Housework would be as harmful as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day

Here's a news story will delight those allergic to brooms and other household accessories! According to a Norwegian study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, cleaning up at home could prove to be more dangerous than it seems.

Indeed, some products of Housekeeping used too frequently could be particularly harmful to the body, starting with the lungs.

Maintenance aerosols, for example, would be equivalent, if used regularly, to smoking 20 cigarettes a day over a period of 10 to 20.

Risk of respiratory failure and asthma

" We feared that such chemicals, causing regular damage to the respiratory tract day after day, year after year, may accelerate the rate of decline in lung function that occurs with age, "said Pr Cecile Svanes in a statement. , professor at the Center for International Health at the University of Bergen and co-author of the study

This use would have a direct effect on the "forced expiratory volume per second", ie the volume of gas released during the first second of forced expiration. It would decrease between 3.6 and 3.9 milliliters per year depending on whether you are a housekeeper or just do your own housework.

Researchers also warn of an increased risk of asthma and respiratory symptoms in professional cleaners and people doing regular housework. On the other hand, the long-term effects were not yet well known.

In conclusion, Professor Svanes stated that "these chemicals are generally useless" and advocates the use of microfiber cloths and water which are "more than enough for most uses".