Love it or loathe it, housework simply has to be done. Some find it relaxing and good for their mental health to keep on top of domestic chores, but others dread it and put it off for as long as possible.
According to the results of a new survey carried out by Anglian Home Improvements, the average Brit is putting off six household chores at any one time, with men more likely to delay cleaning the house than women. In fact, women typically wait for four-and-a-half months for their male partners to get round to domestic duties.
With the Easter weekend approaching, just one in ten survey respondents said they would be spending the Bank Holiday spring cleaning, but around ten per cent admitted that they would if they were nagged by their partner.
However, one in 20 say they will never get round to certain jobs due to hating them so much.
A spokesman for Anglian Home Improvements commented: “We are a house proud nation, but it seems we may never learn to love certain jobs around the home.”
So, what exactly are the nation’s most-detested domestic chores?
Britain’s most-hated household chores
Anglian Home Improvements compiled a list of the 35 most-hated household chores, which saw cleaning the oven come out on top as the UK’s least-loved housework responsibility.
This was closely followed by cleaning the toilet in second place, while ironing came third. Other tasks in the top ten included defrosting the freezer (seventh place), scrubbing the barbecue clean (ninth) and cleaning out the fridge (tenth).
Other hated chores were found to include dusting (12th place), cleaning the bath (16th), vacuuming the stairs (18th) and mopping or steaming floors, which came in 20th place on the extensive list.
Cleaning garden furniture was awarded the title of 27th most-hated task, while polishing brass was only slightly more tolerable to survey respondents, taking the number 28 spot. Dusting the TV was placed in the 30th spot, with cleaning mirrors following closely behind at number 31.
Number 32 to number 35 on the list were taken up with DIY tasks such as changing light bulbs and fixing loose door handles, which suggests that Brits have less of a problem with picking up a screwdriver than a brillo pad.
Why you never have to do these jobs again
One in ten of those questioned by Anglian Home Improvements said they would be willing to hire in a professional to help with the tasks they didn’t want to do, but with nine in ten admitting to putting off chores for as long as possible, it seems that plenty more could benefit from outsourcing their cleaning.
Hiring a professional cleaning company means tasks such as cleaning the oven, bath and toilet, dusting ornaments and vacuuming hard-to-reach spots can be taken care of by someone else, leaving those who hate housework with just the easier tasks to complete such as making the bed and loading the dishwasher.
