Housework Is More Dangerous For You Than Smoking, Study Says

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Is there anybody out there who actually enjoys housework?

It’s not the most fun thing to do, but it has to be done.

Very few of us can actually live in filth so most of us should be well acquainted with the cleaning sprays and toilet cleaner.

But now there is research claiming that cleaning is actually bad for you.

In fact, it is actually said to be worse for you than smoking?

So this is good news for the people who never have to clean, and bad news for the neat-freaks, right.

New research seems to suggest that that’s exactly the case.

A study conducted by researchers from Bergen University,  says that cleaning sprays and other products are so bad for your lungs, that inhaling them regularly through cleaning can be worse for your overall health than smoking 20 cigarettes a day for approximately 20 years, and can increase the rate of asthma by up to 43 per cent in that time.

The study, involved around 6,000 participants and showed that women were far more at risk than men.

Oistein Svanes, who co-authored the study, says that chemicals used in cleaning solutions can often irritate the lining of the airways, which creates to long-term changes in respiration.

Svanes also added that these harmful chemicals are usually unnecessary, and that a decent cloth, hot water and plenty of elbow grease is actually simple enough for most situations.Svanes stated: “Cleaning chemicals very likely cause substantial lung damage. Think of particles from cleansers meant for floors, not lungs, and maybe it’s no surprise … the take-home message is that in the long run cleaning chemicals very likely cause rather substantial damage to your lungs. These chemicals are usually unnecessary; microfibre cloths and water are more than enough for most purposes.”

Commenting on the findings, Sarah MacFadyen, a representative from the British Lung Foundation, notes that:

“Breathing in any kind of air pollution can have an impact on our health, especially for those living with a lung condition. This study further confirms that air pollution can come from a range of sources, including from paints, adhesives and cleaning products we use indoors. Ensuring we keep our homes well ventilated, using liquid cleaners instead of sprays and checking that our cookers and heaters are in good working order will help protect us and prevent everyday products impacting on our lungs.”

So there you have it Moms; next time your partner starts getting on your case about the washing up, you can be safe in the knowledge that putting it off for an extra day won’t kill you! It may just have the opposite effect.