Study Shares Outrageous Houseguest Messes; Extra Cleaning for Holiday Visits Creates Stress

AURORA, Colo., Nov. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The onset of the holidays means a spike in holiday travelers, with many descending upon the households of family and friends. While it's no secret that shopping and decorating can create stress for hosts, what about cleaning stress? A survey of U.S. adults commissioned by Bona—innovator of hard surface floor cleaning and care products —and conducted online by Harris Poll found that more than half of U.S. adults (51 percent) agreed that given the choice, they might forgo hosting guests around the holidays to avoid extra home cleaning. Others shared startling stories about extreme messes left by guests.

"We all know that the holidays are a time of connection and joy but also a time when household traffic and chaos increase. What this survey revealed were some surprising attitudes and behaviors among Americans when it comes to guests and household cleaning," said Heather Lindemann, Senior Communications Manager of Bona. "Cleaning doesn't need to be a big chore. With the right tools and some tips on guest etiquette, holiday visits can be meaningful and uninterrupted by avoidable household mess mishaps like those shared by respondents."

The 2019 Bona Household Guest Poll conducted by Harris Poll is timely as the busiest time of the year for holiday visitors approaches. A few survey highlights follow:

• Seventy-six percent of U.S. adults agreed that houseguests appreciate clean accommodations, but often don't leave them in the same condition when they depart.
• Millennials young and old—age 23 to 38—are more likely than their older counterparts to agree that it is a better use of money to invest in a cleaning service after houseguests leave rather than before they arrive (54-55 percent of adults ages 18-44, vs. 44-46 percent of adults ages 45+).
• Eighty-five percent of U.S. adults agreed that following household 'upkeep' rules while staying in someone's home isn't too much to ask.
• The first-hand accounts about houseguest messes shared by participants were especially colorful:
• (A guest) filled the bathtub with water but forgot to turn water off and it flooded my house, damaged the floor and other things.
• A guest was trying to help me clean, but I had bleach in a cleaning bottle and they didn't know. They ended up bleaching my floor completely.
• (My) mother-in-law dropped a frying pan full of hot grease and damaged the floor.
• My sister trying to do a headstand, spilled oil all over the floor and table leaving the table with permanent stains.
• A friend brought a dog and the dog chewed a door while we were asleep.

Subsequently, personal accounts like these from the hundreds that were submitted, inspired the 2019 Bona Holiday Host Playbook as a means of maintaining a peaceful, clean household. A few highlights follow, read more tips and more guest mess stories here:

• Write a list of upkeep 'golden' rules for each room and place it in a visible place for your guests.
• Label supplies with respective uses in respective rooms for eager guests to use for daily quick cleaning.
• Give guests special instructions related to touchy toilets, faulty tubs, leaky faucets and temperamental kitchen appliances.
• Talk in advance with guests about favorite household features, politely asking for their help in keeping these intact during their visit, i.e. newly finished wood floors, remodeled tiled bathrooms, custom light fixtures.
• Be proactive and avoid tracking dust, dirt and messes into the home with walk off mats at all major entryways.

About Bona US
Bona is an innovative, environmentally-conscious company dedicated to creating beautiful floors since 1919. Bona US, the North American subsidiary of BonaAB in Malmö, Sweden, manufactures and distributes floor and home care products. The first in the industry to offer a full system of waterborne hardwood floor finishing and floor care products certified for indoor air quality by GREENGUARD, Bona products can be found throughout the U.S. and Canada. From residue-free hardwood floor cleaners to a beautiful array of stains and high durability finishes, consumers, distributors and contractors trust Bona. For more information, please contact Bona US at (800) 872- 5515 or www.bona.com.

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Bona from October 23-25, 2019 among 2,050 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact Heather Lindemann at (800) 872-5515.

SOURCE Bona US

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