Singletons suffer cleaning guilt as divorcees while divorcees are nation's clean freaks, research reveals Nikki Alexander, who has recently split from her partner, says it is important to "make your new living abode something you're proud of." Picture: Stephen Cooper Source: News Limited SINGLE slobs are ridden with cleaning guilt while divorcees are Australia's clean freaks. New research shows single people spend the least time cleaning per day (48 minutes), while those who are separated, widowed or divorced spend the most time (1.6 hours). As a result almost two in three singles feel "cleaning guilt" for dirty bathrooms and kitchens. This compares to one in two (51 per cent) of those who are separated, widowed or divorced and 43 per cent of married people. Kylie Dunjey, a counsellor with Relationships Australia, believes the same emotions that cause cleaning guilt may present themselves differently in relationships, partly explaining higher levels of guilt among singles. "I wonder whether people are feeling more guilty when they live alone because where else do they take that discomfort?" she said. When others that you have a relationship with are under the same roof are, it can create a dynamic with which you can deflect that guilt, you can blame, you can project your feelings, and you get conflict around the delegation of domestic chores. Nikki Alexander, 30, from Queens Park in Sydney, recently separated from her boyfriend of eight years. "When you come out of a relationship, you try and make your new living abode something you're proud of and somewhere where you're keen to spend some time," she said. If there are plans for someone to come over and share my space, I think first and foremost it's some form of cleaning to make sure the place looks ship-shape and habitable. The study of 1028 Australians commissioned by Mr Muscle says people who are in a de facto relationship clean for 1.4 hours, while married people spend 1.3 hours a day cleaning. Sam Collie, 31, a landscape business owner from Wagga Wagga, now lives in Melbourne with his wife Emily, 30, and son Jack, 1. He believes the extra responsibilities of a child and running a business that have coincided with his marriage have knocked cleaning down his household's list of priorities. When we were just a de facto couple, we just had the nine to five and that was it. What I thought was a clean house then is not what I thought a clean house is now," he said. A clean house is now one where I can walk around without running into things. The study also found that 70 per cent of de factos drop food on the floor and still eat or use it. Only 47 per cent of those who are separated, widowed or divorced eat or use food dropped on the floor.