Spring cleaning is upon the world and for far more people than ever before, it’s a time to reign in many of the oft neglected areas of the home. According to this year’s National Cleaning Survey—put out by the American Cleaning Institute (ACI)—78% of responding Americans state that they will be pulling out their cleaning supplies this year to keep their homes healthy and safe. In fact, 71% of Americans state that maintaining a healthy environment is their primary motivation in cleaning, highlighting the value that cleaning—and hygienic design—plays in today’s society.
“At ACI, we know that cleaning is caring. For so many Americans, cleaning is no longer viewed as just a chore, but as a means of caring for one another and creating a healthy and safe home,” said Brian Sansoni, ACI Senior Vice President for Communications and Outreach.
Among those who clean, the survey found that respondents tended to focus heavily on the kitchen (64%), bedrooms (61%) and bathrooms (59%). Coincidentally, hygienic technology and design was one of the major trends we spotted at last month’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show. From motion sensor faucets to antimicrobial paint, a considerable amount of the products on display at the show seemed to recognize this growing desire among consumers, especially in the kitchen and bath environments.
What’s more, they seemed to recognize the importance and value of creating a surface that not only could be easily cleaned but needed to be cleaned far less. This is exceptionally important as, in the grand scheme of things, very few objects should be cleaned on an annual basis.
The Right Materials and Products Can Introduce ‘Proactive Cleaning’ into the Home
In trying to demystify the appropriate cleaning schedules for object, Well + Good came up with an easy list of objects and their ‘recommended’ cleaning intervals. These intervals range from daily to yearly, however, in most cases the areas of highest importance according to the ACI survey (Kitchen & Bathroom) are also the areas that require the most frequent cleaning, with even the most infrequent appliances still needing to be cleaned every few weeks.
This isn’t to say that the respondents in the ACI survey ONLY clean their homes once a year for spring cleaning. It does, however, point to priorities in cleaning and, in turn, how much value emerging, hygienic technologies and materials have within the home for their ability to proactively assist homeowners in their cleaning rituals.
Take for instance, the countertop space. Many products on the market to date, such as quartz countertops, come with antimicrobial properties baseline, while others, such as many of Caesarstone’s products, boast a hearty resistance to fingerprints and smudging.
At once, this allows homeowners to spend less time cleaning, while also reducing the amount of chemicals released into the air from cleaning, which can unintuitively impact the healthiness of a space.
That then comes to one of the last elements of the survey: what consumers look for in a cleaning product. In ranking, effectiveness (44%) was the most important, followed by multifunctionality (18%) and cost (12%). While it’s difficult to compare a contactless faucet or a self-sanitizing toilet to a bottle of surface cleaner, they both aim to complete a similar task, which is keeping a home healthy and clean—something that nearly 80% of Americans are going to be intensely focused on this spring.
