The average Briton will spend six year of their adult life cleaning, ironing and trying to get on top of the rest of the household chores, according to a new report.

And if that sounds crazy, a quarter of the population will go further and spend a full decade keeping their house in order. Researchers also discovered that people ironed a bizarre range of items including socks, male underpants, swimwear and someone’s hair.

The new study, by dry cleaning expert Johnsons Cleaners, discovered that we spend an average of two hours and 17 minutes on chores every day. But one in four Brits are more obsessed and spend up to four hours daily cleaning round the house.

Researchers also found that women still do the majority of the household chores. In six out of ten homes the female of the house is responsible for tasks such as the laundry, hoovering and dishwashing.

In a quarter of homes the duties are shared evenly among men and women, and males do the majority of chores in just 15 per cent of British homes.

The survey of 2,848 people across the UK also revealed the chores we hate to do the most are the ironing followed by mopping the floor.

And if the average Briton had the money to employ staff around the house we would pay for a cleaner first, followed by a gardener to keep our bushes trimmed and lawn neat, and then an in-house ironing service.

Paul Ogle, MD Johnsons Cleaners, who commissioned the survey, said: “Let’s be honest, nobody likes to do chores around the house and our study is a stark reminder of just how much time we spend keeping our homes ship shape.

“It is incredible to discover that many people will spend a full decade doing all the mundane but necessary jobs about the house, including the ironing, laundry and general cleaning.