense of increased concern and anxiety over the cleanliness of surfaces because of COVID-19.
Sydneysiders’ lower tolerance for clutter could be due to the smaller units.
“Due to the pandemic, we’ve noted many of our clients have wanted to increase the frequency of their cleans, going from fortnightly to weekly,” Mr Sovndahl said.
This often resulted in unusual requests, he said.
“One of our cleaners recently sanitised every single individual toy in a clients’ home … it took hours.”
The most effective cleaning for COVID-19 focused on high traffic touch points such as the kitchen, light switches and door handles, Mr Sovndahl said.
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