'Hiring domestic cleaners may lessen asthma symptoms' - 12/01/2010

Householders with asthma or other respiratory conditions could be better off hiring professional domestic cleaners so they do not worsen their condition, a new survey suggests.

A recent article published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology found that house cleaning and other common household chores may make asthma worse.

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine studied people with respiratory conditions who carry out cleaning chores and found that their symptoms tended to increase after cleaning.

Although the impact of cleaning on respiratory conditions may seem small, researchers said the cumulative effect on overall health over the course of months or years could actually be quite significant.

Dr Jonathan A Bernstein, who is responsible for the study, said the effect of cleaning on asthma symptoms may be particularly severe for women, who may tend to take on the bulk of domestic cleaning chores.

"Women exhibited increased upper and lower respiratory tract symptoms in response to cleaning agents rated mild in toxicity, suggesting a subtle but potentially clinically relevant health effect of long-term, low-level chemical exposures," he said.

Meanwhile, a separate poll conducted by Win Monkey found that four out of five stay-at-home mums spend more time browsing the internet than tending to their domestic cleaning duties.

London cleaning companies are on hand to deal with all your essential cleaning needs.