Half of Millennials hiring cleaners as they are ‘too busy’ to clean one-bed flats
Nearly half of millennials are hiring cleaners because they are “too busy” to clean their own flats, figures show.
Hiring a professional maid help to keep a one bedroom flat spic and span would once have been an unthinkable prospect for many, but times have changed and it is fast becoming the norm.
According to insurer Esure, demand for regular home cleaners has grown by over 25pc in the past 5 years, with most of the demand coming from young professionals living in one or two bedroom properties.
In addition research by cleaning site Helpling.com found four in ten 25-34 year olds either has a cleaner or is looking for one, up from a third two years ago.
The firm is part of a new wave of digital housekeeping firms which are expanding to cater for a rising demand for regular cleaners among young professionals living in small flats.
Millennials are able to order cleaners from their smartphones for roughly the cost of a pint of beer a week.
Sam James, director at Helpling (formerly known as Hassle), defended young people who hire cleaners
. He said: “It is very difficult to criticise someone who earns their money and wants to spend their time enjoying themselves.
“We are seeing more young adults in the market looking for a cleaner, mainly because they value their time and would rather spend money that lose time they could be spending with friends or family.
“The sharing economy has also played a big part in the people realizing they have access to cleaners which they may have found harder to fin before, its very convenient.”
Kevin Hipkins, president at cleaning firm Mollymaid, said there was now a greater demand for services among young households, partly because of changing attitudes towards women’s domestic role.
He said: “In the 1970s women would feel reluctant to hire a cleaner as it was seen as a luxury they shouldn’t be paying for. They had a superwoman type mentality that they should do it all themselves, but these days a lot of women’s view of a superwoman isn’t someone who is cleaning the house every week. They have better things to do.”
Liam Dickerson, marketing manager at Housekeep, another cleaning firm, said: “Many young workers are putting more hours into their jobs these days and they feel they’re better off getting someone else to do their cleaning. They’re also living in smaller dwellings with more people living in them, which means they’re likely to spend more time tidying up mess as there may be less space to store things.”