De Bruijn cleans her dining table and shares tips with fans online on how to make things shine. Photos: Christoph Reichwein/dpa
Clean up the bathroom with me, tidy up the living room in 15 minutes or try this trick to make your bathroom tiles sparkle.
Some four million videos on Tiktok are sharing these kinds of tips under the #cleantok hashtag.
Lea de Bruijn, a 25-year-old from Germany, is among them, turning her passion for cleaning into a profession.
She started sharing household tips on Tiktok around a year ago.
"People enjoy watching these videos," she says. "The videos also motivate them to tidy up when they might not feel like it."
Followers grow to trust the influencer, she says. "So if they recommend something, the followers usually believe that the product is good or that the trick works."
Four-figure sums
Her account @my.cleantok has more than 110,000 subscribers on Tiktok and around 28,000 on Instagram where you can find her under @leabloomz.
For de Bruijn, it takes around eight to 10 hours to make a video which then earns a four-figure sum. "I'm always working on different collaborations and I get two to three requests a day," she says. "They come from both small and well-known companies."She has a plan for what comes next. "I will soon be presenting and selling my own cleaning products."De Bruijn's recommendations include putting fabric softener on a cloth and wiping it over dust-prone surfaces to stop dust from settling.
She also demonstrates to viewers how she cleans her windows with shampoo, to avoid leaving streaks.
Tips on how to wipe your sink and keep it clear of stubborn stains, thanks to de Bruijn (left), an influencer on TikTok.
She often tests new cleaning products such as soaps, sponges or cloths, or shows people how to deep clean their pillows and she shares how she regularly mops the stairwell of her apartment building.
"In the past, people would ask their grandma or mum for tips on home care but these days, people often look for ideas online, especially on social media," says Arne Westermann, professor of marketing and communication at the International School of Management (ISM).
Alongside cleaning, social networks have countless other niches where people show how they cook or do their make-up, what they wear, how to fit out their bikes, or what they read.
Companies capitalise on trend
These tiny bubbles have drawn interest beyond individuals hoping to improve different areas of their lives. "Companies are looking at what's trending and how they can jump on board with their products," says Westermann. They go beyond company accounts, using influencers like de Bruijn, who benefit from the lucrative business.The Freudenberg Group's cleaning division Vileda, based in Weinheim, Germany, says influencer campaigns doubled in 2024 compared to the previous year and there are plans to expand them further.
Influencer collaborations have also steadily increased at cleaning equipment manufacturer Karcher, based in Winnenden, Baden-Wurttemberg.
Household goods manufacturer Leifheit has also seen a significant increase in collaborations with cleanfluencers, with collaborations in the low to mid double-digit range.
Women's business?
Despite the economic appeal, psychologist Brigitte Bosenkopf sees several problems with cleaning videos. "It would be best if the person jumped straight up after such a video and used the motivation to tidy up," she says.
"However, it is in the nature of social networks that they usually captivate users whose own initiative then falls by the wayside."Comparing your own uncleaned home with those in the videos is also not advised, she says, as it leads to frustration.
"There are many perfectionists on social networks who clean their homes to a clinical level that is almost worrying," Bosenkopf says.
The fact that many of the cleaning videos are filmed and published by women is also problematic. "This can reinforce traditional role models," says Bosenkopf.It's different with cooking videos, she says.
"You can recognise from the videos that cooking is no longer just a 'woman's job'."In reality, many men also clean their homes, but they post fewer videos of themselves doing so online. – dpa
