According to the Office of National Statistics women shoulder the responsibility of ‘unpaid work’. The analysis shows that, on average, women carry out 60 per cent more unpaid work than men, defined as cooking, childcare and housework. On average, men do 16 hours of domestic chores per week, which includes childcare, laundry and cleaning, compared to the 26 hours of work done by women.

Lynsey “Queen of Clean” refutes the notion that the rise of clean gurus compounds old-fashioned female stereotypes about what a woman’s role is. “I completely disagree with that,” she told us. “A 1950s housewife compared to a woman today is completely different. I work full-time and I run a hugely successful company… In the 1950s, women were at home not working and that was just their life, cooking and cleaning. Today, it’s a completely different concept. The reason I do this is showing people how you can fit in your work, and your family life, your cooking and your cleaning, in a positive fun way. I’m not expecting you to stand with a mop all day.”

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Others wonder if cleanfluencing could trigger obsessive behaviour in the people who follow this set of bloggers. Psychologist Chris Beale at Nightingale Hospital London, who deals with addictive behaviours, says that any advice should be taken with caution, explaining that more self-improvement goals are yet another social media rod to beat ourselves with.

“Negative aspects could emerge from dodgy advice. For example, if false claims are made about bacteria (eg how harmful or difficult to remove) that may be unhelpful for an OCD sufferer who already struggles to reduce the amount of times they wash,” he explained.

“’Cleanfluencers’ could also be negative if the advice is judgmental,” continued Beale. “People judge themselves negatively too often already and have many priorities to juggle. It’s important that any advice considers this rather than creating some Narnia land of cleanliness. It’s a bit like a fitness guru with a six-pack saying ‘this could/should be you!’ – Yes, if I have a spare four hours to spend in the gym a day.”

As the bleach-yielding Instagrammers continue to rise in popularity, it remains to be seen whether these women will have the same influence on our lives as the clean-eating bloggers and and the style influencers before them.

From: Harper’s BAZAAR UK