Lust for housework sweeps away romance

Dim the lights, slip into something more comfortable and . . . start polishing.

Women are putting more passion into their housework than their love lives, a survey has found.

Instead of getting to know their partners better, they are getting to grips with scrubbing, dusting and vacuuming.

Four in ten under 35 actually get more pleasure from cleaning than making love.

Six in ten find it hard to unwind because they are fretting about the state of the house - especially whether the lavatory is clean.

The findings show housework is an obsession for many women who feel under pressure to become domestic goddesses.

It seems the stereotype of the houseproud older woman may be fraying at the edges a little.

It is the younger women who seem more likely to have fallen under the spell of Mr Muscle and Cif.

A third of those under 35 feel guilty about the state of their houses and nearly a fifth claim it makes them feel depressed.

Almost two thirds always clean up when they have guests to visit, more than any other age group.

And while 25 per cent of women over 35 find more pleasure in spring cleaning than sex, the figure jumps to 40 per cent for those under 35.

'There is huge pressure on young women to give the impression of having a perfect life - and that includes an immaculate home,' said Lindsay Nicholson, editor of Good Housekeeping magazine, which commissioned the survey. 'As women get older they get less worried about what other people think about them and so become more relaxed about the state of their house.'

Only a third of the over 55s feel guilty about relaxing when the house is untidy, compared to 60 per cent of the under 35s.

But while younger women are more inclined to get stuck into the cleaning, they also expect more help from their boyfriends or husbands.

Over half of those under 35 said their partner's refusal to help around the house had caused serious arguments, compared to only a third of those over 55.

The survey, which questioned 1,000 women, found 80 per cent change bed linen after a guest has been to stay, but almost a fifth admit to not changing their own often enough.

Secretly snacking in bed is the other main domestic secret, with nearly a quarter admitting to risking crumbs in the sheets.

Dirty dishcloths were regarded as the most unhygienic thing to keep in a house, followed by a cat-litter tray in the kitchen, a messy fridge and a dog sleeping in the bed.

Although such large numbers of women get their thrills from shiny surfaces, dust-free bookshelves and perfectly polished stairs there are limits.

More than 60 per cent said being given a cleaning appliance for a birthday present would be grounds for divorce.