- Almost half of men clean before the cleaner arrives (48%)
- One third of men apologise to cleaners about state of their homes
Men admit to being more embarrassed about the state of their homes than women, according to a survey conducted by the UK’s leading domestic cleaning company, MOLLY MAID. Almost half (48%) of the men surveyed stated they will clean up before their cleaner arrives, compared to just 37% of women. Over a third of men will also apologise to their cleaners about the remaining mess.
The survey showed that this is perhaps due to the fact that it is men (48%) who actually consider themselves more house proud than women (40%).
Four in 10 men will spend an average of 40 minutes cleaning up for their domestic cleaner. And a fifth of men will spend more than an hour preparing their home in advance, even though half say this frustrates their partners.
Despite working long hours being the reason most people gave for employing a cleaner, the survey found house proud Brits across the land will still vacuum, dust, empty the bins and hide dirty clothes in an effort to save face in front of their domestic help.
As a house proud nation however, two thirds of those surveyed still believe in the value of a cleaner to help around the home, even if they do feel the need to clean in advance.
Pam Bader OBE, Chief Executive of MOLLY MAID, which cleans two million homes worldwide each year, said: “Often our maids will come across notes left by home owners apologising for various degrees of messiness.
“It is nice that in today’s busy society British politeness still shines through, along with that element of being a house proud nation. However, we wouldn’t want embarrassment or guilt to prevent people from investing in an extra pair of hands to help out.
“Hiring a professional cleaner takes the pressure off and they have the time to give your home a thorough clean, leaving it sparkling for you to proudly show off.”
Topping the list of things that homeowners would be mortified by should the cleaner spot them was underwear hanging around, dirty dishes and an unclean toilet.