According to research by Samsung UK, more than a quarter (26%) of Brits consider vacuuming their ‘guilty pleasure’, with 30% claiming it as their all-time favourite chore.

To celebrate the nation’s passion for vacuuming, Samsung has therefore unveiled the country’s top cleaning icons. It has teamed up with renowned artist, Nathan Wyburn, to create unique dirt-based depictions of their faces using the powerful Bespoke JetTM AI vacuum. Nathan is known for his creative pop culture portraits using unexpected supplies, previously working with materials as diverse as marmite on toast and glitter.

Top reasons for the nation’s vacuum obsession include it being super satisfying (48%) and relaxing (33%), and 24% stating they love the exercise they get from this household task. It’s just as well we’re a nation of vacuum fanatics, with almost half (48%) of UK households being carpeted – equating to 2481km2 of soft flooring to keep clean.1

While sculpting each portrait, Nathan was tasked with using the Bespoke JetTM AI vacuum’s wide range of attachments and features across a variety of surfaces, including the Active Dual Brush to powerfully clean carpets and the Slim LED Brush+ which thoroughly cleans hard floors. As the art developed, the flexible tool – normally used for cleaning the tops of fridges and cupboards – also came in handy for those finishing touches without disturbing the rest of the work.

In a nation-wide poll, Mary Poppins was crowned the number one ‘cleaning icon’ surpassing the likes of Mrs Hinch and Cinderella, as well as other fictional characters including the adored undercover nanny, Mrs Doubtfire, and clean-obsessive, Friends fan-favourite, Monica Gellar, all of whom have been celebrated in
special works of art.

Britain’s top 10 cleaning icons:
1. Mary Poppins
2. Mrs Hinch
3. Mrs Doubtfire
4. Stacey Solomon
5. Cinderella
6. Monica from Friends
7. Kim Woodburn
8. Marie Kondo
9. The Janitor (Scrubs)
10. Argus Filch (Harry Potter)

Real-life cleaning inspirations Mrs Hinch, Stacey Solomon, Kim Woodburn and Marie Kondo, all made the list with one in four (28%) respondents saying that they selected their icons because they inspired them to keep their homes in tip-top condition.

Our fascination for floor care even extends to our daily dose of social media, with 28% admitting they love to watch carpet cleaning content and 24% saying they could watch it ‘for hours’.

The Harry Potter fandom also came through for Hogwarts janitor Argus Filch, who was amongst the top ten, and fans of the popular comedy show Scrubs also voted for the mischievous Janitor. With so many beloved fictional characters on the list, it’s no wonder nearly half (48%) of respondents chose their favourites because they ‘made chores more fun’.

Artist, Nathan Wyburn, comments: “I’d never thought of making art with a vacuum cleaner, so I jumped at the challenge! Who wouldn’t want to recreate legends like Mrs Doubtfire?! As an artistic tool, the Bespoke Jet AI’s precision and power gave me a lot of creative freedom, so I’m chuffed with the outcome. With more than two hours of battery life, it also meant I didn’t have to wait to recharge the battery while creating each portrait. Now that I’ve seen the depth of clean in my artwork, I can’t wait to create more art when vacuuming with it in my home!”