Parents' Guide to

How Clean Is Your House?

By Emily Ashby, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 7+

Dusting divas polish people's dirtiest habits.

TV BBC America Reality TV 2004
How Clean Is Your House? Poster Image

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What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

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What's the Story?

In the British reality series HOW CLEAN IS YOUR HOUSE?, two proper English ladies on a cleanliness crusade roll up their sleeves and tackle years' worth of grime, grease, and filth in homes that look like they've never seen the wet side of a sponge. Kim Woodburn and Aggie MacKenzie inspect every room -- sharing their dismay as they uncover mouse droppings in kitchens, moldy coffee cups in bedrooms, and extensive \"poopy doop\" toilet stains in bathrooms. After a thorough going-over, they confront the residents with their findings (they can be quite critical, taking a \"tough love\" approach), assure them that there's a light at the end of the dusty tunnel, and challenge them to turn over a new leaf.

Is It Any Good?

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Led by Aggie and Kim -- who trade their pressed business attire for white cover-ups and (in Kim's case) fur-lined gloves when it's time to go to work -- a team of professional cleaners moves into the house for the rubbish renovation. The home's residents also contribute plenty of elbow grease, and Kim and Aggie offer lots of encouragement, handy cleaning tips (who knew a potato would scour a rusty pot?), and reminders about the health hazards of a messy home. Together the group transforms the home into a place that's once again fit for humans. Then, armed with a new cleaning schedule, the residents bid the dirt-destroying divas farewell until their check-up visit two weeks later, when Kim and Aggie will discover whether all their hard work has broken established bad habits.

If you can stomach lots of greasy, sticky, mildewy scenes, How Clean Is Your House? is sure to make you feel better about the state of your own surroundings. In fact, the gross factor might just draw your kids to watch with you -- giving you the chance to remind them that with a little neglect, they, too, could be candidates for a visit from the show's clean team.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why it's important to maintain a clean, tidy home. How do you feel when your house is messy? How about when it's clean? Do you like to clean? If you had to pick, what are your favorite areas of the house to clean? Your least favorite? Why? Have you learned any cleaning tips that make the tasks less difficult? How does cleanliness improve your overall health? Parents and kids can use this opportunity to develop a cleaning schedule with assignments for each family member.

TV Details

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