How Clean Is Your House?

How Clean Is Your House? is a British entertainment/lifestyle television programme in which expert cleaners Kim Woodburn and Aggie MacKenzie visit dirty houses and clean them up. The thirty-minute show was produced by Talkback Thames, the UK production arm of Fremantle (itself part of the RTL Group), and aired on Channel 4 from 2003 to 2009. Though a ratings success, Channel 4 announced that they had decided to cancel the series in 2009 in order to make way for new programming.

Each episode of the programme followed the same formula. Accompanied by a dramatic score of horror movie music, Woodburn and MacKenzie explore the house on their own, examining the extent of the mess and looking for any particularly horrible areas. They then meet the resident before the cleaning begins, assisted by several professional cleaners. During this process, which takes up the bulk of the show, tips are shared for tackling particular cleaning tasks with the residents, often utilising traditional cleaning methods in addition to typical chemical cleaning products.

During the cleaning, MacKenzie takes swab samples from the filthiest areas of the house and has them analysed in a lab, often revealing numerous kinds of bacteria, frequently E. coli and Salmonella. Residents of the homes often have health problems that directly stem from the air quality or pathogens present before cleaning; MacKenzie will show the residents her findings in an effort to make them understand the connection between their health and their home's condition.

The final section of the show has Woodburn and MacKenzie unveiling the freshly cleaned home to the resident. In earlier episodes, they would return to the home two weeks later to see if the cleaning was being maintained.

The show makes a point of thoroughly cleaning carpets and furniture the resident owns, and not replacing dirty or worn items just for the sake of the final reveal. In a few particular cases in which a resident lacked basic items of furniture (such as one who might have been sleeping on a mattress on the floor rather than a bed), Kim and Aggie might coordinate with neighbours or local secondhand shops to donate items.

Woodburn takes the role of a dominating woman, scolding residents for letting their homes get so bad. She is sometimes playfully flirtatious with male residents. In contrast, MacKenzie (whose previous jobs included associate editor in Good Housekeeping and working for MI6) assumes the more serious "dirt detective" role, performing such tasks as the bacterial analysis. She plays at being more squeamish than Woodburn, claiming that she will be sick or run away from a particularly horrific home. While cleaning, both wear industrial white suits and rubber gloves adorned with marabou feathers and fake gemstones.

Actor Paul Copley provides tongue-in-cheek, often alliterative voice-over narration for each episode. The show is light-hearted and often camp, falling just as much into the entertainment category than the factual genre. Much of the appeal comes from the voyeuristic pleasure of seeing how untidy some people let their houses become (many have not been cleaned for years) and the reactions of the show's two stars, though the cleaning tips add some practical value to the show.

The sixth and final series aired in the UK on Channel 4 from 13 August–24 September 2009, and was (for the first time) also broadcast in High Definition on Channel 4 HD. Primarily the same format as previous editions, Kim and Aggie continued to seek out "the UK's filthiest homes", however, the programme was promoted as delving far deeper into the psyche of the home owners. In addition, the two-week "check-up" was omitted from the show's formula, but Kim and Aggie undertook a roadshow style appearance in each episode where they would meet members of the public to answer questions and offer cleaning tips.