Cleaning appliances sit at the intersection of household labor, consumer products and waste management. The figures below define their populations and periods carefully: 2024 U.S. time-use data measures household activity rather than appliance ownership, company filings measure reported sales or shipments rather than total-market adoption, and the latest EPA product-specific waste estimates here cover 2018.
Key Cleaning Appliance Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In 2024, 80.4% of the U.S. civilian population age 15 and over engaged in household activities on an average day.
- In 2024, people in the U.S. civilian population age 15 and over spent 2.01 hours per day on household activities on average.
- In 2024, 37.0% of the U.S. civilian population age 15 and over did housework on an average day.
- In 2024, housework occupied 0.62 hours per day across the U.S. civilian population age 15 and over.
- In 2024, SharkNinja reported $2.063514 billion in Cleaning Appliances net sales for its consolidated business.
- From 2023 to 2024, SharkNinja Cleaning Appliances sales grew 13.4%.
- In 2024, Cleaning Appliances represented about 37.3% of SharkNinja net sales.
- In fiscal 2024, iRobot shipped 2.463 million robot units worldwide.
- From fiscal 2023 to fiscal 2024, iRobot reported robot shipments falling about 18.8%.
- In fiscal 2024, iRobot reported $681.8 million in total worldwide revenue.
- In 2018, U.S. durable-goods municipal solid waste generation was 57.1 million short tons.
- In 2018, durable goods accounted for 19.5% of total U.S. municipal solid waste generation.
- In 2018, 10.57 million U.S. short tons of durable goods were recycled.
- In 2018, U.S. carpet and rug generation was 3.37 million short tons.
- In 2018, 73.0% of U.S. carpet and rug generation was landfilled.
- In 2024, 87% of U.S. women and 74% of U.S. men engaged in household activities on an average day.
Contents
- Household cleaning time and participation
- Cleaning appliance sales data
- Robot vacuum and robot shipment trends
- Durable-goods waste and appliance context
- Carpet, rugs and floor-care materials
- Household cleaning trends by sex, work and family
Household Cleaning Time and Participation Statistics
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey describes what people reported doing as a primary activity. Its household-activity and housework categories are broader than vacuuming, floor care or any other appliance-specific use.
| 2024 U.S. measure | Result | Population or condition |
|---|---|---|
| Household activities, average day | 80.4% | Civilian population age 15+ |
| Household activities, population average | 2.01 hours/day | Civilian population age 15+ |
| Household activities, activity-day average | 2.50 hours | Participants on activity days |
| Housework, average day | 37.0% | Civilian population age 15+ |
| Housework, population average | 0.62 hours/day | Includes nonparticipants |
| Housework, housework-day average | 1.68 hours | Participants on housework days |
These figures make household labor measurable without converting it into an unsupported appliance-adoption estimate. The 2024 BLS release also reported 0.14 hours per day in household management on average, while 16.7% of men and 19.2% of women engaged in household management in its detailed table; management is distinct from hands-on cleaning.
The same detailed holiday table recorded food preparation and cleanup for 63.8% of men and 61.5% of women on an average day. That activity is related to household work but is not a floor-cleaning measure.
Source: American Time Use Survey News Release – 2024 A01 Results. BLS measures reported primary activities, not appliance ownership, runtime or cleaning-appliance adoption.
Cleaning Appliance Sales Data from SharkNinja
SharkNinja’s Form 10-K provides a company-level view of cleaning-appliance sales. The category includes corded, cordless and robotic vacuums plus other floor-care products, so it should not be read as the total U.S. or global market.
| Fiscal year ended Dec. 31 | Cleaning Appliances net sales | Reported comparison |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $1.931732 billion | — |
| 2023 | $1.819465 billion | Down $112.267 million; down 5.8% from 2022 |
| 2024 | $2.063514 billion | Up $244.049 million; up 13.4% from 2023 |
The 2024 category represented about 37.3% of SharkNinja’s $5.528639 billion total net sales, a simple ratio of the filing’s reported figures rather than a market-share estimate. Total company net sales increased 30.0% from 2023 to 2024, reflecting all four product categories rather than cleaning appliances alone.
The filing also reported $341.289 million in company-wide research-and-development expense in 2024. That is not a cleaning-appliance-only R&D figure, but it provides context for the scale of investment across SharkNinja’s business.
Source: SharkNinja, Inc. Form 10-K for year ended December 31, 2024. These are company-reported fiscal results, not total-market estimates.
