SC Johnson Survey Finds Younger Generations Are Cleaning More Than Ever as 71% of Families Look to Kids’ Involvement to Sustain New Cleaning Routines at Home

Overwhelming majority of millennials (75%) and Generation Z (82%) say they enjoy cleaning, almost double what baby boomers (46%) and matures (40%) say.

RACINE, Wis., March 23, 2021 – SC Johnson, an industry-leading manufacturer of household consumer brands such as Windex®, Scrubbing Bubbles® and Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day®, today released survey results showcasing changing cleaning behaviors one year into the pandemic. As Americans spent more time at home than ever before, the results report that most Americans (61%) believe the pandemic has improved their cleaning habits with half (50%) of respondents adopting new cleaning routines. Those cleaning more often clean an average of two extra hours each week compared to pre-pandemic routines, and more than half (54%) of Americans expect to keep up their new cleaning routines. 

Families today are cleaning more together, with more than four in ten (44%) parents reporting that their children are helping clean more than before the pandemic. Parents seem to enjoy the extra help because nearly three-quarters (71%) of parents say they expect their children to continue to help as much as they did during the pandemic.

“At SC Johnson, our goal is to create a healthier world by educating and enabling people on cleaning and hygiene so that they can respond to this pandemic and future public health threats,” said Alan VanderMolen, Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer at SC Johnson. “We are encouraged to see families are working together to improve and maintain their cleaning habits because healthier homes create healthier communities and a better world.”

Among the younger generations participating in more cleaning are millennials, who have adopted new regimens they enjoy and are doing so more frequently than any other age group. Millennials now are spending the most time cleaning each week (8.2 hours/week) and are most likely to say the pandemic has improved their cleaning habits. 

The survey also revealed new cleaning trends and habits that have emerged due to the pandemic. Additional findings include: 

• Americans are Spending More Time Than Ever Cleaning: Americans are spending an average of six hours each week cleaning their homes with nearly nine in 10 (89%) being satisfied with the cleanliness of their home.
• When Americans Have the Time to Clean, They Find it Enjoyable: Those who are cleaning more often are spending two extra hours each week compared to pre-pandemic, with nearly seven in 10 respondents (67%) saying they enjoy cleaning.
• Consumers Are Paying Close Attention to Surfaces: Cleaning doorknobs and handles has become the leading routine that is being done more often (45%), along with hand sanitizer and germ-killing products being purchased more now than before the pandemic. The top three areas getting cleaned more during the pandemic are doorknobs and handles, kitchens, and bathrooms.

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of SC Johnson from February 10, 2021, to February 16, 2021, among 2,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older who clean/share cleaning responsibilities or hire someone to clean their homes. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.