10 Health Benefits of a clean home

**Editorial feature with Klarify.me**

It is quite common knowledge to most people that a clean home is a happy home. Whether you hire someone to clean your home for you, or you like to do it yourself by hand, most people put in at least minimal effort into keeping their homes clean and healthy.

It isn’t a job we like to do but one which is a necessity – for our health, states of happiness and for ease too – the more often you tidy up after yourselves and put things away, the less often they need doing. It is for this reason, I have baskets on the stairs – things that need to go upstairs are put into the basket and put away the next time I head up. I also wipe down the kitchen surfaces every night and give the bathrooms a wipe-over daily – it saves having to do a big clean weekly.

But there are quite a few surprising health benefits of having a clean home as well. If you have been putting off that one, annoying cleaning task in your home, then this article might be just what you need to get to it!

Get rid of most allergies

A lot of people are allergic to dust, allergens, and other irritants quickly found around your home. By dusting or sweeping your home, these particles often stir up and act as a catalyst to your allergies, making them far worse. Emmy has Asthma and dust and outside pollutants really do have an effect on how often she needs to use her inhalers.

Avoiding cleaning and stirring up allergies sounds like the solution, right?

No!

By cleaning up the dirt, dust, allergens, pet dander, and other small particles from your home, you will actually create a far healthier living environment where you are free from allergies! Just vacuum, instead of sweep or dust, and use special HEPA filters to trap the dust, so you don’t get allergies while cleaning!

There are other things that can cause allergies, some of which lurk in the house including dust or pet hair – you can get home allergy tests to help determine the cause of your allergy. I became allergic to some types of pet hair in my 20’s, it was a strange development because it almost happened overnight, my skin became super sensitive to moulting finer pet hair such as my own pet Chinchilla and the Guinea Pigs fur from the pets of the children I looked after.

My allergies started off as sneezing and itching eyes so I used to shrug them off as a cold – easily done when symptoms as so similar, but knowing the difference between colds and allergy symptoms is key – you can’t treat an allergy with cold and flu medicine after all. I finally realised when my skin started to itch and I would get rashes after holding or cleaning out the pets. There are different type of allergy testing you could have done including blood tests or skin prick testing. Knowing your allergy will help you to either avoid that trigger or to treat it appropriately.

A mini-workout

Calling cleaning a ‘mini’ workout might actually be underplaying it a lot. In fact, cleaning can be quite a heavy workout if you do it right. Simple tasks such as mopping, sweeping, dusting, hand washing, certain clothes, our dishes can be a great full-body workout. Keep your home clean, and your body fit too!

Reduces stress

You might be wondering how a clean home can reduce stress. Well – a cluttered home is also the sign of a cluttered mind. Engaging in cleaning tasks can be quite therapeutic. At the end of the day, having a mess-free, clutter-free home can be soothing, relaxing, and really relieve stress. If you make a cleaning routine for yourself, it can be even better as you stick to the schedule and watch your house become neat and clean.

Decreases the spread of germs

Germs are really nasty little creatures. You can’t see them, but you know they’re there. Having a clean home at least reduces if not completely eliminates the spread of germs and bacteria. Have an excellent antibacterial cleaner or simply make one at home, and use it to regularly wipe down the items of your home and keep it clean and germ-free.

Ward off pests

Pets, just like bacteria and germs, simply thrive in unhealthy conditions. Whether you have a bed bug problem, rats in your home, cockroaches, ants, or termite, they all have a straightforward solution of elimination – clean your home. If things have got out of hand, you might need to get in a company like Pest Control Experts to get rid of these once and for all. From then, you will need to keep on top of your cleaning in order to prevent this from happening again.

By regularly cleaning your home, you not only effectively get rid of these pests from your house, but you can also ensure that they don’t return.

You can always take professional help for cleaning your home every once in a while. Still, it is also essential to have a few cleaning routines which you can do on your own regularly. Again, it may not be possible to vacuum, dust, mop, sweep, and sanitise your home every single day – but doing the bare minimum can also be quite helpful! Once you get into the habit of cleaning with meaning, you will eventually reap all the health benefits that come with having a clean and healthy home.

It increases safety

Cleaning your home also includes reducing clutter, organizing things, and putting things away in the right place. What else does that do? Reduces risks and accidents around your home. This can be especially helpful if you have young children or pets around your home. Keeping your home clean can be a really excellent safety measure for everyone in your house.

It fosters calmness

When talking about the health benefits of cleaning, you definitely cannot leave out your mental health, right? Cleaning is actually a great activity that supports good mental health in a lot of ways. The task itself is quite calming for many people. Not only that, but coming back to a clean house is exceptionally calming. When the world around you is so chaotic and full of mess, coming back to a clean home can really be one of the most significant rewards you can give to yourself.

You eat healthier

Now, this can be very confusing for some people – how can keeping your home clean make you eat healthier?

Turns out – it’s purely psychological.

An unclean, messy home can be very stressful for you, whether you realise it or not. And as we already know, stress makes us take lousy food choices.

It is interesting to know that when you clean your home, you are not only more likely to choose healthier food options, but you will also innately feel like turning down food, which is terrible for your health.

So keeping your home clean actually helps you protect your health too!

It helps you sleep better

Cleaning can help you sleep better too. The simple act of just making your bed every morning can actually increase your chances of getting a good night’s sleep by 20%! It’s true!

But not just that – by cleaning your home, you are also reducing a lot of dust and allergens around your home. This helps your home environment become far more hygienic, pure and enables you to breathe better. The better you breathe at night, the better you sleep!

You don’t get sick as often

Turns out, it is not just your low immunity, which is making you sick all the time. Things like getting an allergy attack, cough, cold, flu, rashes, or even stomach infections are all things that you can reduce simply by keeping your home clean.

By avoiding cleaning your home, you are actually welcoming a host of bacteria and germs into your home, which thrive in unhealthy conditions. The simple task of cleaning your kitchen, your bedroom, and your bathroom can really help you reduce the risk of infections and help you not fall sick ever so often.

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