Spring Cleaning

Toronto, ON - According to a new survey conducted on behalf of SC Johnson, most (78%) Canadians thoroughly clean their home at least once a week, with one in four (24%) who do so daily!

The kitchen (38%) tops the list as the room that Canadians say is most satisfying to clean, closely followed by the living room or family room (31%). Which room is their least favourite to clean? The bathroom tops the list with 44% and the basement/attic comes in second with 25%.

Asked which household chore they'd prefer to do, cleaning or ironing, three-quarters (73%) of Canadians say they'd rather clean. Should come as no surprise then that when asked which of two statements--"Martha Stewart would be proud" or "It's a disaster area"--best describes the state of their home, two-thirds (65%) say "Martha Stewart would be proud."

Respondents were also asked how many surface cleaners such as Fantastic, Mr. Clean, or Pledge they currently in their home. As a whole, Canadians report having four surface cleaners in their home at this time. However, of these, on average they only use three regularly.

Just over half (55%) of Canadians say they trust their current surface cleaner on their electronics.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/SC Johnson poll conducted from March 8th to March 10th, 2005. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1000 adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 1773.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.

Most Canadians Thoroughly Clean Their Home At Least Weekly

Most (78%) Canadians say they thoroughly clean their home at least once a week: 24% say they do so daily and 53% weekly. Fifteen percent say they thoroughly clean their home every other week and 7% say they thoroughly clean less often.

• Quebecers report thoroughly cleaning their home most often with 91% who do so at least weekly, followed by Atlantic Canadians (82%), Albertans (77%), residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (75%), Ontarians (73%), and British Columbians (67%).

Which Room Is The Most Satisfying To Clean?

Asked which of five areas in their home is the most satisfying to clean, the kitchen tops the list with 38%, closely followed by the living room or family room at 31%. One in ten say the bedrooms (10%) or the bathroom (12%) and 2% say the basement or the attic is the most satisfying to clean. Another 6% say "none of the above" and 1% doesn't know.

• Women are more likely than men to say the kitchen is most satisfying (44% vs. 32%) while men are more likely than women to say the living room or family room is most satisfying (36% vs. 27%).

And Their Least Favourite To Clean?

Read the same list and asked which room is their least favourite to clean, the bathroom comes up on top with 44%, followed by the basement/attic (25%), the kitchen (15%), the bedrooms (6%), and the living or family room (4%). Another 5% say "none of the above" and 1% doesn't know.

Most Canadians Prefer Cleaning To Ironing

Asked which household chore they'd prefer to do, cleaning or ironing, three-quarters (73%) of Canadians say they'd rather clean. Conversely, 16% would rather iron. One in ten (10%) say they'd prefer neither!

• Residents of Alberta (82%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (80%), Quebec (79%), and Atlantic Canada (78%) are more likely than residents of Ontario (67%) and British Columbia (68%) to prefer cleaning to ironing.

• The propensity to prefer cleaning to ironing decreases with age: 84% of Canadians 18-34 years of age say they do vs. 72% of those 35-54 years of age and 65% of those 55 years of age or older.

• Women are slightly more likely than men to prefer ironing to cleaning (19% vs. 13%).

And Most Canadians Think Martha Stewart Would Be Proud Of The State Of Their Home

When asked which of two statements--"Martha Stewart would be proud" or "It's a disaster area"--best describes the state of their home, two-thirds (65%) say "Martha Stewart would be proud" and 20% say "it's a disaster area." One in seven (14%) say "none of the above" suggesting that they fall somewhere in between and 1% doesn't know which they prefer.

• Residents of Quebec (75%) are most likely to say "Martha Stewart would be proud" followed by residents of Alberta (70%), Atlantic Canada (65%), Ontario (62%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (59%), and British Columbia (56%).

• Canadians 18-54 years of age are twice as likely than those who are older to say "it's a disaster area" (24% vs. 12%).

Surface Cleaners, Specifically

Respondents were asked how many surface cleaners such as Fantastic, Mr. Clean, or Pledge they currently in their home. As a whole, Canadians report having a mean average of 4.34 surface cleaners in their home at this time. Specifically, 30% have 0-2, 46% have 3-5, 13% have 6-8, 4% have 9-11, 1% have 12-14, and 3% currently have 15 or more surface cleaners in their home. Another 2% don't know.

• Atlantic Canadians have the most surface cleaner in their home at this time (5.76). This compares to residents of British Columbia (3.88), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (3.96), Quebec (3.99), Alberta (4.45), and Ontario (4.47).

Of these products that they have in their home, Canadians report using a mean average of 2.94 regularly. Specifically, 50% use 0-2, 38% use 3-5, 6% use 6-8, 2% use 9-11, 0% use 12-14, and 1% uses 15 or more surface cleaners regularly. Another 3% don't know.

• Atlantic Canadians use the highest number of these products regularly (3.77) followed by residents of Ontario (3.11), Alberta (2.96), British Columbia (2.72), Quebec (2.64), and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (2.49).

Just over half (55%) of Canadians say they trust their current surface cleaner on their electronics. Conversely, 42% do not and 3% don't know.

• Quebecers (71%) are more likely than others to trust their current surface cleaner on their electronics: 43% of residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba do, 44% of British Columbians do, 48% of Ontarians do, 57% of Atlantic Canadians do, and 58% of Albertans do.

• Women are nominally more likely than men to trust their current surface cleaner on their electronics (58% vs. 51%).

Please open the attached PDFs to view the factum and detailed tables.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

Jennifer McLeod
Senior Research Manager
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900