Why do Spaniards have very clean homes?
If you’ve ever been invited to a Spaniard’s home, you will have probably noticed that it was extremely clean and tidy. In fact, people here clean more than anywhere else in Europe.
Walk down any street across Spain early in the morning and you’re likely to come across people mopping their front steps and the pavement outside their shops or buildings. The air is filled with the faint scent of bleach and gloves are at the ready.
A well-known Spanish saying goes no es más limpio el que más limpia, sino el que menos ensucia (the cleanest is not the one who cleans the most, but the one who dirties the least).
But, this doesn’t appear to be true because Spaniards actually do spend a lot of their time cleaning. In fact, a study by cleaning service website Clintu.es, the Spanish clean the most out of people from any other European country.
Spaniards spend an average of close to three hours a week on cleaning and tidying, compared to Germans, Italians, French and even the English, who spend between half an hour to an hour less on domestic chores.
The study in fact calculated that the average Spaniard spends more than a year of their life cleaning – a total of 383 days to be precise.
According to another study by apartment hunter platform Kobolo, 77 percent of respondents say they clean between one and three times a week. In addition, 60 percent dedicate between two and four hours on average a week to tidying their house.
In Spain, bathrooms are cleaned every day or every other day and another deep clean is done at the weekend. The floors are vacuumed daily and scrubbed between two and three times a week.
Spaniards love to clean in the early hours of the morning, are addicted to bleach, iron almost everything, and even clean before they go on holiday.
Spain also loves cleaning gadgets and shopping channels are filled with the latest must-have item to help make cleaning your house easier and better.
If you go to the supermarket in Spain, you’ll find a wide range of cleaning products of every type and scent.
Spanish cleaning brands are so well known in fact that they have found a unique niche market in the UK. They are now whole websites set up for UK customers just selling Spanish cleaning products.
READ ALSO: The Spanish cleaning products that British households love
If you needed any more convincing that Spaniards are in fact clean freaks, then just take a look at the online "Clean Tokers".
¿Quiénes son los 'Clean Tokers'? 🧐🧹@tonirigotv te lo cuenta👇
📲#Juntos375 en @telemadrid👉#DIRECTO▶️https://t.co/39ZKidKMhR pic.twitter.com/APn8MyeX8s
— JUNTOS TELEMADRID (@JuntosTM) November 4, 2021
These are young Spanish influencers who have taken to social media channels such as TikTok to post cleaning videos, posting tips and tricks on how to clean specific places in your home, the latest products to use, and even how to organise your fridge.
There are several reasons that Spaniards love to clean so much. Primarily it's a cultural thing, they are house-proud and want to keep everything as neat as possible. But, it also has a lot to do with the weather - especially in summer when it gets so hot.
The hot weather in Spain creates lots of dust, particularly when doors and windows are open for much of the day to let in a breeze.
READ ALSO: What to do about insects and other pests in your home in Spain?
It also means that there are more insects attracted to the home. Keeping everything clean and ensuring no particles of food are left lying around ensures that ants, flies and even cockroaches don't invade during the summer months.
According to Spanish news site ABC, 80 percent of Spaniards also consider that having a clean home helps their children in their studies.
Comments (1)
See Also
Walk down any street across Spain early in the morning and you’re likely to come across people mopping their front steps and the pavement outside their shops or buildings. The air is filled with the faint scent of bleach and gloves are at the ready.
A well-known Spanish saying goes no es más limpio el que más limpia, sino el que menos ensucia (the cleanest is not the one who cleans the most, but the one who dirties the least).
But, this doesn’t appear to be true because Spaniards actually do spend a lot of their time cleaning. In fact, a study by cleaning service website Clintu.es, the Spanish clean the most out of people from any other European country.
Spaniards spend an average of close to three hours a week on cleaning and tidying, compared to Germans, Italians, French and even the English, who spend between half an hour to an hour less on domestic chores.
The study in fact calculated that the average Spaniard spends more than a year of their life cleaning – a total of 383 days to be precise.
According to another study by apartment hunter platform Kobolo, 77 percent of respondents say they clean between one and three times a week. In addition, 60 percent dedicate between two and four hours on average a week to tidying their house.
In Spain, bathrooms are cleaned every day or every other day and another deep clean is done at the weekend. The floors are vacuumed daily and scrubbed between two and three times a week.
Spaniards love to clean in the early hours of the morning, are addicted to bleach, iron almost everything, and even clean before they go on holiday.
Spain also loves cleaning gadgets and shopping channels are filled with the latest must-have item to help make cleaning your house easier and better.
If you go to the supermarket in Spain, you’ll find a wide range of cleaning products of every type and scent.
Spanish cleaning brands are so well known in fact that they have found a unique niche market in the UK. They are now whole websites set up for UK customers just selling Spanish cleaning products.
READ ALSO: The Spanish cleaning products that British households love
If you needed any more convincing that Spaniards are in fact clean freaks, then just take a look at the online "Clean Tokers".
¿Quiénes son los 'Clean Tokers'? 🧐🧹@tonirigotv te lo cuenta👇
— JUNTOS TELEMADRID (@JuntosTM) November 4, 2021
📲#Juntos375 en @telemadrid👉#DIRECTO▶️https://t.co/39ZKidKMhR pic.twitter.com/APn8MyeX8s
These are young Spanish influencers who have taken to social media channels such as TikTok to post cleaning videos, posting tips and tricks on how to clean specific places in your home, the latest products to use, and even how to organise your fridge.
There are several reasons that Spaniards love to clean so much. Primarily it's a cultural thing, they are house-proud and want to keep everything as neat as possible. But, it also has a lot to do with the weather - especially in summer when it gets so hot.
The hot weather in Spain creates lots of dust, particularly when doors and windows are open for much of the day to let in a breeze.
READ ALSO: What to do about insects and other pests in your home in Spain?
It also means that there are more insects attracted to the home. Keeping everything clean and ensuring no particles of food are left lying around ensures that ants, flies and even cockroaches don't invade during the summer months.
According to Spanish news site ABC, 80 percent of Spaniards also consider that having a clean home helps their children in their studies.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.