Study: Regularly Working With Cleaning Supplies As Bad As Smoking A Pack-A-Day
According to a new study published in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, working with cleaning supplies on a regular basis can be just as damaging to your health as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.
The study concluded that “long-term respiratory health is impaired 10-20 years after cleaning activities. We found accelerated lung function decline in women both following occupational cleaning and cleaning at home. The effect size was comparable to the effect size related to 10-20 pack-years of tobacco smoking.”
In addition to decreased lung capacity, the study also found increased risks of asthma. The study was led by Scientists at Norway’s University of Bergen, who tracked 6,000 people who used popular cleaning products over a period of two decades. The scientists measured the test subjects’ lung function by putting them through various breathing tests and then surveying them about their exposure to cleaning chemicals.
Dr. Cecile Svanes, one of the professors involved in the study said that these new findings add to the growing evidence of dangers associated with cleaning chemicals.
“While the short-term effects of cleaning chemicals on asthma are becoming increasingly well documented, we lack knowledge of the long-term impact. We feared that such chemicals, by steadily causing a little damage to the airways day after day, year after year, might accelerate the rate of lung function decline that occurs with age,” Svanes said.
“When you think of inhaling small particles from cleaning agents that are meant for cleaning the floor and not your lungs, maybe it is not so surprising after all. The take home message of this study is that in the long run cleaning chemicals very likely cause rather substantial damage to your lungs. These chemicals are usually unnecessary; microfiber cloths and water are more than enough for most purposes,” lead study author Øistein Svanes added.
This is especially worrisome for people who use these products every day, either for work or home cleaning.
(sources for article are hyperlinked at the site below)THIS WAS A STEEMIT EXCLUSIVE!!
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My wife and I stopped buying and using any and all household cleaning products 5 years ago. We make our own cleaner with vinegar and orange and lemon peels. I did start putting drops of tea tree oil in it now. I don't even use it unless I'm cleaning the floor and windows; a gallon of it lasts about 5 years. I only use water to wipe the kitchen counters and table even when I handle raw poultry. This has greatly reduced my asthma problems and helped ease my wife's epilepsy. We also don't buy health and beauty products. Not only is this better for our health, it keeps us from contributing to the waste stream and saves money! And you don't even have to clean your home if you just keep it clean and tidy all the time, which saves a lot of time and mental energy to focus on other things.
We're now bottling the cleaner and selling it for #EHO.
Great post. I'm upvoting, and resteeming for sure!
well it's a good thing i don't clean with chemicals! water, vinegar, baking soda, essential oils, dr. bronners soap if needed. also makes it easier to let your kids help clean when you're using safe things.
But cleaning is also important for our health.If we dont clean the home bacteria also produce.
All you need to clean your home is a broom, water and a rag. Bacteria is EVERYWHERE, including your skin and inside your mouth no matter what kind of soap or toothpaste you use. Bacteria help strengthen your immune system. The more antibacterial chemicals you use the less healthy you will be.
so whats the conclution what we have to do to safe ourself from bacteria?
There is nothing wrong with bacteria. Most of the bacteria you're exposed to is actually helping you. You NEED bacteria. One of the reasons kids get sicker today and develop ear infections and upper respiratory problems is from being too sanitary and using antibiotics. You should go out of your way to expose yourself to soil outdoors with your bare hands and feet. There is actually bacteria in soil that acts as an antidepressant.
Cleanliness is next to godliness... I guess it means well die sooner. Lol.
Well, dam, cleaning people should get paid more no?
It is not only the thing we inhale, those cleaning stuff goes deep into the tissue and cause damages of the joints and bones. I used to work with those stronger cleaning chemicals, we had gloves but I saw one woman losing skin from her fists, literary. The only way you can prevent chems going inside is to impregnate your own skin with some nasty greasy fat enriched cream FOR HOURS a day. Does it work? YES! Hard core seal of approvement. Guaranteed success and protection ... just don't use hot water...
Bleach is the most harmful of all the cleaning products. I was a professional cleaner for a while and seen first hand how bleach eats through everything. I laugh and cry when I hear "food grade bleach" It doesn't exist you just like Santa Clause doesn't exist
As many have already pointed out – you can make your own cleaning agent that will be totally safe. Take some vinegar and baking soda and you should be good to go. Lemon juice and essential oils do great too, depending on the application.
Thank you for putting it in writing. To a certain degree your post also justifies why our house is such a mess most of the time: not very clean, but much healthier. 😁