To find the trend for cleaning on social media equally horrifying and fascinating?

[Rabbitjam]

Apologies if it has been brought up before.

I'm finding myself scrolling through instagram looking at hinchers and zoflora addicts. All these identical grey and silver houses. Everything bleached within an inch of its life. Some women (they are predominantly women) spray their beds with dettol every day. Furniture sprayed with zoflora and fabric conditioner (which apparently can make it less flame retardant). I don't live like this, my house is clean and fairly tidy but hardly on that scale. I simply don't have the time for a start.

I can't imagine the impact on their health breathing in all those cleaning products, but also on their mental health- it seems obsessive for some, taking over every aspect of their lives.
It also irks my feminism.

Of course though it is instagram so not necessarily "real life".

What are your thoughts on this?

@teyem are you saying she doesn't come across as a bit chavtastic? Come on now.

I follow one of the fb groups. The other week a new colour cleaning spinge thingy was available, from the manufacturers, in a limited edition colour..

People were posting as they were online for hours trying to order the bloody things.

I have used zoflora for years, at least 21, in my mop bucket and am sick of not being able to find any anywhere because people are buying bloody bottles of the stuff.

It's also so bad for the environment. All that plastic waste, not to mention the actual chemicals going into the water system.

I must admit I find it slightly fascinating to read through. It's even more entertaining than the Slow Cookers page I was on a few years ago 😂😂

Lime it's not the people like Mrs H or Gem from TOMM that say it though. It's the bloody followers on the groups. I like the stuff I read in the main on the groups but that phrase, aaaggghhh. And I watch the stories because I find them entertaining.

I will state though I am against all the chemical use but those of us on the groups suggesting more environmentally friendly stuff, well hopefully it might start to filter through to some people.

I followed a slow cooker page I don't even have a slow cooker people were baking potatoes in them an 8 hour baked potato!

I got frustrated with someone I encountered who had asthma badly yet was obsessed with using bleach constantly in her home.

Can't be good for your health and plus the damage to,the environment.

I find cleaning a real chore and am not naturally tidy. Its bad enough having to do it , i dont want to spend my spare time reading about it or watching someone else do it and i would feel inferior as my best efforts would probably not be insta-worthy.....not that its something i aspire to! just having a normal clean and tidy house is enough for me and i don't feel the need to clean the doors with fabric conditioner when a wipe down with warm water is probably sufficient in most cases!

A friend of mine has ocd and asthma her house smells like the swimming baths she is always making herself ill it is a shame because she can't help it

Oh I'm not complaining about following them, nor do I hate them, I just find it interesting from a sociological stand point.

I was thinking of the 50s wive with carbolic soap and sparkling doorsteps too.

We like to be a part of a group. Certain folks highly value home cleanliness to a degree that others think is odd, others take part in cosplay, etc. If it makes someone happy let them get on with it.

I'll never understand people who come onto forums like this and shit on others for what they enjoy doing, whether it's cleaning, running, Harry Potter, doing things with their children etc.

Just don't look. It's not rocket science.

Are most of the people who follow this stuff very young? I’ve noticed it seems to be a thing amongst 20-somethings to exaggerate and play up their little foibles- going on and on about being obsessed or “terrified” by very mundane, ordinary things- presumably to demonstrate how quirky and fascinatingly different they are. This is another variant of it, isn’t it? Look at all the posters on here who queue up to compete over who changes their towels the most often. It’s a slightly sad substitute for having actual interests and opinions. Sorry, that’s very sneery. But I don’t think it’s actually as widespread as it seems, just that it’s disproportionately represented online because that’s how the people doing it live their lives. The vast majority of normal, interesting people who don’t have to cultivate these obsessions are just off getting on with life.

Well, I follow her and I'm in my 40s, think she appeals to all ages
Maybe I'm just on trend with the young 'uns for once if so lol

What does get on my tits is 'help, my hubby is useless around the house, has anyone managed to get theirs to help?' Which is followed by 'lol thats men for you' that actually gives me the rage.

Its group behaviour. Infinitely mysterious. I think the zoflora or other rare but affordable cleaning item that's 'gives' the group something to compete over. Like having the latest trainers or whatever is desirable in your social group. For a while middle class people the exactly the same with interminable dinner party convos about house prices. If you arent part of the group you just think weird or cringe.

I agree, I would add baffling to the list of emotions I have around it!

I used to know one of the big Instagram grey house/ cleaning account women. Riding on the hunch coat tails - even rage #hincharmy on her posts to get more followers. As well as highly questionable political views (get them out of our country etc) she’s a cheap brat, just not a very nice person.... Amazes me that she now has over 1k followers for her small wimpy type home basically full of diamanté tat from B&M! And fake Chanel signs everywhere..... money really can’t buy you taste.

Oops typos was hinch coat tails and even puts #hincharmy

lol I’m also getting zoflora ads in this thread now

her small wimpy type home full of diamante tat from B and M

Don't you sound a peach. You say used to know - I bet she's glad you "used to know' and obviously aren't a close friend, sounds like she's well rid to be honest

No I was never friends with her. Like I said she’s not a nice person.
I also live in a small wimpy type home and it’s nothing special although I’ve invested a lot of time and effort into it.... Which is why it amazes me that so many people coo over hers! It’s just full of cheap plastic crap.

Invested a lot of time and effort into it
I bet there's people out there thinking yours is full of cheap crap or tack too, maybe they're even bitching about you behind your back on a public forum to strangers saying how crap it is.

This is the 736282nd thread on this subject, FYI.

Lol maybe but I haven’t identified them (there are loads of them by the look of it) I don’t really buy diamanté tat from B&H and fake Chanel signs and more to the point I don’t post my home 3 times daily on Instagram..... if you put it out there people bound to have an opinion on it.

In their defence, I think it shows that you can make the most of your home, even if you don't live in a big country pile. It also can give people small things to be proud of each day, and a routine that isn't too expensive. Some people do feel defeated by dirt and mess, and that isn't good for mental health either.

I do think the overuse of chemicals is concerning and it would be good to show a more natural way of cleaning. The sterile grey and white also needs to be limited. It would be nice to see a wider variety of interiors and fewer people who don't have any other job.

I follow an American woman on SM called How Jen Does It. Her thing is her routines, which she says that by doing a bit every day, your house can always look fine. I don't always follow it as, unlike her I do work full time but it has encouraged me to break my housework down so that i don't spend ages all in one go doing (and hating) it.

I enjoy and follow some of these accounts in Instagram if I like the decor etc, but they can be very samey tbh. Too much grey and sparkle. I have a bit in my house (accents) but not full on. I do like the Clean with Me type videos on Youtube, I always play them when doing housework for motivation (house envy, energetic music and a bit of chit chat).