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"There are more single-parent households, more multigenerational living, smaller living spaces, fewer children
in the home--all of that has had an impact on cleaning," says Vicky Purnell, senior director of global insights for
Clorox Co.'s cleaning division.
More people are willing to live in imperfectly kept rooms. "Think about how involved parents are in their kids'
lives these days. They don't want to spend all their time cleaning," Ms. Purnell says. "Messy is OK, as long as
it's sanitary."
After Melissa Sachs Fitzpatrick puts her two young sons to bed at night, she starts her 20-minute dash. She
grabs a spray cleaner and paper towels and wipes down the kitchen island, countertops, table and chairs. She
gives a quick scrub to pans and cutting boards that weren't washed during the dinner prep, loads the
dishwasher, sweeps up food that fell from the dinner table--and then it's on to the playroom and the bathroom
for a drive-by tidying up.
"Ninety-five percent of the time, incremental cleaning keeps my house OK," says Ms. Sachs Fitzpatrick, 36, who
handles communications for a real-estate investment trust in Denver. "I work full time, so I never want to take
time away from my kids to clean."
Procter &Gamble Co. researchers found fast-cleaning consumers hate to spend time scouring dishes or waiting
for them to soak. "When we were kids, the majority of the country used to drop in some dish liquid, fill up the
sink with water, soak all of their dishes and then after a bit of time clean them, rinse and place them in a drying
rack," says Sunny Jain, P&G's marketing director for Dawn and Cascade. "Today, consumers just don't have
time for batch-processing." In June, P&G introduced Dawn Platinum dish soap, which claims to provide the
equivalent of an overnight soak in three minutes.
Fast cleaners may dislike cleaning, but P&G researchers found in 2009 that they were actually cleaning more
often on average, with more-frequent touch-ups and deep cleaning jobs than in 2005. Other companies have
found consumers rely on touch-ups in order to deep-clean less often.
When Clorox overhauled its spray-bottle design in January, it widened the span of the spritz for brands including
Formula 409, Tilex and Clorox. The new design lets consumers work faster, Clorox says, and follows company
studies of the shrinking amount of time Americans spend cleaning the bathroom and kitchen each week. In
2011, the average task lasted just under seven minutes, compared with nine minutes in 2004.
Fast-cleaners love to multitask, especially at dinnertime. They like to clean up as they cook, says Matt Barresi,
North America marketing director of P&G's Bounty brand. While preparing dinner they may also be searching
for a recipe on a cellphone or laptop, listening to the TV and helping with homework.
An accidental spill has the potential to upset the balance, P&G research found. If a paper towel doesn't come off
with a one-handed tear, for example, the other hand has to get involved, which requires the mobile device or
cooking utensil to be put down. If the sheet doesn't fully absorb the spill, the consumer's hand gets wet,
requiring a trip to the sink for a quick rinse and the use of yet another paper towel. If that sheet drips on the way
to the trash can, all activity will come to a full stop, as the consumer cleans up yet another small mess.
"You can see it in their body language--she exhales, her shoulders drop and she's frustrated," Mr. Barresi says.
In February Bounty introduced DuraTowel, a more-absorbent paper towel resembling a dishcloth, which can be
easily torn off with one hand. "It allows her to do it all in one swipe," Mr. Barresi says.
And with a "Select-A-Size" version of Mr. Clean Magic Eraser sponges, users can break off a small piece to
tackle a touch-up without wasting a whole sponge. As a result, people use the product more frequently, says
Scott Beal, associate marketing director at P&G for Mr. Clean and Swiffer brands. "Consumers were inclined to
save up Magic Erasers for a worthy deep-clean type of job, or in some cases they were cutting them up for
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Copyright: (c) 2013 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further
reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
Last updated: 2013-07-11
Database: The Wall Street Journal
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