I rushed home to watch the BBC 2 documentary “The Secret Life Of Cleaners”, which was shown on BBC2 on Wednesday (27/05/15) night. I had seen this advertised, and was curious to see the angle that this programme would take. I’m not sure it reflected my experience of cleaning, but I didn’t really expect it to.
I couldn’t help but notice the amount of cleaning products that were shown throughout this 1 hour documentary, great advertising for the big companies, like they need any help. The amount of different cleaning products that one particular house had in a cupboard was incredible. In the days before I made my own products, I used to spend far too long poring over the instructions on different products, with the only thing each had in common was that you never knew exactly what they were made of.
Some of the homes shown looked huge, with smooth shiny surfaces in the bathrooms and kitchen. It was not made clear how long the cleaner spent in each home, but can only imagine it would take a while, especially if you have to change your cleaning products all the time to accommodate the variety of different surfaces.
I genuinely love cleaning. Strange, but true. The satisfaction that comes from making order from chaos is brilliant. People call me things like “my treasure”, “wonder woman” and “miracle worker” and it always makes me laugh. In some ways it’s easier to clean someone else’s home, because there are no distractions. For the immigrant cleaners shown in the documentary, it was clear that for them, cleaning was not a career or lifestyle choice, but a means to an end. Cleaning is hard work, but the thought of having to travel the length and breadth of London before work even begins is harsh. Not sure I could do it. Therefore, I have great respect for anyone that does.