New Study Finds Cleaning is a Family Affair and Peaks During the Holidays

OAKLAND, Calif., Nov. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- In the Hispanic community, a clean home is a happy home, but during the holidays, it is critical for the home to be reluciente – or sparkling clean! According to a new study conducted by Garcia Research, 40 percent of Latinas report the holidays as their peak season for cleaning.  In addition, 43 percent of Latinas report their significant others as helping with household cleaning – a surprising find, considering the long-standing myth that cleaning is a role predominantly performed by women. The study, which explored the housekeeping lessons and cleaning routines shared between generations of Latinas, also revealed that cleaning is a rite of passage, taught by mothers and grandmothers and meant to influence present-day routines and brand choices.

In addition to Latino men, nearly nine in 10 Latinas expect their children to help with the cleaning chores, this making cleaning a family affair.  In fact, 62 percent of Latina Moms report having no problem getting their teenage children to help, which means all members of the family can expect to make it on Santa's "nice list" this year.

Other key findings include:

• 93 percent of Latinas helped their mothers clean as a child with sweeping, mopping and washing dishes, while a third helped their grandmothers.
• More than half of Latinas prefer certain elements of old-fashioned cleaning, such as washing dishes by hand instead of dishwasher (83 percent), mopping the floors with a regular mop or by hand (73 percent). Most preferred this old fashioned approach because it's what they are used to and plus it was "a better clean."
• While the cleaning routines have been passed on, most Latinas do not aspire to have their home be like anyone else's with nearly half believing that their home is as clean as that of their parents and two in ten believing it is cleaner.
• Latinas are definitely influenced by the brands their moms and grandmothers used when they were growing up with nearly two-thirds reporting that they use some of the brands as their mother/grandmother and that approximately three-fourths say they are at least somewhat more likely to buy a brand if their mother or grandmother used it.
• Music is an integral part of the cleaning routine with Spanish pop being the favorite playlist among 53 percent.  Four in ten Latinas listen to the same type of music as they clean as their mothers.

The sense that cleaning is a labor of love that inspires a sense of pride was also echoed in stories that Clorox collected from across the blogosphere as part of its "Mi Hogar Mi Orgullo" initiative. Highlighted blogger, Maria Amelia Badzekis, author of the blog "Una Mama Con Hijas (E Hija De Mi Madre)" (www.mamaconhijas.com), recounts her indoctrination:

"I still remember the first time I walked into my cousin's house and saw her walking sliding across the floor with a rag under each foot," said Badzekis. "I turned to my mother and asked her what she was doing. My mother laughed, playfully swatted me on the rear and said, 'Sacando brillo al suelo (Bringing out the floor's shine).' It was a proud moment for both of them because I was coming of age. For me it was an epiphany. My mother was a member of a very clean tribe, and I was being indoctrinated."

In fact, according to Badzekis, there is no higher form of praise than the word "reluciente" to describe the home to instill a sense of pride, but cleaning is also a necessary tool in germ reduction with bleach, soap and water as the "holy trinity" of cleaning products, especially during the holidays.

Garcia Research was commissioned by Clorox to study cleaning attitudes using its Cada Cabeza panel. Participants in the study were Spanish-dominant (59%), Hispanic females between 25 to 54 years old from all parts of the U.S.

About Clorox Company:

The Clorox Company is a leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer products with 8,300 employees and fiscal year 2010 revenues of $5.53 billion. Clorox markets some of consumers' most trusted and recognized brand names, including its namesake bleach and cleaning products, Green Works ® natural home care products, Pine-Sol ® cleaners, Poett ® home care products, Fresh Step ® cat litter, Kingsford ® charcoal, Hidden Valley ® and K C Masterpiece ® dressings and sauces, Brita ® water-filtration products, Glad ® bags and wraps and containers, and Burt's Bees ® natural personal care products. The company's products are manufactured in more than two dozen countries and sold in more than 100 countries. Clorox is committed to making a positive difference in the communities where its employees work and live. Founded in 1980, The Clorox Company Foundation has awarded cash grants totaling more than $80 million to nonprofit organizations, schools and colleges. In fiscal 2010 alone, the foundation awarded $3.5 million in cash grants, and Clorox made product donations valued at $8.8 million. For more information about Clorox, visit www.TheCloroxCompany.com.

SOURCE Clorox