Theory Busted: Clean Homes Do Not Make For Unhealthy Children So Put Down The Mops!

Keeping your house ‘too’ clean has long been thought to hinder the development of your children’s immune systems and to encourage asthma but a new study has revealed that this is not the case.

According to the Irish Independent, parents should keep on scrubbing as scientists in the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine busted the theory today when they revealed that children who live in spotless homes are not at risk of developing illnesses from everyday microbes any more than other children.

Having a spotless house is no longer thought to damage your children's immune systems

Sally Bloomfield, the professor heading the study said: “The underlying theory that microbial exposure is crucial to regulating the immune system is right.

“But the idea that children who have fewer infections, because of more hygienic homes, are then more likely to develop asthma and other allergies does not hold up,” she said.

Professor Rosalind Stanwell-Smith said that by blaming childhood illnesses on household cleanliness people are avoiding finding a real solution to these issues. 

She said: “Allergies and chronic inflammatory diseases are serious health issues and it’s time we recognised that simplistically talking about home and personal cleanliness as the cause of the problem is ill-advised.

Clean homes were once thought to cause dammage to children's immune systems

"It’s diverting attention from finding workable solutions and the true, probably much more complex, causes,” she said.