We all know that a clean home is essential if we want to live happy, hygienic lives. It may be boring taking the bins out and bleaching the bog, but luckily we’ve got tons of appliances and products to help us blast through those chores quickly and efficiently.

Our ancestors didn’t have it so easy. In fact, they didn’t even realise the benefits of cleanliness – which helps to explain why the life expectancy of a Mediaeval peasant was just 31 years! It wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution in the 19th Century that domestic cleaning was transformed in a big way; as our timeline shows, the Victorians were responsible for many of the cleaning innovations we take for granted, such as the washing machine and dishwasher.

Prior to that, it’s fair to say our ancestors had some, erm, interesting ideas about cleaning and hygiene.

Let’s take a look back at cleaning through the ages…