Redheads fired up over cleaning

REDHEADED women may be known for their passionate natures, but their real love is tidiness round the home.

Research published yesterday has found that, like Bree Van de Kamp, from US television series Desperate Housewives, redheads are obsessed with domestic cleanliness and order.

The survey identified the tidiest people in Britain as redheaded female shopworkers, aged in their early 50s and living in Scotland.

The most disorganised people when it comes to cleanliness are brown-haired men aged 19 to 21 living in London.

Redheads spend an average of 7.48 hours cleaning their home every week, more than blonde women (6.13 hours), grey-haired woman (7.41 hours) and brunettes (5.85 hours).

The poll by cleaning product giant Vileda found that those who work in retail are the professionals who clean the most, clocking up 9.05 hours of domestic duties each week.

It is perhaps no surprise that women clean more than men, but they only beat them by 20 minutes every week – women spend 6.14 hours cleaning compared with men, who spend an average of 5.95 hours a week.

The Scots are the most house-proud in the UK, clocking up an impressive 8.88 hours of cleaning each week. But while those in south-east England spend the least time cleaning their homes, the survey revealed they have the UK's cleanest bathrooms.

Lindsey Taylor, a spokesman for Vileda, said: "Cleaning doesn't need to be a big chore – little and often is the best method, so there is no excuse for untidy people not to don rubber gloves."