Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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New study by MoppedUp reveals how having a cleaner is no longer regarded as a luxury
The number of people in the UK that employ a cleaner has risen dramatically in the last five years, with 28% having used one in the past 12 months - up from just 12% in 2011.
This remarkable rise goes some way to showing how, despite the squeeze on disposable income during the recession, having a cleaner is no longer regarded a luxury, as millions more see it as a way to free up their spare time for the things they really love.
The study comes from innovative new iPhone app, MoppedUp, which connects homeowners and cleaners to help them communicate in a smarter way. The survey reveals how attitudes towards having a cleaner are increasingly positive, with just 5% of respondents seeing cleaners as exclusively for the rich and 3% saying they're for the lazy. In contrast, more than 10% said that a cleaner would make them happier, 12% said it would reduce their stress levels and of the people who don't currently have a cleaner, 43% said they would consider having one in future.
Despite becoming more socially acceptable, it seems we're still very British when it comes to communicating with cleaners. More than 10% said they felt too embarrassed to tell their cleaner when they weren't happy, and more than 11% felt they actually had to stop what they're doing and leave the house when the cleaner is around.
MoppedUp is an innovative app built to help the millions of homeowners now using a cleaner with these problems, bringing communicating with your cleaner into the 21st century. It provides a smarter way for users to create to-do lists and schedules on the go to ensure that their cleaner will focus their time on the tasks that matter each week, eliminating the need for scribbled notes and awkward conversations. Plus, for those that don't yet have a cleaner, MoppedUp even helps you find the most trusted cleaners in your area based on other users' recommendations.
Highlights from the cleaning study, carried out in association with OnePulse, include:
* 28% of UK households have employed a cleaner within the last 12 months
* Of the 72% that have not used a cleaner, 43% said they would consider it in future
* 12% said having a cleaner would reduce their stress levels and 10% said it would make them happier
* 10% said their cleaner didn't do the tasks they wanted, and 10% also said they felt too embarrassed to tell the cleaner they weren't happy
* 11% have felt the need to leave the house when their cleaner is around
* The most popular reason for having a cleaner is to enable clients to enjoy their spare time
The idea for MoppedUp came when founder, Malcolm Lewis, grew frustrated at having to constantly search for pens and scraps of paper to ask his cleaner to deal with specific task. As a Business Analyst he has seen how mobile technology has transformed so many parts of everyday life, and so set about developing a solution that would make a difference to people's domestic life and bring the domestic cleaning industry into the 21st century.
The MoppedUp app features an extensive range of functionality, including a personalised cleaning schedule that can be co-created by both homeowner and cleaner, a shopping list so cleaners can flag up any products that are running low and an 'Email the schedule' function, so even if the cleaner doesn't have an Apple device, the customised cleaning schedule can be emailed by the homeowner at any time.
MoppedUp is available now on Apple devices. The version for cleaners is free to download, while the homeowner app is priced �2.99.
9th June 2016