Dutch cleaning extended to the many canals that traverse the country.
Europe had a dirty reputation in the 15th century. Few people bathed or bothered to clean their homes. The Dutch, however, made cleanliness a national obsession. Although personal hygiene habits emerged in Italy around the same time, the Italian practices were prevalent only among the urban aristocracy. Dutch cleaning traditions seemed to begin among the peasant class and spread throughout the country.
History
Historians report observations made by travelers and researchers alike about the industrious efforts to clean the interior and exterior of homes in the Netherlands. Personal hygiene lagged behind the clean, tidy housekeeping rituals practiced by Dutch women on a weekly basis. According to researchers Bas van Bavel and Oscar Gelderblom in an "Oxford Journals" article published in 2009, historians have collected at least 250 written observations about Dutch cleanliness. Erasmus wrote about Dutch tidiness in the early 1500s. Travelers mocked the fastidious Dutch habits, even visible on barges used for travel and industry.
Traveler Reports
Between 1438 and 1795, travelers from across Europe reported about the meticulous scrubbing and polishing of windows and doorsteps. Dutch women mopped the floors and put out cloths for people to wipe their shoes on before entering the home. Dutch families removed their shoes and wore slippers around the house. Farmers washed their cows and cut off their tails so they would not soil themselves. Even municipal streets, canals and marketplaces received regular and thorough scrubbing. The town of Zaandam, for example, did not allow cattle and carts to use its carefully washed streets.
Explanations
Travelers and historians alike attempted to explain the curious cleanliness fetish of the Hollanders. Some attributed it to the humid climate that caused mold infestation on wooden floors. Simon Schama, author of "The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age," suggested that the Dutch Calvinistic religious experience prompted frenetic cleaning activities as a way to release inner struggles with vanity, fleshly desires and unbelief. Van Bavel and Gelderblom argue against his thesis and offer evidence that the emerging Dutch dairy industry prompted the cleaning activities for economic reasons. The Dutch learned that dairy production thrives on sterile processes. They cleaned and sanitized their dairy equipment and developed a cooling system to preserve dairy products. As early as 1779, a German professor noted that Dutch butter tasted much better than German butter. Dutch butter also lasted longer than butter produced in other countries.
Ingrained Habits
Today, people of Dutch descent still talk about the Dutch cleaning habits that seem ingrained in the culture. Cleaning products and services proudly brand Dutch cleanliness. Every year the city of Holland, Michigan, hosts a festival celebrating the Dutch culture. The annual Tulip Time Festival features traditional street washing parades. In a Hope College oral history interview, Sharon Koops, a festival organizer, said that visitors often comment on the town's spotlessness, wondering if the city cleans up for the festival. But the Holland native simply gives credit to the city's ongoing practice of ordinary Dutch cleanliness.
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