‘Cleanfluencers’ or why we are fascinated by content about cleaning on social media

It was not because of his physique or his money or even his good nature. What sparked the passion for David Beckham on social media after the premiere of his documentary series on Netflix was how clean his kitchen looked. Women and men dreaming of a husband who, dishcloth in hand, would leave the countertop spotless after preparing food. And although the ex-soccer player’s behavior, as he himself has confessed, is due to an obsessive compulsive disorder, the truth is that he only confirmed what we already suspected: that online content about home cleaning is magnetic.

TikTok and Instagram have filled up with videos showing homemade tricks to get rid of impossible stains, miraculous cleaning products or advice on which is the best vacuum cleaner to buy to live in a home with pristine carpets. The so-called cleanfluencers or cleanTokers offer engaging content, first because watching it is relaxing — there are even Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) videos with cleaning sounds that promise an auditory massage — and because, unlike other aspirational content, with just a small investment we can experience that well-being beyond the screen of our phone. Xuso Jones has been one of the witnesses of this fever for cleanliness. The singer, influencer, show host and author of the book The Jaspao Method. Tricks and tips to have your house shine like gold, said that he had gained many more followers for his cleaning tips than for his music.

Among all the products that these cleanfluencers recommend, there are some scourers with very good ratings on Amazon that promise to put an end to everything bad about a scourer: the bad smell, the remains of food and the poor drying capacity. But the surprising thing about these sponges is not their revolutionary properties, but rather that they belong to Eva Mendes. The actress has joined Skura Style, the business venture of two friends who created this intelligent cleaning product that even alerts you when it needs to be renewed, and which she now promotes on her social media accounts. On the company’s Instagram profile, Mendes soaps, scrubs and poses with her scrubbers: “I love cleaning my house. I’ve always been like this. It gives me mental well-being, mental clarity and I feel good about a clean house. You can tell my mood by the state of my kitchen. Washing the dishes is very meditative for me,” she claims.

Clean to relax

This mantra is precisely what led Paula Saiton to become an expert in orderliness and cleanliness — “Having a clean and tidy house makes us mentally calm. A messy and dirty house is not comfortable for anyone.” Tips that she shares on her Instagram account (@paula.unsitioparacadacosa), with more than 300,000 followers. Saiton has a degree in Industrial Organization Engineering, a specialty that she has been able to adapt to make our homes friendlier places: “Organization, order and cleanliness are known in companies as the 5S method. As an engineer, I have been extending this methodology to a business level for many years. And, in my house, I also apply it before launching into the world of social media. During the pandemic, by chance, I saw that the job of professional organizer existed, although it was little known, so I began to train and apply things at home that I liked,” she explains.

The method she is talking about was invented in Japan, specifically in the Toyota factory, in the 1960s and is based on five Japanese words that begin with the letter S: seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, shitsuke. Or in other words: organization, order, cleanliness, standardization and discipline.

Unai Aso, a psychologist at Buencoco.es, offers an explanation to understand why there are so many people looking for relaxation in cleaning: “Cleaning the house promotes moderate physical activity, if it is cleaned at a good pace, which can reduce stress and improve mood. Additionally, for some people the act of cleaning can provide a sense of control and accomplishment, which can improve self-perception and self-esteem. It can also be a way to reduce anxiety in times of stress, helping to focus and reduce intrusive thoughts.” And once we have done the work, “a cleaner and more orderly environment can promote concentration and productivity, for example if you work remotely, and can also increase the perception of personal satisfaction and general well-being. There are people who find it gratifying and even relaxing to have things more or less clean and tidy.”

But Unai Aso emphasizes that these benefits can only be achieved as long as they are part of a healthy routine: “We must keep in mind that this is not the case for everyone and that there are people, for example individuals with obsessive traits, for whom this type of continued activity may not be recommended.” How can we identify if, like Beckham, cleanliness generates an obsession in us? “When it significantly interferes with daily life and generates uncontrollable and unacceptable discomfort. Spending an excessive amount of time cleaning, experiencing intense distress if it cannot be cleaned, or when we allow cleaning to interfere with interpersonal relationships and activities that are important to us.”

A great community

For all those people who find the dishcloth comforting, Paula Saiton opened an Instagram account at the end of 2020: “In 18 days I got my first thousand followers, and I saw that what I shared, I liked, and it was also very helpful,” she remembers. She teaches how to thoroughly clean a mattress, how to make a homemade formula for ironing and how to organize the kitchen to save space and time: “I think they are quick videos that are very easy to understand, and they make life easier for us. In the case of orderliness, seeing a tidy house motivates many people to make changes. And, as for cleaning, many problems are solved that we didn’t even know had a solution.” The cleanfluencer recognizes that what works best are the videos — “Because they are still small tutorials” — with the small tricks that, even though they are not complicated, are not as well known by users.

She has also formed a community with other people like herself: “Eli from @huele.a.limpio, Laura from @ordena_t_, and Soraya from @ordencasavida are already my friends in this world, and they are the people I always rely on. They have written the foreword to my book, and Soraya was the one who presented it with me at the launch.” There seems to be room for everyone. According to data from TikTok, in 2023 the hashtag #CleanTok had almost 98.5 billion views, which shows that these influencers have turned cleaning into a hobby for people from all over the world.

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