Robot Vacuum and Robot Shipment Trends
iRobot’s reported robot-unit shipments offer a company-scale indicator for robotic cleaning products, but shipments are not the same as household adoption or consumer sell-through. The filing covers iRobot’s robot products worldwide and does not isolate vacuum ownership.
| iRobot fiscal year | Robot units shipped worldwide | Total revenue |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 4.182 million | — |
| 2023 | 3.034 million | $890.6 million |
| 2024 | 2.463 million | $681.8 million |
Reported shipments fell 571,000 units from fiscal 2023 to fiscal 2024, or about 18.8% when calculated from the reported totals. Across fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2024, shipments fell 1.719 million units.
Fiscal 2024 revenue declined 23.4% from fiscal 2023, a reported decrease of $208.8 million. Comparing the 2.463 million units shipped with $681.8 million in revenue is only a scale comparison between unlike measures; it is not a unit-price calculation or a meaningful financial ratio.
Source: iRobot Corporation Form 10-K for fiscal year ended December 28, 2024. The figures are company-reported worldwide results.
Durable-Goods Waste and Cleaning Appliance Context
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s durable-goods series provides end-of-life context for products that generally last three years or more, with exceptions. It is a modeled municipal-solid-waste series, not a cleaning-appliance waste series.
| U.S. durable-goods measure | 1960 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|
| Generation | 9.92 million short tons | 57.10 million short tons |
| Recycling | 0.35 million short tons | 10.57 million short tons |
| Landfilling | 9.57 million short tons | 37.41 million short tons |
In 2018, durable-goods generation was 57.1 million short tons, equal to 19.5% of total U.S. municipal solid waste generation. The estimated durable-goods recycling rate was 18.5%, while 9.12 million short tons went to combustion with energy recovery and 37.41 million short tons went to landfills.
Durable goods accounted for 26.4% of total municipal solid waste combustion with energy recovery and 25.6% of total municipal solid waste landfilling in 2018. Those are shares of waste-management pathways, not appliance energy-use or appliance-specific disposal rates.
Source: Durable Goods: Product-Specific Data. EPA’s latest product-specific figures in this series are 2018 modeled U.S. estimates and use U.S. short tons.
Carpet, Rugs and Floor-Care Material Statistics
Carpet and rugs matter to floor-care decisions, but their material flows should not be confused with vacuum sales or appliance recycling. EPA’s 2018 estimates cover carpet fiber, backing and padding as a material category.
| U.S. carpet and rug measure, 2018 | Amount | Share or comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Generation | 3.37 million short tons | 1.2% of total MSW generation |
| Recycling | 310,000 short tons | 9.2% of generation |
| Combustion with energy recovery | 600,000 short tons | 17.8% of generation |
| Landfilling | 2.46 million short tons | 73.0% of generation |
The historical EPA series shows carpet and rug generation rising from 2.46 million tons in 2000 to 3.37 million tons in 2018. Carpet recycling increased from 190,000 tons in 2000 to 310,000 tons in 2018.
The landfill share is therefore a material end-of-life statistic, not evidence that a particular cleaning appliance causes or prevents disposal. It is useful for understanding the wider floor-care environment while keeping product and material categories separate.
Source: Durable Goods: Product-Specific Data (carpets and rugs section).
Household Cleaning Trends by Sex, Work and Family Status
BLS 2024 time-use results show how household activity varies across demographic and schedule groups. These comparisons describe reported time and participation, not ownership of a vacuum, robot or other appliance.
| 2024 U.S. measure | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Household activities, average day | 87% | 74% |
| Household activities, hours/day | 2.34 | 1.67 |
| Household activities, hours on activity days | 2.7 | 2.3 |
| Housework, hours/day | 0.88 | 0.36 |
| Housework participation, average day | 48.5% | 24.9% |
Among adults living with children under 18, nonemployed adults spent 2.9 hours per day on household activities, compared with 1.8 hours for employed adults. This is a broad employment grouping and not an appliance-use segment.
Housework participation was 41% on weekend days versus 36% on weekdays. Food preparation and cleanup participation was 64% on weekdays versus 62% on weekend days, a related household activity rather than a floor-care measure.
Adults whose youngest child was under age 6 averaged 2.15 hours per day in household activities, compared with 1.99 hours for adults whose youngest child was 6 to 17. Adults with no household children under 18 averaged 2.09 hours per day.
Source: American Time Use Survey News Release – 2024 A01 Results. The survey’s categories are broader than cleaning-appliance use, and all stated populations and periods are retained here.