For a quarter of Americans, keeping their home clean is more difficult than their full-time job, according to a recent survey.

The survey of 2,000 Americans looked at their cleaning habits and challenges, especially when it comes to hosting, and found that keeping a tidy house is harder than their nine-to-five for nearly one in four (24%).

When having guests over, people will spend an hour, on average, straightening up just before they arrive.

Forty-one percent said they worry that guests will notice grimy nooks and crannies while they’re over and almost half (48%) confessed that they don’t notice how dirty their home is until they have guests over, but once company is in the house, they can’t unsee their cleaning blindspots.

The majority (57%) disclosed that they’re embarrassed when visitors come over and their home is less clean than they’d like, and most (80%) admitted they want to impress their visitors with how tidy their house is.

In fact, 29% went so far as to say they’d forgo buying new clothes for a year in exchange for a squeaky-clean home without any dust or grime and a third (34%) admitted that their social schedules revolve around their cleaning schedules.

Conducted by Talker Research and commissioned by BISSELL for the launch of the Steam Shot OmniReach Handheld Steam Cleaner & Sanitizer, the study found that parents will spend four hours per week cleaning up their homes while non-parents will spend three hours doing so, on average.

Uncovering a few of their cleaning blindspots, the study found the least-cleaned places in the house are window blinds (29%), baseboards (27%), fans (23%) and windowsills (24%).

And although a quarter (24%) have yet to perfect their cleaning routine, 71% said it’s important to them to sanitize and clean their house without harsh chemicals.

According to the results, it’s even more important to parents than non-parents (72% vs. 69%).

Nearly a fifth of parents (19%) reported they already used all-natural cleaning products prior to having kids and another 38% said they began to do so after becoming parents.

“The best cleaning session is fast, satisfying and effective,” said Vana Kokkinos, brand manager of steam cleaning at BISSELL. “If you haven’t perfected your cleaning routine already, start fresh in 2025 with tools that make the job a breeze. To help with this, look for cleaning brands and products that prioritize your time and health as much as you do, are environmentally friendly and can quickly eliminate germs and bacteria.”

When deciding which cleaning products to use in the home, 83% of parents said the health of their children is a major consideration.

Other motivators for selecting one cleaning product over another include the efficacy (92%), ability to kill germs and bacteria (90%), versatility (86%) and environmental impact of the product (68%) according to respondents.

Uncovering the price tag on ineffective cleaning products, respondents estimated they’ve wasted more than $600 on useless cleaning products and tools over the years, on average.

And although most people (59%) are planning to keep their homes cleaner than ever in the new year, 79% wish they had a cleaning magic wand to help them out.

But without such a tool, respondents shared some of their best cleaning tips and tricks such as “clean as you go,” “don’t let small jobs pile up,” “always dust and sweep before you polish and mop,” “steam clean the microwave, wash windows, iron out carpet stains” and “always have music playing.”

“The survey results demonstrate the motivations for keeping a clean house go beyond just peace of mind. According to the study, health and wellness along with social perceptions and community building are also top of mind when tidying up,” said Kokkinos. “There are ways to make sure cultivating a healthy, clean home isn’t so daunting, and having the right tools can really make the difference when tackling some of the toughest messes.

“Things like using a hand-held steamer make it easy to quickly clean and sanitize buildup and grime on appliances, windowsills, baseboards and other tough-to-tackle places, giving you more time back in your day to spend with loved ones.”

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 general population Americans; the survey was commissioned by BISSELL and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Dec. 10 and Dec. 13, 2024

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:

• Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
• Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:

• Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
• Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
• Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
• Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.