Calories Burned House Cleaning
Calorie Calculator
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About house cleaning
Cleaning the house is rated 3.3 METs, or 232 calories an hour for a 155 lb person. That is a genuine number and also an ordinary one: brisk walking is 3.5, so an hour of housework and an hour on the pavement finish within 14 calories of each other. The rating hides a wide spread underneath it. Dusting and straightening up sit at 2.5, while scrubbing a bathroom floor on your hands and knees at full effort is rated 6.5, nearly double the average that the word cleaning implies. A three hour Saturday clean is 696 calories at 155 lb, and only if those three hours are actually spent moving.
Calories Burned by Body Weight
Calories burned per 30 minutes of house cleaning at moderate intensity (MET 3.3)
| Body Weight | Calories Burned |
|---|---|
| 120 lbs (54 kg) | 90 cal |
| 140 lbs (64 kg) | 105 cal |
| 155 lbs (70 kg)Reference | 116 cal |
| 170 lbs (77 kg) | 127 cal |
| 185 lbs (84 kg) | 138 cal |
| 200 lbs (91 kg) | 150 cal |
| 220 lbs (100 kg) | 165 cal |
Calories Burned by Duration
Calories burned at 155 lbs body weight, moderate intensity
| Duration | Calories Burned |
|---|---|
| 15 minutes | 58 cal |
| 30 minutesReference | 116 cal |
| 45 minutes | 174 cal |
| 60 minutes | 232 cal |
| 90 minutes | 348 cal |
Calories by Intensity
Different intensities burn different calories. MET (Metabolic Equivalent) measures exercise intensity.
Food Equivalent
30 minutes of house cleaning burns enough calories to offset:
Based on 116 calories burned (30 min at 155 lbs)
Tips for House Cleaning
- Finish one room end to end instead of drifting between them, the stopping is what flattens the number
- Work top to bottom in each room so you are not cleaning the same floor twice
- Carry things up as you find them rather than building a pile at the foot of the stairs, that trip is rated 9.0 METs
- Swap the scrubbing hand every few minutes so one shoulder does not take all of it
- Put on music with a tempo you have to keep up with, sweeping fast is 3.8 METs against 2.3 for sweeping slowly