Are northern UK homes cleaner than those in the south?

Households in the north do spend more time cleaning their homes than their counterparts in the south, according to new research that provides evidence confirming the view that homes in the north are cleaner than those in the south of the UK.

The London Cleaning System studied 200 households from each region and found that the average time per week spent cleaning a home in the UK is four hours and 31 minutes, but with clear differences in the time spent between regions in the north and the south.

Across the regions, households in London spent the least amount of time, three hours and 50 minutes, compared to Aberdeen which topped the poll where households spend five hours and 15 minutes.

As a whole, Scottish households spend over five hours a week cleaning, whilst those in the South West, South East, Greater London and East of England spend less than four hours a week.

Homes in the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, Northern Ireland and East Midlands average four hours and 50 minutes, close to Scotland’s level. Wales, West Midlands and North West follow with four hours and 20 minutes.

Philip Mijtov, founder of London Cleaning System said: “A north/south divide has always existed in the UK. Southerners continuously battle to be the best, yet our research has proven the complete opposite – much to the joy of northerners!

“It was entirely unsurprising to hear that those in the north clean nearly 30% longer than their southern counterparts! There may not be a particular reason for it, but I would always put it down to the fact northerners tend to be more house proud.”

Slovenly southern habits revealed by the survey show that 19% don’t use the toilet brush after using the bathroom, 39% don’t take their shoes off in the house and 41% never wash their kitchen bin.

The research shows that cleaning habits for individual towns and cities tend to be similar to the region as a whole. Liverpool was the only town or city below the national average that is in a region which is higher than the national average.

Luton averages the least amount of cleaning time of all UK towns and cities, three hours 40 minutes, 51 minutes a week below the national average and 95 minutes or 30.2% behind Aberdeen, home to the UK’s most devoted cleaners. Portsmouth was next on the “dirty dozen” list, at three hours and 45 minutes, with Plymouth, Gloucester, London and Oxford all on three hours and 50 minutes.

Households in Glasgow and Edinburgh average five hours and 10 minutes. Leeds is the only city in England that reaches the five hour mark.

However, across the UK, the amount of time taken cleaning homes has dropped dramatically from the 1960’s, when estimates suggest that British housewives spent 40+ hours a week. With the introduction of modern appliances and labour saving devices such as washing machines and a bit more help from men in the household, cleaning times have fallen fast.