With Earth Day on the way for facilities, buildings, and even households, some interesting data has come out of a survey conducted by CouponCabin.com. The survey reveals that spring-cleaning is likely to be earth-friendly, as seven-in-ten (70%) U.S. adults use eco-friendly cleaning products at least sometimes. This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of CouponCabin.com from April 9th – 11th, 2013, among 2,222 U.S. adults ages 18 and older.
Not everyone has jumped on the eco-friendly cleaning bandwagon. Thirty percent of U.S. adults report they never or rarely use them, with nearly half of those citing that they're too expensive (49 percent). This is an interesting statistic, one that may be mirrored in the facility management industry on a much larger scale.
When asked to explain why else they don't use eco-friendly cleaning products, U.S. adults who rarely or never use them also say the following:
- I prefer the traditional brands – 38 percent
- I've never thought of it – 25 percent
- They don't clean well enough – 20 percent
- They don't do that much to help the environment – 10 percent
- I can't find any of these products where I live – 5 percent
- Don't like the smell – 2 percent
- Some other reason – 8 percent
Regardless of whether or not eco-friendly cleaning products are being used, keeping the house so fresh and so clean takes a lot of time. Only 1% of U.S. adults don't spend any time doing household cleaning chores like washing dishes, vacuuming or taking out the trash in a given week. Forty-three percent spend up to four hours. More than half (55 percent) spend four hours or more, of which 11 percent spend 15 hours or more cleaning per week.
"No matter how much time you spend cleaning, it's a chore that's a challenge to keep up with," said Jackie Warrick, senior savings adviser at CouponCabin.com. "Keeping the house clean can be one more 'to-do' on an already overloaded list. To alleviate the stress, some people opt to use a cleaning service to help keep their house spic and span, but it can be too expensive for others."
The high cost of hiring a cleaning service or person deters many Americans. Only 10 percent of U.S. adults currently have a paid cleaning service or person to help with cleaning chores. Of the 90 percent of U.S. adults who don't currently have a cleaning service, nearly six-in-ten (57 percent) report they can't afford it. Other reasons U.S. adults pass on hiring cleaning help include:
- My house is not messy enough to require the service – 37 percent
- I don't like having strangers in my home – 36 percent
- I enjoy cleaning myself – 30 percent
- I want the job done to my specifications and a service can't provide that – 19 percent
- I am too embarrassed to have someone clean my mess – 7 percent
- Someone else does it for free – 6 percent
- Bad experiences with a cleaning service/hire person in the past – 4 percent
- Some other reason - 8 percent
