The charts compare the proportion of electric household appliances used among families and the average hours people spent doing household chores over the last century in a country.
Overall, three types of electrical equipment witnessed an upward trend, parallel with a decrease in the number of hours spent on daily tasks. Furthermore, refrigerators lost their highest position to washing machines and vacuum cleaners in 2019.
In the first year examined, the washing machine was the dominant appliance, exceeding the other two appliances by 40%. However, there was a significant change in positions among the three appliances over the six decades. Although starting at the lowest point in 1920, the percentage of refrigerators reached its highest peak of 100% in 1980, surpassing 60% of washing machines by that time. In addition, a 60% increase was recorded in the proportion of vacuum cleaners in the late 1900s, which contributed to this appliance’s second-place ranking. In the next decades, two out of three appliances maintained their positions, except for vacuum cleaners. After 1980, the demand for vacuum cleaners increased sustainably, leading to 100% of families owning this appliance in their homes in 2019.
The advancement had a significant impact on the weekly average hours people spent on household work. A dramatic decrease was registered from 1920 to 1960, from 50 hours to 20 hours. By 2019, people only spent 10 hours per week to complete their daily tasks.