Do College Students Make the Grade on Cleaning? 3 in 4 Feel Unprepared to Clean on Their Own

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Jul 26, 2022, 09:00 ET

American Cleaning Institute's Class of Clean: A College Student's Guide to Cleaning provides free, online resources from stain removal 101 to sick roommate cleaning tips
See All Survey Findings Here
Download the Toolkit: cleaninginstitute.org/classofclean

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The sophomore year of the American Cleaning Institute's (ACI), Class of Clean is now in session. The "College Student's Guide to Cleaning" aims to educate college students on proper cleaning, laundry and hygiene practices.

According to new data from ACI and Wakefield Research, while nearly all college students (92%) recognize a clean room helps them feel their best, both mentally and physically, nearly 3 in 4 (72%) were less than completely prepared to clean on their own upon first arriving to college.

Today, many students cite a lack of motivation (53%) and time (50%) as the top two challenges for cleaning. Yet, more than 1 in 5 say a lack of cleaning supplies or cleaning knowledge prevents them from keeping tidy.

"There's so much to learn when you hit the college campus. Cleaning on your own is often one of those lessons," said Brian Sansoni, ACI Senior Vice President, Communications, Outreach & Membership. "ACI's Class of Clean toolkit equips college students with the tools and resources they need to navigate cleaning and laundering for wellbeing and illness prevention."

As students head back to school or arrive on campus for the first time, the critical connection between cleaning and health is important to understand and implement into daily routines. It is easy for germs to spread on college campuses due to the high number of people living and learning in close quarters.

But that's not all – a lack of cleaning can also cause interpersonal problems. In fact, according to new research, 71% of survey respondents with roommates argue over how to clean and nearly half (49%) of students would be very or somewhat likely to walk out on a date if they saw that their significant other's room was messy.

The Class of Clean resource includes:

ACI introduced the Class of Clean toolkit in 2021 as part of its Cleaning is Caring initiative, to further communicate the connection of cleaning with health and safety. As the leading voice of the cleaning products industry, ACI provides consumers with the tailored guidance, tools, and information they need for keeping themselves healthy, clean and safe.

For more information and additional tips on cleaning, hygiene and laundry, visit https://www.cleaninginstitute.org/classofclean. To learn more about ACI's Cleaning is Caring initiative, and its other programs, visit www.cleaninginstitute.org/cleaningiscaring.

About the American Cleaning Institute

The American Cleaning Institute® (ACI – https://www.cleaninginstitute.org) is the Home of the U.S. Cleaning Products Industry® and represents the $60 billion U.S. cleaning product supply chain. ACI members include the manufacturers and formulators of soaps, detergents, and general cleaning products used in household, commercial, industrial and institutional settings; companies that supply ingredients and finished packaging for these products; and chemical distributors. ACI serves the growth and innovation of the U.S. cleaning products industry by advancing the health and quality of life of people and protecting our planet. ACI achieves this through a continuous commitment to sound science and being a credible voice for the cleaning products industry.

This survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) among 500 US College Undergraduates, between June 9^th and June 17th, 2022, using an email invitation and an online survey. This survey was weighted to ensure accurate representation. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. For the interviews conducted in this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 4.4 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.

Contact:
Kate Worthy
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 703-739-8376

SOURCE American Cleaning Institute