I dunno why this has been happening but it never was the case before. Perhaps it was a Windows update, perhaps a CCleaner update? In any event, it takes significantly and noticeably longer to clean the Windows Log directly these days.
Running Windows Chkdsk and Smart check for the the HD shows no issues. There's ample of storage space as well: 700 GB/1000 GB.
have you noticed the time is taking longer due to the amount of log files being cleaned has increased?
do you have any indication that there are more of them now then there used to be?
is it getting stuck/slowing down on one particular log file or folder?
could it be due to something running in the background locking some log files, like your AV or browser or something?