Most housework is light to moderate activity, between 2 and 4 METs. The harder jobs, like scrubbing on your hands and knees or moving furniture, reach 6 METs or more, as hard as an easy jog. What makes housework count is the time: a few hours of cleaning burns as much as a workout.
Does cleaning count as exercise?
Moderate chores such as vacuuming, mopping and scrubbing count as light to moderate activity. They are good for breaking up long periods of sitting, and the calories add up over a week. They are less effective than a dedicated workout for building fitness, because the effort comes in short bursts with frequent pauses.
Making housework more active
- Work in one continuous block rather than spreading chores across the day.
- Carry things up and down stairs in more trips.
- Choose a bucket and mop or scrub brush over lighter tools for some jobs.
- Put on music and keep a brisk pace.
Total vs net calories
Your body burns calories all day just to keep running, roughly 1 MET. The total figure includes those calories. The net figure subtracts them, leaving only the extra energy the activity cost. Net is the more honest number if you are thinking about how much a workout adds to a calorie deficit.
Don't count the same calories twice
If you set a calorie target with our TDEE calculator and chose an activity level that includes your usual workouts, those workouts are already in your target. Adding exercise calories on top would count them twice. Use these numbers for workouts beyond your normal routine, or to compare activities.
How accurate is this?
MET values are averages measured in groups of adults aged 19 to 59. Your real burn can differ by 10 to 20% or more because of fitness, technique, body composition and how hard you actually worked. Adults over 60 often burn somewhat less than these estimates; a separate Compendium for older adults exists for that reason. Treat the result as a solid estimate rather than an exact count. Fitness trackers are no more precise; see how accurate fitness trackers are for calories.
Questions people ask
How many calories does cleaning the house burn?
For a 155 lb person, an hour of general house cleaning burns about 244 calories in total. Vacuuming for an hour burns about 221, and vigorous scrubbing about 240 in just 30 minutes.
What chore burns the most calories?
Of everyday chores, moving furniture and carrying boxes (about 5.8 METs) and vigorous scrubbing on your hands and knees (about 6.5 METs) burn the most per minute.
How many calories does vacuuming burn?
Vacuuming is rated about 3 METs, roughly 111 calories in 30 minutes for a 155 lb person.
Sources
- Herrmann SD, Willis EA, Ainsworth BE, et al. 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: a third update of the energy costs of human activities. Journal of Sport and Health Science. 2024;13(1):6–12. pacompendium.com