You can breathe easy and forget the cleaning — for your health

Today we’re going to come clean about something: cleaning.

It’s killing us.

We knew this. But now science does.

A new study posted in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (which admittedly isn’t on our bookshelf — or is it under all that dust?) concludes house cleaning can ruin one’s chances of a clean bill of health.

In the study titled “Cleaning at home and at work in relation to lung function decline and airway obstruction,” researchers at the University of Bergen in Norway examined the lungs of more than 6,200 women and men (average age of 34 at enrollment) who used cleaning products over two decades.

Their purpose: “While the short-term effects of cleaning chemicals on asthma are becoming increasingly well documented, we lack knowledge of the long-term impact,” says study author Cecile Svanes. “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.”

Their discovery: Women who use sprays and other cleaning agents harm their lungs as much as smoking. A. Pack. A. Day.

Who else feels worked up in a lather?

“The findings suggest that cleaning activities in women, whether at home or as an occupation, … may constitute a risk to respiratory health, not only in terms of asthma as previously shows, … but also in terms of long-term impact on lung function decline,” the study says.

Instead of all that time spent scouring showers, we gals might as well have been at cigarette-filled happy hours!

Additional study findings: It’s not just for the pros: “We found accelerated lung function decline in women both following occupational cleaning and cleaning at home.”

And it’s not for the bros: “Cleaning was not significantly associated with lung function decline in men or with chronic airway obstruction.” So Mr. Clean can breathe a sigh of relief (at least he can still breathe! Cough, cough) that he is in no immediate danger.

It’s not just in the nose: “Most cleaning agents have an irritative effect on the mucous membranes of the airways. One possible mechanism for the accelerated decline in cleaners is the repetitive exposure to low-grade irritative cleaning agents over time, thereby causing persistent changes in the airways.”

And it’s not just for now: “This study suggests that also long-term respiratory health is impaired 10-20 years after cleaning activities.”

Well, ain’t that a bleach? All this time we’ve been tidying for our wellness while washing it down the sink. Maybe we shouldn’t be shocked with all the chemicals left blowing in the Wind(ex).

Says another study author Oistein Svanes: “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.”

So what is the solution (and by solution I don’t mean an actual cleaning product).

Oistein Svanes suggests existing products should be regulated and new safer ones that can’t be inhaled should be formulated.

Or maybe just don’t use them at 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,” Oistein Svanes says. “These chemicals are usually unnecessary; microfiber cloths and water are more than enough for most purposes.”

(Of course, water doesn’t smell nearly as yummy as Sprayway Glass Cleaner and Murphy’s Oil Soap and Lysol Lemon Breeze All Purpose Cleaner.)

Or there’s another solution. And this one is easy Febreze-y.

Just Pledge and Resolve to make an altogether clean break with cleaning.