KEEPING your home clean and tidy can be one of the hardest tasks for any woman — especially when cleaning becomes an obsession.

That’s why East Lancashire’s Louise Alemanno has gathered her cleaning products and put on her rubber gloves to appear in the latest series of Channel 4’s Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners.

The hard-working mother-of-one can spend between 20 and 30 hours a week cleaning her three-bedroom home in Darwen.

And although she often gets through two and a half litres of bleach a day, she said that for her cleaning is therapeutic rather than an obsession.

“I don’t think that I have OCD, although when I was younger I did show signs of it, like washing my hands over and over.

"I am just really keen on cleaning, but now I think I just thrive on order and organisation,” said Louise who works as a senior sales rep.

In the programme to be broadcast on Tuesday, the 32-year-old travels to Portsmouth to help Tim, a cleaner at a holiday camp but who lives in a chaotic environment since separating from his wife.

After sprinkling some of her ‘cleaning magic’, Louise manages to help him de-clutter his home and give him a new sense of pride.

She said: “It was nerve-wracking to meet Tim, but not as much as when the TV crew came to my house.

“I had no idea who I would be given as they don’t tell you anything. I think I was more scared that we might not get on and would have to spend four full days together.”

Although her thorough cleaning doesn’t stop her from having a ‘normal’ life, Louise insists on a clutter-free home which includes regular clear-outs of her four-year-old daughter’s soft toys.

“I always feel like I need to get rid of clutter, I hate clutter and always feel a real sense of satisfaction when me and my husband Luke have cleared out the garage or given items away that collect dust,” said Louise who can even do a five-hour stretch of cleaning on a Saturday.

“You don’t need to buy expensive products, I love huge bottles of own-brand thin bleach that’s about 30 pence a time. I tend to use a product that is multi-purpose rather than a product for every job.”

Tim’s home was in dire need of a spring clean and he has been living in turmoil over the past seven years. With Louise’s help, his messy and cluttered home becomes immaculate.

“I really hope that I helped Tim get on with his life, although I am not so sure. Tim is incredibly stuck in his ways and even on the last day we were disagreeing.

"I obviously wasn’t there to see him start to enjoy a clean, tidy house so I really hope he kept it up. I think his daughter was more excited than him when we had finished.”

The programme shows other cleaners who will go to almost any lengths to help others and the contrasting compulsions will explore how their different behaviour affects their lives.

Louise said: “I don’t feel pressure to have a clean home from anyone else, I pile pressure on myself to have everything perfect.

“It’s a constant battle to be a wife and mother as well as having a career and a perfect home.”

  •  Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners, Tuesday, 8pm, Channel 4