Why Cleaning a Home is Good for Your Health

Of course, cleaning is good for your health. It’s no fun and has to be done. Isn’t this the case with all of the necessary activities no one wants to do?

However, house cleaning can be good for your health in many ways.

1. Lower Stress

Studies have shown that a clean home decreases stress. People who live in cluttered spaces tend to have increased stress and frustration. Stress can also lead to health complications such as heart attacks, ulcers, and even migraines. Lowering our stress levels improves health and the risk for severe medical conditions.

2. Lower Anxiety and Depression

Clutter can make the brain begin to feel overwhelmed. Just as the stress we discussed above, anxiety and depression can be side effects of clutter and messy spaces.

According to Clean and Simple Cleaning, the brain begins to focus only on the mess and loses the ability to focus on other tasks at hand. Work tends to suffer. Therefore, it is better for our mental health when we live in a cleaner home.

3. Lower Risk of Falls and Injury

Clean homes reduce the risk of tripping and falling over items. Of course, accidents can happen regardless of how many precautions we take. However, we can lower the risks of home injury if we keep it clutter-free. Keeping spaces organized can also minimize the risk of injury.

Overfilled cabinets can cause things to fall and injure family members. Most people do not stuff their cabinets like the people in infomercials, but it is possible that things will fall when opening the doors.

4. Reduced Allergens

Perhaps the most logical health benefit is reduced allergens. Dusting and vacuuming can help people rid their homes of allergens that may cause illnesses. Dust and dust mites are some of the leading household allergens.

Cleaning the home can reduce exposure to these toxins. Likewise, sinus infections can come from clogging sinuses with phlegm and fluids. Allergies generally cause an increase in the production of these fluids.

Reducing allergens can reduce the risk of infection from the build-up of fluid. Likewise, asthma is often triggered by seasonal or environmental allergies. Asthma symptoms may not completely disappear, but they can be reduced with fewer triggers.

5. Increased Activity

House cleaning is an active task naturally, and it can increase your activity levels. Because of the depression and anxiety related to clutter and messy homes, we tend to be less active in a messy house.

You also have more time to do other things if you are simply maintaining a clean home rather than feeling like you have too much to do. We feel like moving about and doing more activities. Walking and moving are great for your health. You can increase your life expectancy even with leisurely walking.

One thing we don’t consider is how much we move during cleaning. Bending, stretching, pushing, pulling, and scrubbing all move muscles that are essential for good health. It can also burn calories.

6. Reduce the Risk of Mold and Mildew

Dishes left in a sink, leaky faucets, and wet washcloths and towels all increase the risk of mold and mildew. As we mentioned earlier, the risk of allergens and asthma triggers can improve a person’s health.

However, mold and mildew can cause even more health problems. Homes have to undergo expensive removal when certain types of mold are present. Reducing the risk of mold beginning can also reduce the future costs of maintaining your home.

7. Decreased Pests

Clean homes have a reduced risk of rodents and other pests. While insects can trigger allergic reactions, rodents can also carry diseases. Reducing the clutter in your home can reduce the spaces these pests can hide.

Cleaning up food and food waste can reduce the attractiveness of your home to these pests. This reduction also decreases your risk of exposure to diseases they may carry. While you wouldn’t necessarily be bitten, it is a risk you can reduce immediately.

8. Better Choices

People who live in a tidier home are also more likely to make better choices for their own health. Becoming more active and better food choices have been linked to those with cleaner homes. Messy homes increase stress and the urge to do nothing. Diet and exercise are linked to better health, as we know.

While a clean home won’t magically make you eat better, studies have shown a correlation between people who live in clean, organized spaces and those who make healthier food and exercise choices.

Final Thoughts

There are many health benefits from cleaning a home. We are aware of the benefits of reduced toxins and allergens in the home, but we do not always think about the other things that come with a clean house, like reduced accident risk, decreased depression and anxiety, and increased activities.

There are few negatives with cleaning your home. The one health risk might be the accidental mixing of cleaning products. However, this is a low risk, and you are not likely to experience this.

To minimize that risk, all you need to do is monitor ingredients in your cleaning supplies and use multitasking cleaners as often as possible. Likewise, many environmentally friendly cleaners are available in the mainstream market these days.

Pick up some of those to decrease the risk of illness even more. What benefits have you found?