Cleaning Products and Your Lungs

Do cleaning products contribute to the decline of lung function?

The last things you want to worry about when cleaning your home are harsh chemicals that can actually make you sick or exacerbate an existing condition. Women in particular are especially vulnerable to the effects of repeated exposure to toxic cleaning products.

A recent study from the University of Bergen showed that the lung damage caused by such exposure was similar to smoking in females. The authors suggest the chemicals in cleaning products irritate the mucous membranes that line the airways of the lungs, causing long-term damage. The decline in lung function over the years is more pronounced in women, the study published in American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine shows.

Oistein Svanes, who worked on the 20-year study, said: “The take-home message is that in the long run cleaning chemicals very likely cause rather substantial damage to your lungs.” Who needs that?