RNW producer Ashleigh Elson is what some would call a “clean freak” - although she maintains that she isn’t that bad. As she told Earth Beat on this week's Clean show, having a clean home environment is important to her, but she doesn’t enjoy cleaning for cleaning’s sake. It’s more about control. Plus – having sticky hands is just… wrong.

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I have just seen The Most Disgusting Thing Ever. It was the house on the UK TV show “How Clean is Your House?”. I’ll let you watch it yourself here. That is my worst nightmare. I actually gagged just watching it.
 
Scared to shower
The closest I have come to a scenario like that was when my husband and I were trying to decide whether to move to Wisconsin. We visited for a weekend and stayed at a house shared by three 20-something boys. I was too scared to step into the shower barefoot and couldn’t resist giving it a wipe-down with some soap on toilet paper (for a lack of other cleaning products in the vicinity).
 
But, even as I did it, I was conflicted: surely they would appreciate my efforts… but would they also be offended? When I asked my husband, he said it was definitely rude for me, as a guest, to enter their house and clean it. I even think he was a little ashamed of me.

Shiny white ceramic
I once rented an apartment. It was a lovely place and very clean, but over the years, minerals had built up inside the toilet so there was a thick, grey layer that would never get clean. I really wanted to see that shiny white ceramic. So I took a hammer and chisel to the toilet. I chipped down about three inches before getting stuck on the corner and, eventually, giving up. It was a lot better, though never “like new”.
 
Now I have my own house. And a fur-shedding, dirt-in-the-house-tracking dog and cat. But still, I would never – NEVER – let my house get anywhere near the level of the house in that TV show.
 
Clean feels good
Clean just feels good. I feel like I can relax when I know that I and my house are clean. Although I’m also conscious that a too-clean house doesn’t necessarily feel relaxing for visitors (I usually feel most relaxed at friends’ houses that are significantly less clean and tidy than my own); this worries me, but not enough to not clean up before I have guests!
 
"Dirty" seat
I don’t think I was a particularly clean child – though hand-washing was always very important for my family and I can clearly remember my granny holding me above a public toilet so I wouldn’t have to sit on the “dirty” seat. The first time I recall being cleaner than other people was probably at university when I’m sure I did more laundry than anybody else.
 
I think it had to do with control – both over my environment (being away from home is scary and knowing that I had clean sheets helped) and over how others perceived me (nobody could accuse me of being a slob). In fact, I think it STILL has to do with that on some level.
 
Sticky hands
But it’s also a visceral thing: sticky hands make me feel restless, almost itchy. Having to leave my house knowing there’s a big blob of spaghetti sauce possibly staining my lovely white kitchen sink makes me feel anxious and getting into yesterday’s clothes just feels wrong.

On the other hand, getting into fresh sheets feels – and, importantly, smells – wonderful. Washing sticky hands feels like a huge relief, wiping grime off a sink or scrubbing water marks off glass and making them sparkle is incredibly satisfying. To be honest, I don’t understand how everybody doesn’t feel the same.
 
Thorough
Because I work and have hobbies and (try to have) a social life, I don’t have as much time to clean as I’d like. Instead I try to just keep things clean as I go. For example, I squeegee the shower every time I use it and wipe down the kitchen sink any time I do dishes or wash something off.

That doesn’t mean that I don’t still do real cleaning – the shower still needs a good scrub to be properly clean, the floors still need to be vacuumed and wet-mopped. Let me be clear: cleaning, as an activity, isn’t my Favourite Thing To Do. While it can be incredibly satisfying and is often very “Zen”, I’d still rather watch a movie with a friend.
 
But I have trouble relaxing enough to enjoy that movie if my house passes a certain point of messiness. So I’m always struggling to find the balance between As Clean As I’d like It and Just Clean Enough.
 
Squeamish
I don't really think I’m freakish about being clean – I’m not truly OCD about it (I don’t have to wash my hands seven times before I turn off the tap). I truly believe that most people prefer their homes to be as clean as – if not cleaner than – mine, they just can’t be bothered.
 
I just get a little more squeamish about dirt than the average person (if you don’t wash your hands – with soap - after peeing, well, you should) and I just enjoy the look and smell and feel of clean a little more.

Taken from the latest edition of Earth Beat - Clean