Cleaning sheets less than every six months, eating food off the floor, going commando to avoid washing… the nation’s dirty little secrets revealed

IS YOUR CLEANER MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR DOCTOR?

Cleaning sheets less than every six months, eating food off the floor, going commando to avoid washing… the nation’s dirty little secrets revealed

· A quarter (25%) of people say their cleaner is more important to them than their doctor, dentist and hairdresser

· Brits admit to buying new clothes to avoid having to iron

· One in five of us wear clothes taken straight from the dirty laundry


We’re a nation bursting with grimy habits according to new ‘Dirty Little Secrets’ research by method, pioneers of planet friendly and design driven cleaning and hand wash products.

An eyebrow raising quarter (25%) of people say their cleaner is more important to them than their doctor, dentist and their hairdresser, demonstrating how heavily we rely on paying other people to do our dirty work for us.

A fifth of us say our wardrobe is more important to us than the state of our home which may explain why more than one in eight (13%) clean our bathroom less than once every six months while one in six (16%) wash our bed sheets just as infrequently. One filthy fellow even admitted to avoiding using his downstairs bathroom so that he didn’t have to clean it.

The #dirtylittlesecrets research revealed one in five of us wear dirty clothes taken from the laundry basket and over a third (37%) of Brits use smelly socks and other dirty laundry to dust our homes. Some of us have come up with inventive ways to stay clean however, with one nonconformist admitting to putting his jeans and t-shirt in the dishwasher when his washing machine was broken. One girl even confessed to buying new clothes to avoid having to iron.

While the research reveals we’re far from squeaky clean, encouragingly we do like to have fun when we can’t avoid the chores, with music motivating a quarter (25%) of us to clean. We also maintain a certain element of pride in the state of our home - over a quarter (26%) of people say they tidy up when they know they have guests coming over.

What has turned us into this nation of lazy bones when it comes to cleaning? According to a massive 90% of us it’s down to lack of time with over a third (37%) attributing this to spending too much time at work.

Clare Burke, UK Marketing Manager at method, comments on the research findings, “We know that cleaning can sometimes be a boring and time consuming task and as the people against dirty pioneers, we love to see that people are having fun when getting the task done, using music as a motivation and even cleaning in the nude!

As modern life becomes increasingly hectic it’s not surprising that we’re continually inventing clever shortcuts to save time and get away with doing as littleas possible. Employing a cleaner is a great solution to those working long hours and our research proves how important they are to people today.”

When it comes to dirty little eating secrets, the research revealed almost one in six (15%) Brits are happy to eat food off the floor and admit to using the five second rule while 14% of us never wash our hands before eating. The younger generation of Brits might do well to follow their older counterparts’ lead though, as those aged 35-40 are more likely than those aged 18-24 to always wash their hands before eating (35% of 35-40 year olds do vs. 25% of 18-24 year olds).

Britain’s top ten most surprising #dirtylittlesecrets:

1. Running out of clean underwear and going commando

2. Using a hairdryer to dust

3. Noticing a lipstick on a 'clean' wine glass + wiping it off with a finger

4. Leaving the bed sheets for more than six months before washing them

5. Following the five second rule and eating food that has fallen on the floor

6. Eating from the same plate at dinner that was used at lunchtime

7. Never washing hands before eating

8. Hiding mess away in cupboards rather than cleaning up

9. Buying new clothes to avoid doing the ironing

10. Cleaning the house in the nude

Tell us your #dirtylittlesecrets on http://www.facebook.com/methoduk

ENDS

Press information
To contact the press team for any queries, samples or even a friendly chat, please give Harriet or Katie a call on 020 7908 6428 or 020 7908 6455 or email method@lexisagency.com

About the research
The #dirtylittlesecrets research was conducted by OnePoll. 1,000 18-40 year olds across the UK were surveyed in December 2015.

Notes to editors
At method we’re here to inspire a happy, healthy home revolution by making beautifully designed home, laundry and hand wash cleaning products that put the hurt on dirt without harm to people, furry friends or our planet. The method range is available nationwide including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose, B&Q, Homebase, Ocado, Robert Dyas, small independents and online via http://www.methodproducts.co.uk