Former Blue Peter star Helen Skelton was spotted out and about on an unusual dog walk, walking a giant “dog” – made out of mop heads. “Mop”, an animatronic Hungarian sheepdog, which was seen in London’s Battersea Park, measures three metres long and two metres high.
It moves its head from side to side, and shakes – and is made from 300 old mop heads. Passers-by, including those walking their real pups, had to quickly stand back when Mop needed to shake off the mud from his walk.
Taking more than 2,000 hours to build, it comes after a study of 2,000 adults revealed an average of 12 days per year, or 46 minutes a day, is spent on time “sucks” – like cleaning up after dogs and children, waiting for the washer or dryer to finish, or pairing socks.
The research, commissioned by Bosch to mark the launch of the Unlimited 7 Aqua, also found a quarter of parents (26 percent) dislike cleaning up the mess kids make, such as picking up food from the floor after meals, or wiping up muddy footprints. And the same percentage of dog and cat owners said the same of their pet.
TV presenter, Helen Skelton, said: “I’m no stranger to mud in the house – we absolutely love getting outside, but it’s either kids or dogs traipsing it through the house after a long walk.
“I hugely relate to the fact that Brits feel they are wasting time cleaning up after them – we love them dearly, but they are messy.
“I’m really pleased to be involved in this campaign to tackle some of these time-sucking activities, and give parents even just a little bit of time back for themselves.”
It also emerged 35 percent would like to spend less time dusting and polishing, while 29 percent want to cut back on the time they spend vacuuming – and one in five are eager to reduce their mopping. Currently, the average adult spends 39 minutes a day cleaning – adding up to 10 days each year.
As a result, 61 percent of “dog parents” want to be able to clean as fast and as efficiently as possible – with a quarter admitting they sometimes avoid walking their pooch if it’s muddy, to save time cleaning up afterwards.
And these time-sucking tasks make 53 percent feel less productive than they’d like – with this rising to 62 percent of dog owners, and seven in 10 parents with kids under 18.
Also featuring among the top 40 frustrating activities were clearing up the kitchen after cooking a meal, queuing to pay at a supermarket, and sitting in traffic.
But the OnePoll.com data revealed that two-thirds (65 percent) would like to be more efficient with their time, with 37 percent attempting to do something productive when doing a time-sucking activity.
These include trying to get a few extra chores done while they wait for the kettle to boil, or using the opportunity for a bit of “thinking” time while waiting for the microwave to ping.
A spokesman for Bosch UK, which is sending Mop the Dog around the country this April, said: “We know there’s more to life than cleaning – that’s why we want to create products that make getting chores done a doddle.
“We believe that there should be less time spent scrubbing, and more time for us to spend however we want – whether that’s enjoying the company of our family, or playing with the pets.
“We’re so excited to take Mop on a walk up and down the country, not only to bring a smile to those who see him, but to demonstrate how easy it is to avoid daily time sucks.”
