Housework
A boring chore or a rewarding routine, keeping our homes clean and tidy is a task we all face.
Whether cleaning carpets or battling bugs, housework is a story of hard work.
Swept up with overworked servants, exciting inventions and gender protest, it is a history that demonstrates both change and continuity in society.
Who keeps your home spick and span?
![A display of five vacuum cleaners from throughout the years](/media/mh2p5tl3/homegallery_highres_250221_5814.jpg?width=1500&upscale=false)
Stories to look out for
![Cream plastic vacuum cleaner: with a spherical base and long tube](/media/e4zfl4ks/13_2002_1_2_5_8_001.jpg?width=1500&upscale=false)
Hoover Constellation, 1962
Instead of wheels, the Hoover Constellation hovered on a cushion of exhaust air. Its spherical design was futuristic, influenced by the Atomic Age and developments in space exploration.
![Wooden box with metal handle and wooden insert](/media/hxkpptyh/servants-tidy.jpg?width=1500&upscale=false)
Housemaid's box and tidy tray, 1850–1920
Until the early 1900s, it was usual to employ servants in medium to high-income households.
Housemaids would carry a box or bucket around the house containing the tools needed for tasks such as cleaning fire grates, brushing mattresses and polishing mirrors.
![Illustration of a person in bed clothes killing bugs in a bedroom](/media/arhfnmua/hg-ke-05-wellcome-collection-cc-by.jpg?width=1500&upscale=false)
Etching by T.L. Busby, ca. 1826
By the 1700s, bed bugs were a common pest in Britain. To get rid of the bugs people picked and crushed them. One early remedy even suggested mixing the drippings from a roasted cat with egg yolks and oil to form an ointment that could be rubbed onto infested furniture.