Our housekeeping experts share some top tips to turn messy kids into ‘clean-agers’

Iona and Beth at The Sight and Sound Centre

Autumn’s here, and for a lot of young people, that means going off to university for the first time. This season will see the start of essays, revision and learning all kinds of new skills to shape careers. But when it comes to life skills, it seems not everyone knows the basics.

We recently carried out some research asking 1,000 parents with kids aged between 13 and 19 just how much their teens knew about cleaning – and the results are in! For starters, 9 in 10 parents think their teenage kids lack some basic domestic skills, with bed making, ironing and vacuuming among the top chores they struggle with. It also revealed that 29% of teens couldn’t make a bed, 41% couldn’t iron a shirt, and 38% of parents aren’t sure that their teens would know how to clean a toilet.

There’s more! Our survey found that nearly a quarter of parents asked didn’t think their teens could vacuum a room – or fold sheets and clothes properly – while a fifth also leave dirty dishes in their bedroom. Our research also found that it’s not just the younger generation who are lacking some domestic skills. Around 67% of those asked via OnePoll admitted that even as a parent, they’re still missing some of the basics, while almost two thirds revealed they didn’t know a lot of the essentials when they left home.

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This is where we come in. At Premier Inn, we keep millions of great-value rooms and super-comfy beds spick and span every year across the UK, Ireland and Germany, so we like to think of ourselves as housekeeping experts. You don’t need to be a domestic god or goddess, but everyone knows that a tidy home means a tidy mind – and learning the basics can make a huge difference to the day to day.

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Cleaning the bathroom

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Twins Bradley and Lewis Fox

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Housekeeper shows the twins how to iron

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Simon Ewins, managing director for Premier Inn said
“Our research has shown that in many cases teenagers still appear to live up to their messy reputations, with many parents adopting an ‘if I want it done properly I might as well do it myself’ approach - but it doesn’t have to be this way because everyone rests easier knowing their room is clean and comfortable.
Who better to offer insider tips on housekeeping than our expert teams, who take care of millions of rooms each year? We hope we can step in to help and give young people a bit of domestic prowess.”

Two of the first ‘clean-agers’ we helped were 19 year old twins Bradley and Lewis Fox, university students who were given a crash course by Premier Inn on housekeeping after letting slip to their mum that they might need a little help in the cleaning department.

Mum Kim, 55, from Rochester, Kent, said:
"Both the twins are well known for being extremely messy and pretty useless when it comes to cleaning, ironing and making a bed properly. I discovered that despite being at university for several months, Bradley hadn't even changed his bedding once when I collected him at the end of the year. This Premier Inn session was a fun way to set them on track to develop some useful life skills which will help them not only for uni but beyond - they haven't listened to me in 19 years and it took the housekeeper just a few hours."

Not only do we make up over 23 million beds in a year, our housekeeping teams will typically plump over 47 million pillows and iron over 3 million shower curtains in more than 83,000 bedrooms across the UK, so trust us – we know a thing or two about keeping things clean!

If you think you’ve got what it takes to join our team of experts, want to learn from the best while earning, or join our team while you are studying find out what jobs we’ve got available here.

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Check out our handy video tutorials!

If you’re unable to join us in person for a session, our expert housekeeping team have created some simple videos to help you brush up on some of your bed making skills!

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Like Skills Academy. Steps on how to make a bed

Life Skills Academy. Our first duvet changing technique: the shimmy method

Life Skills Academy. Our second duvet changing technique: the corner to corner method

Premier Inn comfort at home

If you love the look of our cosy beds, why not buy one of our great value Premier Inn bedding bundles online?

We’ve got some great news for students, too! For a limited time only, we’ve teamed up with Student Beans to offer a special discount on our bundles, so you can get kitted out with some super-comfy bedding before heading off to university. Visit Student Beans now for more information on the discount and how to register.

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