A new poll from YouGov has suggested that American parents are failing to teach their kids to clean, with 33% even passing down the wrong laundry techniques.
Whether you love it or hate it, cleaning is a vital and constant part of keeping both your home and your mind healthy and clutter-free. Thankfully, there are cleaning experts out there offering top tips, though not all of them are super helpful. A recent example could be our very own Chaitra Krishnamurthy cleaning her keyboard with glue!
28% of Americans are mopping the floor incorrectly
In a recent survey conducted by Talker Research and commissioned by AlEn, American parents were put to shame as it was revealed just how much of their cleaning advice is complete rubbish.
Firstly, the 2,000-person poll showed that 33% of participants had been told they incorrectly folded laundry, and 28% mopped and swept wrong. A whopping 26% should probably use their phones for laundry advice in the future after previous failures.
Interestingly, 72% of those surveyed said they picked up their folding technique from their parents, while 69% said their parents taught them how to wash up. It seems the fault may lie with the elder generations.
Despite using the wrong methods to clean, 60% said their house was “pretty clean”, compared with 17% who said it was immaculate. In contrast, 16% said they don’t pay attention to the cleanliness of their home.
“Cleaning can be surprisingly subjective. The ‘proper’ way to clean can vary greatly depending on your culture, how you were raised, and who you learned from — but what truly matters is the effectiveness and reliability of those cleaning techniques,” said Tanu Grewal, Chief Cleaning Officer at PINALEN Multipurpose Cleaner.
“At the end of the day, parents play a crucial role in shaping their children’s cleaning habits and attitudes, instilling good practices that last a lifetime.”
Cleaning is important in most households
Regardless of whether it’s good advice or not, parents are passing along cleaning techniques to their kids. Meanwhile, on the app that parents hate, TikTok, kids are being taught interesting cleaning hacks that would put their parents to shame.
The survey found that 47% of kids have tried to correct their parents’ poor cleaning methods after 40% witnessed such techniques at home. Despite 26% of kids failing to remember when their parents taught them to mow the lawn, 76% of adults intend to pass on as much knowledge as possible.
“Overall, people are taught objective aspects of cleaning such as how much product to use, specific techniques, and how to use cleaning tools or machines, but are left to figure out their own personal preferences,” Grewal added. “Regardless of whether they believe each chore is done right or wrong, most people still associate positive feelings with cleaning, and it reminds them of home.”
