The UK’s Most Annoying Household Chores Revealed

Chores. Love them or loathe them, they have to be done.

Whether it’s folding laundry, washing the car or ­– gulp ­– cleaning the oven, chores take up a lot of our time. But which ones can we just about muster up encouragement for? And which can we barely stand?

To find out, we surveyed 2,000 people from around the UK to discover which chores we hate the most as a nation. We then asked the same people about their typical household habits, as well as their opinions on who they think should be responsible for which jobs around the home.

See what they said – and find out if your most hated chores match up with the consensus – below.

The UK’s Most Hated Household Chores

Ironing, hoovering, washing up – everyone has a job they hate doing. But which chores do us Brits truly despise the most? Take a look below.

As anyone who’s tackled baked-on grease can attest to, cleaning the oven came out on top as Britain’s most hated chore. And it seems not many people really know how to take on the challenge, either, with Google search data revealing that ‘how to clean the oven’ accounts for over 8,000 monthly searches – more than any other household task.

Elsewhere at the top of the most hated list, ironing was given a collective thumbs down, while taking out the rubbish also proved an irksome task people would rather avoid. Cleaning the fridge fared no better, either, while dusting and changing bedsheets were also among the tasks us Brits would prefer to place on the backburner.

Thankfully, as a car maintenance specialist, we’re pleased to report that car-related chores aren’t all that reviled by the British public. Although most people don’t particularly enjoy cleaning their car, other tasks like topping up fluids were viewed as tolerable in the grand scheme of things.

So, What Are Our Favourite Chores?

While “enjoying” housework is a bit of a stretch, there are some day-to-day jobs that aren’t as loathsome as others. In fact, the results of our survey reveal that some people even find certain chores fun…

See if you agree with our list of favourite household chores.

So, it seems us Brits love to hoover, with a good old spot of vacuum cleaning coming out way ahead in our top-10 list of the UK’s favourite chores. And why not? With so many incredible vacuums out there these days, giving those floors a once over isn’t the tiresome task it perhaps used to be.

And hoovering wasn’t the only chore to set pulses racing. Watering the plants also got the seal of approval from our respondents (though some would argue that’s a hobby not a chore), while pressure-washing drives and patios was billed as not too bad either.

Comparing our most hated and most fun chores lists, it seems us Brits are a funny lot when it comes to housework. Because while some people declared doing the laundry as their most hated chore, others said it was one of their favourites.

And the same is true of other household tasks, too. From recycling rubbish to doing the ironing, there were some surprisingly contrasting views on what makes for a terrible chore – suggesting that no single task is all that bad (except cleaning the oven – that we can all agree on).

Which Chores Do Brits Struggle with the Most?

Part of the problem with most household chores is that they’re boring. We do them week in, week out, and this repetitiveness can often make them hard to stomach.

And then, to compound the issue, there are other tasks that are more difficult than others, that require more effort and expertise to get right. These are the jobs that really get under our skin, and typically take the longest to complete.

But which chores do us Brits tend to struggle with the most? To find out, we took to Google to see which household jobs accrue the most monthly queries and searches. Take a look at what our research turned up below.

Not only do we Brits hate scrubbing our ovens, it seems some of us might not know how to do it either. Like we touched on earlier, searches surrounding oven cleaning were way higher than other household chores – perhaps due to the fact that people were looking for a shortcut or a means of making the job simpler.

In the number two spot was something we can probably help with: taxing the car. Renewing car tax can be complicated and confusing, especially if you’re new to vehicle ownership. Read our guide on everything you need to know about car tax to get up to speed and take the stress out of taxing your car.

Elsewhere on the list, ‘how to wash my car’ also proved a popular search term. For those looking for advice on cleaning their car, whether it be shampooing, washing or waxing, we’d recommend heading to our sister brand, Simoniz, where you’ll find a whole range of guides and how-tos on keeping your car shiny and clean inside and out.

Who Does, Should and Shouldn’t Do the Chores in Your Household?

As well as gauging Britain’s worst and best chores, we wanted to find out how people view housework in general. So, as part of our survey, we included a few questions to gauge opinion on typical chores – as well as who should be responsible for them.

Check out some of our key findings below.

• 82% say they do most of the chores in their home
• 73% are fine with this and think they should do most chores, with the rest thinking family/partners/friends should
• 68% have fallen out with people they live with over chores (1 in 5 frequently fall out)
• 97% think children should do chores, although most (90%) say fewer than adults

How Do Your Housework Habits Compare with the Rest of the UK?

How often do you wash your car? How about changing the sheets?

Although there are lots of recommendations out there about how often we should do certain chores, not everyone sticks to them. In fact, as our survey shows, a large majority of people don’t carry out housework anywhere near as often as others.

Find out more below.

So, there you have it – an in-depth look at Britain’s best and worst chores, and how often some of us do them. What are your favourite household tasks, and which would you prefer never to do again? Let us know on the Holts UK Facebook page.

At Holts, we can’t help with every household chore, but we can help you take better care of your car. Our DIY maintenance products are here to fix day-to-day problems with your car, so you can focus on the things that matter. To find out more, visit the homepage.