Cleaning habits vary by task, household situation, age, geography, and measurement method. The figures below combine official U.S. time-use data with surveys and studies from Scotland, China, Ghana, and New York City, so local findings should not be treated as universal household behavior.
Key Cleaning Habit Statistics
The most useful figures span participation, time, specific chores, product use, and indoor-environment measurements:
- In the United States in 2025, 81% of people age 15 and over engaged in household activities on an average day.
- In the United States in 2025, people age 15 and over spent 1.99 hours per day on household activities on average.
- In the United States in 2025, interior cleaning occupied 0.33 hours per day on average among people age 15 and over.
- In the United States in 2025, 23.4% of people age 15 and over did interior cleaning on an average day.
- In the United States in 2025, 15.5% of men and 31.0% of women did interior cleaning on an average day.
- In the United States in 2025, 16.3% of people age 15 and over did laundry on an average day.
- In the United States in 2025, people age 65 and over spent 2.7 hours per day on household activities on average.
- In the United States in 2025, 40% did housework on weekend days compared with 35% on weekdays.
- In a 2020 survey of 109 Scottish social-housing homes, 74% reported vacuuming weekly.
- In the same Scottish sample, 75% reported dusting weekly.
- In the United States in February 2020, 78% of adults said someone in their household spring-cleaned every year.
- Among U.S. adults who spring-cleaned in February 2020, bedrooms were the top priority for 25%.
- In the United States in February 2020, 65% identified windows among the three dirtiest items in their home.
- In EPA’s 2020 Chemical Data Reporting table, cleaning and furnishing care products covered 685 chemicals, 243 sites, and 1,955 reports.
- In an EPA estimate based on a 1985–1986 U.S. survey, dish detergents had a mean annual exposure time of 107 hours.
- In a 399-home study in Tianjin, China, median dust-mite allergen concentration reached 1,022 ng/g in autumn.
- In New York City undergraduate residence halls in 2011, 62.7% of students reported cleaning their living space weekly.
- In a Ghana household study published in 2023, 35% reported cleaning daily.
Contents
- Key Cleaning Habit Statistics
- Cleaning Habit Statistics: How Often Americans Do Household Chores
- Cleaning Habit Data by Sex, Age, and Household Situation
- Vacuuming, Dusting, and Floor-Cleaning Habits in Household Studies
- Spring-Cleaning Habits and Perceived Household Dirtiness
- Household Cleaning-Product Use and Annual Exposure Time
- Cleaning Habits, Indoor Contaminants, and Hygiene Outcomes
Cleaning Habit Statistics: How Often Americans Do Household Chores
The American Time Use Survey provides a broad population benchmark, but its household-activity totals are not cleaning-only totals. BLS records primary activities reported for a diary day, including housework, cooking, lawn care, and management.
According to the American Time Use Survey Summary for 2025, 81% of the U.S. civilian population age 15 and over engaged in household activities on an average day, while the average person spent 1.99 hours per day on household activities. These are annual-average survey results for 2025.
The more specific BLS household-activity table separates several components:
| Activity | Average time per day, 2025 | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Interior cleaning | 0.33 hours | U.S. persons age 15+, population average |
| Food preparation and cleanup | 0.71 hours | Includes preparation and cleanup |
| Laundry | 0.17 hours | Population average |
| Household management | 0.17 hours | Broader than physical cleaning |
| Lawn and garden care | 0.19 hours | Outdoor care |
| Interior maintenance, repair, and decoration | 0.06 hours | Not cleaning-only |
| Exterior maintenance, repair, and decoration | 0.05 hours | Not cleaning-only |
Interior cleaning therefore represents a narrower measure than total household activity. The averages include people who did not perform the activity on that particular day, so they are not the same as time among participants only.
Cleaning Habit Data by Sex, Age, and Household Situation
Participation differs across demographic groups and household circumstances. The BLS 2025 participation-by-sex table reports that 15.5% of men and 31.0% of women did interior cleaning on an average day; the all-person figure was 23.4%.
The same table reports 16.3% participation in laundry on an average day, including 8.4% of men and 23.9% of women. Household management was reported by 18.6% overall, including 14.4% of men and 22.6% of women.
The broader BLS 2025 summary adds these comparisons:
- 87% of women and 75% of men did some household activity on an average day.
- On days when they did household activities, women averaged 2.8 hours and men averaged 2.1 hours.
- People ages 15–19 spent 43 minutes per day on household activities on average.
- People age 65 and over spent 2.7 hours per day on household activities on average.
- Among adults living with children under 18, nonemployed adults spent 3.1 hours per day on household activities versus 1.7 hours for employed adults.
These comparisons describe all household activities, not interior cleaning alone. They are descriptive survey measures rather than evidence that age, sex, employment, or household composition causes a particular cleaning routine.
Day-of-week participation also differs by category: 40% did housework on weekend days versus 35% on weekdays, while 66% did food preparation and cleanup on weekdays versus 63% on weekend days. Food preparation and cleanup combines two activities and should not be read as a cleaning-only measure.
Vacuuming, Dusting, and Floor-Cleaning Habits in Household Studies
A detailed local snapshot comes from a study of 109 contemporary social-housing homes in Scotland, published in 2020. The peer-reviewed study found that 74% of surveyed households reported vacuuming weekly, 73% reported brushing floors weekly, and 75% reported dusting weekly.
