LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 2, 2005--The clothes lines have been drawn and, for the third year, it's women who claim to be primarily responsible for doing laundry. A recent survey of over 1,000 men and women, sponsored by GE Consumer & Industrial, reports that females are still primarily responsible for doing the household laundry. But that's not the full story. There's a clear disconnect between the sexes about who feels responsible for the laundry.
Ask a man who is responsible for the laundry and 39% are significantly more likely to report that they are primarily responsible for doing the laundry. Ask a woman and only 5% report that the male of the household is responsible for laundry. Given the discrepancy between men and women regarding how often men do laundry, it is not surprising that they similarly disagree about how often women do laundry. Just 43% of men claim that women are primarily responsible for laundry compared to 85% of women who claim they are in charge of the laundry.
There is clearly a communication issue. Thankfully, clean clothes won't get stuck in the middle of this argument. Unlike many couples today, the GE Profile Harmony(TM) washer communicates directly to the dryer, and once the dryer gets the message, it automatically presets itself for optimal results. Furthermore, the first clothes care system with washer to dryer communication just got smarter. Harmony now features a CleanSpeak(TM) system, meaning it contains both English and Spanish options on the LCD washer and dryer touch screens.
What do you do while the laundry is running?
When asked the simple question "What do you do while the laundry is running?", 45% of those surveyed reported they watched TV, surfed the Internet or caught up on reading. This was followed closely by 42% who report they do other household chores. Amazingly, 2% say they watch their washer!
If watching your washer while clothes get clean is a growing hobby, then the GE Profile Harmony washer will make it easier to do. Consumers can now view clothes during the cleaning process without opening the lid or stopping the wash cycle, with the new see-through HydroView(TM) tempered glass lid. The washer lid matches the reversible king-sized glass dryer door.
Women (48%) are significantly more likely than men (35%) to say that they do other chores until the laundry finishes. Perhaps women can take solace in the fact that men are 3 times more likely to report that they stare at their laundry as it cycles.
What's the best part of doing laundry?
Overall, 74% of those surveyed chose the clean, fresh smell of washed clothes as the best part of doing laundry. Women (87%) are more likely than men (59%) to report that the fresh, clean smell is their favorite part of doing laundry. Men (4%) are four times more likely than women (1%) to find spending time with their laundry partner the best part of doing laundry.
GE Consumer & Industrial spans the globe as an industry leader in major appliance, lighting and integrated industrial equipment, systems and services. Providing solutions for commercial, industrial and residential use in more than 100 countries, GE Consumer & Industrial uses innovative technologies and "ecomagination," a GE initiative to aggressively bring to market new technologies that help customers and consumers meet pressing environmental challenges, to deliver comfort, convenience and electrical protection and control. General Electric (NYSE: GE) brings imagination to work, selling products under the Monogram(R), Profile(TM) GE(R), Hotpoint(R), SmartWater(TM), Reveal(R) and Edison(TM) consumer brands, and Entellisys(TM) industrial brand. For more information, consumers may visit www.ge.com.
Contacts
General Electric Consumer & Industrial, Louisville
Leslie Redford, 502-452-7184
[email protected]