Calories burned during house cleaning
General house cleaning burns roughly 105–140 kcal in half an hour for a 70 kg person — a range, because light tidying sits low while scrubbing floors on hands and knees runs much higher. Steady, whole-body chores add up more than they feel like. Enter your own weight and time below.
Enter your weight and how long you moved — the estimate comes back as a range, the same way our diary does it.
| Weight | 15 min | 30 min | 45 min | 60 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 kg | 37–50 | 74–100 | 110–149 | 147–199 |
| 60 kg | 44–60 | 88–120 | 133–179 | 177–239 |
| 70 kg | 52–70 | 103–139 | 155–209 | 206–279 |
| 80 kg | 59–80 | 118–159 | 177–239 | 236–319 |
| 90 kg | 66–90 | 133–179 | 199–269 | 265–359 |
| 100 kg | 74–100 | 147–199 | 221–299 | 295–398 |
| 110 kg | 81–110 | 162–219 | 243–329 | 324–438 |
Each cell is a range (±15%). Read down for your weight, across for your time. These are population estimates, not a measurement of you.
| Intensity | 30 min | 60 min |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaning the house, general · 3.3 MET | 103–139 | 206–279 |
| Heavy cleaning (wash car, garage) · 3.5 MET | 109–148 | 219–296 |
| Many chores at once, vigorous · 4.3 MET | 134–182 | 269–363 |
| Scrubbing floors on hands & knees · 6.5 MET | 203–275 | 406–549 |
A 30-minute session at 70 kg — the pace changes the cost far more than a few kilos do.
Energy cost from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (Herrmann, Willis, Ainsworth et al.). kcal = MET × 3.5 × weight(kg) ÷ 200 × minutes; we show it as a band because a MET is a population average. Why a range, not one number →
How many calories does house cleaning burn?
It depends on your weight, how long you keep it up and — a lot — your pace and fitness, so there is no single true number. The table and the calculator give a range for your weight and time. Two people of the same weight can differ by 15–25% at the same activity.
Why show a range instead of one number?
Because a MET value is a population average. Your real burn shifts with fitness, technique, terrain and how hard you actually went. A single "347 kcal" reads as precise when it isn't — the honest answer is a band, and that is what we show.
Do calories burned mean I can eat that much back?
No. This is an estimate of energy spent, not calories you have to "earn" or a licence to eat more. Movement is worth doing for its own sake. If you track a day's balance, use the range — never treat the top of it as exact.
Where do the numbers come from?
MET values from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, a public reference cited by researchers. We apply the standard MET formula and widen it into a ±15% band (±25% for strength work, which a MET barely captures).