Eric Stonestreet, Swiffer’s newest spokesman and the star of its upcoming ad campaign, says he and his “Modern Family” co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson are both fairly tidy in real life.
Credit: Swiffer
Men are stepping up more than their fathers did when it comes to sharing chores in the modern American family.
According to an online survey sponsored by Swiffer, “Americans feel today that men are helping more with household chores, almost twice as much as their dads did when they were growing up,” psychologist Dr. Michelle Callahan says.
Still, 71 percent of the women polled believe they do most of the cleaning in their home, while 82 percent of wives refrain from asking for help because they don’t want to be perceived as a “nag.”
“Families are changing, and so are our roles when it comes to cleaning,” Callahan says. “It’s true that cleaning is part of the tension in the home; in fact our Swiffer Cleaning Index shows that 85 percent of couples feel that cleaning tensions cause stress in their relationship.”
A clean home is a happy one
Dr. Michelle Callahan, a relationship expert, offered this advice on keeping your home clean — and peaceful.
For women: “What we found in the study is that 61 percent of the husbands would be willing to help if only they were asked. Sometimes we only have to speak up and let people know what we need.”
For men: “You don’t have to wait to be asked; you can just jump right in and lend a hand today, because the majority of women are saying something as simple as dirty or sticky floors or even food crumbs and just little yuckiness on the floor are in the way. In five minutes you’ve made a significant improvement on something that would otherwise be causing stress at home.”
