Finnish TikTok cleanfluencer Auri Kananen making victory signs.
Social media platforms, especially the video sharing platforms, are full of influencers with expertise in different categories, from food blogging to fashion to tech reviews and many more.
Now a new section of social media influencers is taking over the internet, and these are called "cleanfluencers." Millions of people watch them scour dirty houses and dish out cleaning tips, and they have a sizable fan base.
Auri Kananen, a cleanfluencer who has far more social media followers than Kondo, the Japanese tidying guru, says, "I love cleaning, I love dirt,".
Ms. Kananen travels around the world in search of "the dirtiest homes possible". "I remember when I had 19 followers. Even then, it felt really cool to have 19 strangers wanting to see me clean," she was quoted as saying by news agency AFP. She is known to her followers as Aurikatariina, and she has nine million TikTok followers and two million YouTube followers.
In her offbeat videos, she cleans the places while wearing miniature pink gloves, with music playing in the background. She also explains why the location is so filthy and unpleasant.
"Usually people have some mental health problem or other tragedy that has happened in their lives," Ms Kananen said.
According to them, most of the time, depressed people or people with mental disorders live in these miserable conditions. She herself has been through a depressed state, so she believes that she can relate to their condition.
"I know how overwhelming it is," she said.
As evidenced by the quality of her welfare work, the comment sections of her videos are filled with people saying how her videos have helped them cope with their difficulties, praising her non-judgemental manner.
Cleaning has always been an important part of human life. With the global rise of video sharing platforms, cleaning videos have become hugely popular on social media, inspiring a growing number of users to start posting content.
27-year-old Abbi, known as "clean with Abbi" to her two million followers, stated that "I was watching videos and I thought, that's what I do at home; I can just film myself doing it."
Now brands sponsor her to use their products, and she earns between $720 and $1,200 per video.
"It relaxes me; it's like therapy." "For me, it's like an escape from any worries I've got," she told AFP.
The cleanfluencers not only post their own videos but also share tips and hacks on how to clean properly with their followers.
Ann Russell, a 59-year-old full-time cleaner from the south of England, sits on her sofa and answers a question from her TikTok followers, holding her phone up to her face. To remove a felt-tip mark from a wooden table without removing the varnish, she recommends isopropyl alcohol. "Dip a cotton bud in it and just rub it gently."
Ms. Russell said people need to be taught how to clean properly.
"Washing your socks, pairing them up, and putting them in the drawer gives a sense of a job well done. It makes people feel in control. And because they feel in control of their personal lives, they feel that the outside world is a safer place," Ms Russell was quoted as saying by AFP.
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