The same survey described how households handled cleaning and related indoor conditions:
| Reported practice or household feature | Share of surveyed homes | Population and period |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaned homes themselves | 82% | 109 Scottish social-housing homes; survey before environmental sampling |
| Used a cleaning service or cleaner | 8% | Same sample and survey |
| Used antibacterial cleaning agents | 97% | Same sample; included disinfectants, sprays, dish liquid, or wipes |
| Used bleach to clean | 51% | Same sample and survey |
| Had pets | 25% | Same sample; dogs 18%, cats 5% |
| Used natural ventilation and intermittent extract fans | 64% | Same sample and survey |
| Had whole-house mechanical ventilation with heat recovery | 10% | Same sample and survey |
These are self-reported, study-specific findings rather than national Scottish estimates. Product-use reports also do not verify antibacterial efficacy, and pet or ventilation figures provide context rather than a measured cleaning outcome.
Spring-Cleaning Habits and Perceived Household Dirtiness
The American Cleaning Institute’s 2020 national spring-cleaning survey measured U.S. adults age 18 and over from February 10–18, 2020. It found that 78% said they or someone in their household spring-cleaned every year; 8% did so every other year, 5% every few years, 3% less often than every few years, and 7% never spring-cleaned.
Among adults who spring-cleaned, the leading top priorities were bedrooms at 25%, closets at 23%, and kitchens at 22%. Family rooms were the top priority for 18%, and bathrooms for 9%.
Perceptions of dirtiness focused on several household surfaces and fixtures:
- 65% identified windows and 64% identified floors among the three dirtiest items in their home.
- 48% identified toilets among the three dirtiest items.
- 41% identified shelves and 32% identified kitchen appliances.
- 28% identified sinks and 19% identified bed linens.
The survey also found that 78% agreed that on a typical day their home was not as clean as they would like, while 22% disagreed. These are perceptions and self-reported routines from an industry-sponsored survey, not inspections or measured dirt loads.
Household Cleaning-Product Use and Annual Exposure Time
EPA’s 2020 Commercial and/or Consumer Use Data provides regulatory reporting counts, not household adoption or spending estimates. Its table listed 685 chemicals, 243 sites, and 1,955 reports for cleaning and furnishing care products; 536 chemicals, 166 sites, and 1,799 reports for laundry and dishwashing products; and 390 chemicals, 44 sites, and 1,377 reports for air-care products.
An older exposure-time estimate appears in EPA’s Exposure Factors Handbook, Chapter 17. Based on a 1985–1986 survey of 193 U.S. households and published in the 2011 handbook, mean annual exposure time was 107 hours for dish detergents, 67 hours for glass cleaners, and 52 hours for floor cleaners.
| Product or task | Mean annual exposure time | Measurement scope |
|---|---|---|
| Dish detergents | 107 hours | 193 surveyed U.S. households; 1985–1986 survey |
| Glass cleaners | 67 hours | Same survey and estimate |
| Floor cleaners | 52 hours | Same survey and estimate |
| Furniture polish | 32 hours | Same survey and estimate |
| Bathroom tile cleaners | 47 hours | Same survey and estimate |
| Liquid cleansers | 68 hours | Same survey and estimate |
| Scouring powders | 78 hours | Same survey and estimate |
| Laundry detergents | 66 hours | Same survey and estimate |
| Rug cleaners/shampoos | 12 hours | Same survey and estimate |
| All-purpose cleaners | 64 hours | Same survey and estimate |
EPA notes that only 14 tasks were included, so the durations underestimate total product use. The survey is also dated, meaning these estimates should not be presented as current household exposure levels.
Cleaning Habits, Indoor Contaminants, and Hygiene Outcomes
Cleaning frequency and indoor conditions are connected in some studies, but the available figures do not establish that a specific habit caused an outcome. A study of 399 homes in Tianjin, China reported median total dust-mite allergen concentrations of 524 ng/g in spring, 351 ng/g in summer, 1,022 ng/g in autumn, and 1,010 ng/g in winter; indoor dampness was associated with relative risks of 2.92–3.83 for higher allergen concentration.
A 2011 New York City residence-hall study found that 62.7% of students reported cleaning their living space weekly, 10.6% daily, 12.2% monthly, and 10.8% never. The same student sample reported 54.5% cleaning desktops at least monthly and 68.9% cleaning keyboards less than once per semester.
Other reported student practices included 40.9% cleaning bathroom doors at least once per week and 44.9% cleaning toilet flush handles at least once per week. Disinfecting products were reported by 59.7%, compared with 32.9% using non-disinfecting products; 30.3% cleaned more frequently when a roommate was ill, and 25.3% did so when residents of their floor were sick.
A Ghanaian household study published in 2023 reported that 35% cleaned daily, 11% every two days, 20% every three days, and 25% once per week. It also reported 3% cleaning every two weeks and 3% once per month, while 87.9% used a cloth to clean dust and 63% used a bleach solution to clean their cloths.
The Tianjin, New York City, and Ghana findings come from specialized samples and self-reported or observational measures. They are useful for describing measured settings and practices, but they should not be generalized to all households or interpreted as causal intervention effects.