I just find it all so odd. Before you sell your house it has to be inspected for cleanliness?? That is strange enough in itself but the things listed .... c'mon!! I tell you, never mind buying or selling a house I'd be nervous of even going there on holiday!

Here's the rest of the article giving the authors take on it all.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
It gave me a chance, during the scrubbing and polishing, to reflect on why it is the Swiss attach so much importance to cleanliness.

A friend of mine says it is the crowded nature of this country. Switzerland is small and mainly mountainous; space is limited; most of the seven million inhabitants live in apartments so keeping things clean and tidy is necessary just to live comfortably.
Another friend, more unkindly, suggests that the Swiss are not exactly noted for their achievements in art and literature - perhaps, he says, because they pour their creative energy into cleaning.

My own interpretation has to do with the role of women in Swiss society - those with children often do not work. That means hundreds of thousands of women in small apartments, with no gardens and time on their hands. A recent survey revealed that the average Swiss woman can spend at least two hours - every day - on housework. The very idea exhausts me, but it probably saves them the ordeal I went through at Mr Schweizer's hands.