IT is a rather gloomy outlook but window-cleaning is one of the most hated household chores, according to new survey findings.Yet as a nation we still spend up to 11.9 million hours a year trying to make our glass sparkle.

And although the North-South divide is supposedly closing, when it comes to cleaning windows this could not be further from the truth.

According to a nationwide survey for Pilkington ActivTM self-cleaning glass, cleaning windows and conservatories was deemed the most time consuming household task (30%) with ironing coming a close second (28%).

North-South Divide

A smeary 63% of southerners claimed window cleaning to be the chore they did the least, compared with just over half (54%) in the North.

In fact, nearly a fifth (18%) of Southerners admitted to cleaning their windows just once a year or less, compared with a 12% national average and an impressively low 9% in the North.

This results in nearly two-thirds of home-owning adults claiming that they clean their windows far less frequently than they completed other essential household chores.

A third of respondents put their lack of window-cleaning enthusiasm down to the difficulty of the task involved.

A further 12% claimed they didn't have enough time and 11% cited boredom - hardly surprising considering 52% said it took them between one and five hours to complete the job.

Too Good To Be True?

When asked what inventions would make housework less laborious, self-cleaning glass was the second most-wanted domestic invention together with an automatic shirt ironer.

An automated vacuum cleaner came top of the list.

However, unlike many time and labour-saving domestic inventions, Pilkington ActivTM self-cleaning glass is proven and already readily available from window suppliers.