A new study has found that cleaning the house is as bad for women's lungs as smoking a packet of cigarettes a day, but using cleaning products had no effect on men's lungs.

 

The research found that women who cleaned – either around the house as little as once a week or as professional cleaners - had an "accelerated" decline in lung capacity from using cleaning products like bleach and ammonia.  The drop in lung function in both groups was comparable to smoking a pack of 20 cigarettes for between 10-20 years,

No effect was found on the lungs of men who did the cleaning – either professionally, or just as part of their domestic chores.

The scientists advised using bleach to clean less, that water and a microfibre cloth will do the job for most cleaning tasks.

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