Simple ways to help with 5 household chores you hate

Keeping on top of household chores can be hard work, especially when you’re combining them with work, hobbies or caring responsibilities. But some chores are more of a burden than others.

According to a survey of 1,035 Which? members, the least popular jobs are tidying and cleaning the house, recycling, ironing and gardening.

We got insight from Delia Cannings and Chris James, both members of the British Cleaning Council, as well as our own Which? experts, on how these tasks can be made easier.

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Household cleaning

Of the 117 people who identified household cleaning as a difficult job, 56% said they didn’t enjoy doing it, while 42% said it took too long and 23% said they had too much other stuff to do.

'If you don’t like cleaning – and a lot of people don’t – you need to have a system,' said Delia, who is chair of the British Cleaning Council.

'It’s very important to get the preparation right. If you do that, it can help you enjoy cleaning a lot more.'

Delia said it’s best to adopt a 'little and often' approach to cleaning, which stops grime building up and saves the need for using abrasive chemicals further down the line.

'Make sure you’re wearing loose, comfortable clothing,' she said. 'You’re going to be having an aerobic workout and getting quite warm, so open a window and get some fresh air in the room. And put on a bit of background music to help you enjoy it.'

You can keep cleaning products to a minimum – in fact, a lot of household cleaning can be done with water and a neutral agent such as washing-up liquid. Mini brushes to access nooks and crannies are useful. And sticky tape can be great to remove loose fibres from delicate materials.

For windows, you can use microfibre cloths with water alone. This is thanks to the characteristics of the fibres which imitate a cleaning agent as they grab dirt off surfaces.

'Consider adding a drop of vinegar. This has the advantage of keeping insects at bay – they don’t like the smell – but it also leaves a little bit of sparkle on your glass,' she said.

'Colour coding your cleaning cloths will reduce the risk of spreading dirt from one room to another – for example, red for the bathroom and toilet, green for the kitchen.

'If you’re doing a detailed clean, think about how different appliances can help.

'Now’s the time to try out the crevice tool on your vacuum cleaner,' she said.

'If you don’t use it, you can end up with a build-up of hair and dust in the corner of your rooms. It’s also really useful for cleaning down the sides of armchairs and sofas.'

Start cleaning at the top of your house and work your way down, to avoid redistributing dirt from the parts you’ve cleaned to the parts you intend to clean. In rooms such as the bathroom, work from the cleanest parts of the room to the dirtiest parts, such as the toilet, to avoid cross-contamination.

Chris James, also from the British Cleaning Council, said: 'To make vacuuming the stairs easier, I actually have two vacuums – one upstairs and one downstairs. That saves me the hassle of carrying the vacuum up the stairs.'

'Your vacuum should work on one pass, so buy the most efficient one you can afford. Make sure the brushes are clear and if the vacuum bag is more than two thirds full, change it. The fuller it gets, the less efficient it becomes at picking things up.'

We test everything from how well vacuum cleaners suck up pet hair to their energy efficiency. Log in to see all our vacuum cleaner reviews or join Which? to get access to all our lab-test insights.

Tidying the house

Almost half of the 99 people who identified tidying the house as a difficult chore said they simply didn’t enjoy it, while a fifth said nobody helped them with it.

Chris James advises trying to get the family  – including children  – involved in tidying up after themselves.

He also suggests using storage options such as baskets, boxes and drawers so that clutter is easily removed.

'Use anything you can think of to get things off the floor,' he said.

If you’re going in for major decluttering, make sure you've set aside enough time for the task, rather than trying to cram it in around other commitments.

'Basically, you’ve got to be quite ruthless,' said Delia Cannings.

'Make a list of what you want to keep and what you’re going to throw away, and check everyone in the household is happy with the things you’re getting rid of.

'You can’t declutter every room, so maybe start with one of the bedrooms or the bathroom. Once you start going through things, one by one, you’ll be amazed at all the toiletries you find that are out of date or that you never use.'

Once you’ve got to work, Delia said the task might actually be more enjoyable than you anticipated.

'The whole process of decluttering can be quite therapeutic,' she said.

'A cluttered home can make you feel very stressed. Once you’ve restored space, order and peace, you can feel quite rejuvenated. And you might even find that lost item you’ve been looking for!'

Do you need to replace these everyday items? Everything has a shelf life – find out which household items might need replacing soon

Ironing

Making ironing easier is clearly important for many of us – ironing was seen as a difficult chore by 94 people, with the main frustrations being lack of enjoyment (55%) and the time it takes (29%). 

Hardeep Channa, Which? irons expert, said:

'It may sound obvious but getting the right iron is so important.

'If you want the easiest experience, there are actually irons that don't require you to adjust the temperature for different fabrics. Some just do it automatically or stick to a single temperature that's safe for most materials.

'If you're struggling for time, you might want to consider a clothes steamer.'

But could ironing be on the way out altogether? Our experts examine the future of ironing, and whether this unpopular task will soon be replaced by modern alternatives.

Sabrina Sahota, Which? clothes steamers expert said:

'If you haven’t got time for a full iron, a clothes steamer can be a handy alternative for removing stubborn creases.

'Whether you're steaming a linen suit, silk dress or cotton dress shirt, the best clothes steamers can effectively tackle creases on them all.

'We've tested to ensure our Best Buy clothes steamers work across a range of materials. The worst leave your clothes creased and in some cases with large water marks.

'We test handheld clothes steamers (these are smaller and lighter than upright models) and these can have lots of useful features to make steaming easier. If you often steam delicate fabrics such as silk, look for models that come with a fabric guard or steam bonnet to protect them.

'A steaming pad can help you achieve perfect collars for your dress and casual shirts. Meanwhile, a trigger lock, which lets out a continuous flow of steam, can stop finger fatigue while steaming.'

Get through crinkled clothes at lightning speed with help from our guides to the best irons, best ironing boards and best clothes steamers

Recycling and disposing of rubbish

A fifth of our respondents said they didn’t enjoy recycling and rubbish disposal, and many are confused over what different packaging symbols mean.

'Packaging symbols can be very confusing,' said Chris James.

'There are also different recycling systems in different parts of the UK, which can be very difficult to follow.'

You can make recycling easier by reading up on what the different symbols mean – use our guide on how to recycle.

It’s also helpful to look for products when you shop that have clear recycling instructions and to reduce your use of single-use plastics as much as possible.

And if it's really not clear whether something can be recycled or not, it's best not to try to guess.

Recycle Now , a recycling campaigning organisation in England and Northern Ireland, says on its website: 'If there are too many of the wrong things [in recycling], it can mean that whole lorry-loads of recycling can’t be recycled. In other words, a few bad apples spoil the whole barrel.'

We have plenty of advice to help you make more eco-friendly choices, from recycling your electrical items to responsibly disposing of a fridge freezer

Gardening

Surprisingly, our survey found gardening was the trickiest task for people, with 201 respondents citing it as 'difficult'. Of these, 39% said they simply do not enjoy it, while 15% said nobody helps them with it.

Which? Gardening editor, Ceri Thomas, said:

‘Everyone loves a pretty garden, and it's easier to manage than you'd think.

‘You can reduce maintenance by using shrubs and perennials that look good year after year. A robot mower is the low-effort way to keep a lawn cut regularly.

‘If you'd like to try gardening but are worried you don't have green thumbs, then don't worry, as anyone can grow plants. Just follow our monthly gardening tips in our advice guides on gardening through the year.’

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