WD-40 research finds White Van Man called to ensure DIY problems sorted

• Thursday, 20 August 2009

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Research commissioned by WD-40 has shown that although house-proud Britons are as keen as ever to ensure their home is their castle, the recession has not seen them learn new skills, roll their sleeves up and have a go when problems strike around the home. On the contrary, the recent study has shown that the UK is spending over £21.5m a year on hiring their local ‘white van man’ professionals to get the household jobs done.

Despite the need to tighten our belts, the survey by the world’s number one multi-purpose lubricant, has shown that almost half the British population (40%) admit to not having the necessary DIY knowledge to do anything more complex than basic tasks, such as painting and putting up shelves.

Top 10 tasks people can’t fix themselves:

Replacing damaged roof tiles – 82%
Changing a window pane – 76%
Installing lights – 69%
Fixing noisy pipes – 68%
Laying a patio – 67%
Hanging a door – 66%
Changing oil on car – 49%
Fixing squeaky floorboards – 47%
Unblocking drains – 42%
Freeing locks – 42%

But it isn’t just the difficult jobs people are shying away from. Over 40% of people would call in a professional to help free a stuck door-lock, while half the population (49%) need help doing a simple car oil change. This reluctance to tackle household problems is great news for the ‘white van man’ professional whose expertise and knowledge is at a premium. Britain’s plumbers have particular cause for celebration, as unblocking drains and fixing noisy pipes are two of the three most annoying tasks that people hate confronting.

While Britons may be increasingly slack at having a go themselves, they are certainly speedy at arranging professional help. One in three men (32%) and one in five women (21%) will get someone in within a day of the problem occurring, spurred on by necessity (68%), inconvenience (66%) and nagging (27%). Avoiding confrontation is also a motivating factor – nearly half of all people (44%) feel it is likely they will argue with their spouse or partner over incomplete DIY jobs.

David Whittome, WD-40 UK Marketing Director, comments: “The results of this research were extremely interesting, especially looking at the attitudes towards home improvement in the UK. Traditionally, men are loathe to call in a professional, as they always viewed it as an affront to their manhood. However, attitudes have shifted and they would now prefer to hire someone than have a go themselves and risk making a hash of it, which can be costly.

“Interestingly, while half of women (50%) were put off from doing home improvement task due to lack of knowledge, during the recession they are 10% more likely to have a go than men”.


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Research conducted by Opinion Matters August 2009. 2005 participants surveyed.

Notes to editors:

WD-40 is the world’s number one multi-purpose lubricant with over 2,000 usages. Dirty, jammed, rusty, squeaky or damp? Problem sorted.

WD-40 Company is a global consumer products company which offers brands that deliver above expectation performance at extremely good value. In the UK, WD-40 Company produces a wide range of lubricants under the brands of WD-40 and 3-IN-ONE, together with the 1001 range of carpet care products. WD-40 Company markets its products in more than 187 countries world-wide.

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