Cleanliness is both the abstract state of being clean and free of dirt, and the habit of achieving and maintaining that state. Cleaning is often achieved through cleaning. Cleanliness can imply a moral quality, as the aphorism indicates: "cleansing is next to piety", and can be considered to contribute to other ideals such as "health" and "beauty."
By emphasizing a procedure or set of habits for maintenance and prevention, the concept of cleanliness differs from purity, which is a physical, moral or ritual state of the absence of contaminants. While purity is often a quality of an individual or substance, cleanliness has a social dimension, or implies a system of interactions. "Cleanliness," observed Jacob Burckhardt, "is indispensable to our modern notion of social perfection." It can be said that a home or workplace exhibits cleanliness, but not ordinarily purity; Cleaning would also be a feature of people who maintain cleanliness or avoid fouling.
On a practical level, cleanliness is related to hygiene and disease prevention. Washing is a way to achieve physical cleansing, usually with water and often some form of soap or detergent. Cleaning procedures are of paramount importance in many forms of manufacture. As an assertion of moral superiority or respectability, cleanliness has played a role in establishing cultural values in relation to social class, humanitarianism and cultural imperialism. Cleanliness is related to proper hygiene. A person who is said to be clean usually represents cleanliness.