YES, HOUSEWORK R
Research shows that using bleach and other disinfectants just once a week increases your risk of developing fatal lung diseases. JANE SYMONS looks at the alternatives
32 per cent. The new research is based on the health of 55,000 nurses but Orianne Dumas, from the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, warns: “Some of these disinfectants such as bleach, are frequently used in ordinary households.”
It underlines an earlier study which found that professional cleaners have some of the highest rates of COPD. Lung function declines with age but researchers who analysed the health records of 5,000 workers discovered that cleaners had 17 per cent greater loss than average and people involved in cleaning at home had a 14 per cent greater decline.
Øistein Svanes, from the University of Bergen, warns: “We need to become much more aware of the chemicals we’re releasing into the air we breathe when we use things such as cleaning spray.”
But that’s not the only way housework could be making you ill. A new report, Do You Know What You Are Breathing? highlights the dark side of being a domestic god or goddess, including exposure to potentially harmful chemicals, the dangers of mixing cleaning agents and cleaning cloths that spread sickness.
Dr Gill Jenkins, one of the authors of the report, says: “Familiarity breeds complacency and many people routinely underestimate the risks associated with household cleaners. Many contain ingredients which are highly irritating to both the skin and respiratory system.”
Combining cleaners can also be dangerous. Earlier this year, Sheffield mum Charley Howson was rushed to hospital with chlorine gas poisoning after unwittingly mixing bleach and disinfectants in hot water. Mixing vinegar and bleach will create the same noxious gas, while using bleach and ammonia together will create the toxic chloramine gas.
Cleaning could even increase the risk of cardiac problems. Women who have heart disease are more likely to die prematurely and also suffer more severe cardiac symptoms than men, and Canadian researchers who investigated the link blamed the burden of caring for children and household chores.
Another common cleaning risk is cross-contamination. Kitchen sponges have been identified as the largest reservoir of stomachsickening bacteria to be found in the home and a recent study found that trying to disinfect them by boiling or microwaving only adds to the danger by encouraging growth of the most dangerous bugs. Dr Jenkins, a family GP, says: “This new research reinforces what we have known for some time.