New Love campaign research explores cleaning relationships with kids, roommates

, /PRNewswire/ – Jelmar, the family-owned company and maker of CLR Brands Calcium, Lime Rust Remover®, trusted to quickly and easily dissolve calcium and lime deposits and rust stains for almost 50 years, released results from a new survey that revealed a clean home is a happy home for the majority of U.S. families, tweens don’t like to clean, and cleaning and chores are a leading source of tension among roommates.

The new study, commissioned by CLR Brands, builds upon last year’s “Love Campaign” research, expanding the focus from cleaning relationships in romantic partnerships to cleaning relationships between parents and their children, as well as among roommates.

“Beyond understanding how consumers use our products, we are interested in how people think, act and feel about cleaning,” said Jaci Volles, chief marketing and strategy officer at Jelmar. “This new research examines not only the mindset and behaviors surrounding cleaning, but also the emotional elements, revealing the tensions and connections that shape how cleaning influences our relationships and daily lives.”

Survey highlights include:

**Kids Clean. Facts, No Cap. **

• **Cleaning is a love language: **Six in 10 parents and guardians agree that cleaning is a “love language” for their family, and 89% of parents with children living at home report household tension decreases when kids keep up with their cleaning chores.
• 6–7 **. When tweens clean: **Despite all of the “skibidi toilet” talk, 67% of households with tweens ages 10–12 living at home say that cleaning their bedroom is their most dreaded task—more so than cleaning the bathroom (41%), keeping common areas tidy (41%) or doing the dishes and unloading the dishwasher (40%).
• “No, Br uh”: A surprise to literally no one, tweens (ages 7–12) are the most likely to complain and attempt to negotiate ways out of doing household cleaning and chores (42%), followed by teens ages 13–17 (34%), children ages 6 or younger (27%) and those ages 18 or older (18%).
• Tweens want cash to clean: Tweens ages 7–12 (38%) are also the most likely to expect compensation for doing household cleaning and chores, followed closely by teens ages 13–17 (33%), children ages 6 or younger (22%) and those ages 18 or older (11%).
• **Low-key, clean: 67% **of children aged 6 or younger pitch in on household cleaning and chores, a proportion that increases for tweens (94% of 7- to 12-year-olds) and teens (96% of 13- to 17-year-olds), and those 18 and older (82%). While the majority of kids contribute to cleaning, only 1 in 3 households with children aged 17 or younger does so without being asked.
• Room looks “fire”: Kids clean when complimented. Parents say praise and appreciation are the greatest motivators to clean for the youngest children, but the effect diminishes as children age. 54% of those aged 6 or younger are happier to pitch in when praised or shown appreciation, compared to 44% of 7- to 12-year-olds, 34% of 13- to 17-year-olds and 29% of those aged 18 or older.

The Dirt On Cleaning With Roommates

• **Dirty secrets of shared living: **Dividing household cleaning and chores fairly (41%) topped the list of sources of tension in roommate relations, followed by sharing common areas/resources (38%), respecting personal boundaries (37%), shared expenses (36%) and inviting/entertaining guests (34%).
• Cleaning conflicts: While cleaning and chores are the leading source of tension among roommates, many keep their frustrations to themselves, with more than half of roommates (53%) reporting they keep quiet about their roommate’s cleaning habits to maintain harmony.
• **Bathroom battles: **42% of roommates say cleaning the bathroom causes the most tension, beating out dish duty (39%), tidying up shared spaces (36%) and deep cleaning the kitchen (32%).
• **Broken promises: **Two in five current or recent roommates (41%) report their roommates promise to clean but don’t follow through.
• **Moving out: **27% of current or recent roommates have split over household chores, with younger generations leading the charge. More than one-third of Gen Z and Millennials reported that cleaning conflicts were the driving force behind their decision to cease cohabitation.

**Survey Methodology **The Online CARAVAN® survey was conducted October 3-8, 2025, by Big Village among a sample of 2,028 adults 18 years of age and older. Respondents were members of an online panel and agreed to participate in online surveys and polls. Completed interviews are weighted by five variables—age, gender, geographic region, race and education—using data from the U.S. Census Bureau to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total U.S. population, 18 years of age and older.

**About Jelmar, LLC **Jelmar, a family-owned company, is the leading manufacturer of the original Calcium, Lime Rust Remover (CLR)®, the most trusted and effective product to quickly and easily dissolve calcium and lime deposits and rust stains for almost 50 years, as well as a broad range of household and commercial cleaning products from CLR Brands®, Tarn-X®, CLR PRO® and CLR PRO MAX™ brands. The household line tackles the home inside and out, while the commercial line addresses the facilities management and industrial segments. With their powerful and effective formulas, these brands are dedicated to getting the toughest cleaning jobs done. The company’s flagship products include Calcium, Lime & Rust Remover, Brilliant Bath, Mold & Mildew Stain Remover and Garbage Disposal Cleaner. For more information, visit www.clrbrands.com and follow CLR Brands on Facebook and Instagram.

**About Big Village **A Bright Mountain company, Big Village is a modern business intelligence partner with a long and storied history in the insights industry. Big Village is a research and analytics business that helps brands and agencies to better understand customer behavior, intentions, and attitudes to drive effective marketing and innovation. We provide fast-track learning and human-led decision support to help brands genuinely commit to knowing their customers and succeed. Known for decades as Opinion Research Corporation (ORC), we have over 80 years of experience in delivering high-quality data and insights. Today, we design, build, and manage consumer insights projects and programs that enable always-on learning and generate growth for brands. Find out more at https://big-village.com/.

SOURCE Jelmar

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