If spring cleaning is on your to-do list, you’re not alone. A study conducted by International Communications Research for the Soap and Detergent Association (SDA) found that 66% of Americans regularly conduct spring cleaning. According to the survey of 1,000 American men and women, top priority goes to kitchens, living rooms, master bedrooms, and bathrooms.
Cleaning By Gender
You want a flourishing lawn and plants in your yard. One of the best ways to attain this is to fertilize them in the fall, before the first frost. This will give them a boost when they start to grow again in the spring. This extra feeding will bring rewards all of the next summer.
The SDA study found those most likely to do spring cleaning were women aged 35 to 54 and men in the 18 to 24 and 55 to 64 age groups. Women reported feeling most rewarded after cleaning kitchens and bathrooms. Men, however, felt most rewarded cleaning garages and basements–the least rewarding choices for women.
You can change the look of a room easily by installing new window treatments. It doesn’t cost much to create or purchase new curtains, and they can really impact the appearance of a room. You might even customize your room every season with fabrics and colors which reflect the time of year; rich colors for winter and fall, and bright, airy colors for summer and spring.
Reasons To Clean
It is best to paint your home in the spring and fall months. During the winter the air is filled with too much moisture that can cause the paint to take an extended amount of time to dry. During the summer months it can be too hot and cause the paint to blister or bubble.
“It just needs to be done,” was the answer 53% of spring cleaners chose when asked why they conduct their annual ritual. Other reasons were to: “Get rid of a winter’s worth of dust and dirt” (22%); “It just makes me feel better” (12%); and, “Get organized” (2%).
Vinyl decks are a popular home improvement project. Vinyl is popular because it is easy to maintain: it only needs to be cleaned twice a year in order to keep it in good shape. The best time of the year to sweep your vinyl deck clean is in the spring and the fall.
Rooms By Rank
One of the first things you will want to do when spring comes, is to go up on your roof and give it a quick inspection. You want to look for curled or damaged shingles, and if found, replace them. To prevent large, expensive damage, it is important that you keep up on your annual roof maintenance.
When asked what their top cleaning priority was, respondents said:
Consider buying supplies for spring or summer renovations in January. This is when the best sales are on as most people aren’t doing any renovations over the winter. Purchase in bulk and then store the items up off the ground in a cool, dry location, so they end up lasting until your home improvement project begins.
Kitchen 29%
If you notice icicles or an ice jam in your rain gutters over the winter, you have a real problem on your hands. If the snow on your roof melts and builds up in frozen rain gutters, it can back up under your shingles and damage your roof. Call someone in to check both the rain gutters and the roof come spring.
Living Room 18%
Master Bedroom 16%
Bathrooms 7%
Family Room/Den 5%
Closets/Storage 4%
Basement 2%
Most Rewarding Cleans
Kitchen Cleaning 18% (most rewarding job for women)
Garage/Basement 17% (most rewarding job for men)
Laundry 15%
Bathrooms 11%
Sweeping/Mopping 9%
Dusting Furniture 6%
Doing the Dishes 6%
Washing Windows 6%
Least Rewards Cleans
Bathrooms 23% (least rewarding job for men)
Garage/Basement 19% (least rewarding job for women)
Dusting Furniture 15%
Washing Windows 13%
Doing the Dishes 8%
Sweeping/Mopping 3%
Kitchen Cleaning 6%
Too Busy?
Of the 1,000 respondents, 22% of women and 11% of men said they were too busy to do spring cleaning. To that response, the SDA has some suggestions:
Put cleaning on your agenda, just as you do professional and personal appointments.
List your cleaning priorities and the supplies you’ll need to accomplish the jobs.
Pick up the supplies you need while making your regular rounds to grocery and drug stores.
Convenience Sells
The report indicated single-use wipes and dust mitts have gained popularity for their ease of use and disposability. Such products are now available for glass, furniture, floors, and even leather upholstery. All-in-one electro-static mops have also found a strong market. Another increasingly popular product: all-in-one battery-operated floor cleaning appliances with cleaning pads and all-purpose cleaning solutions.
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