All of us love a clean house and when we get in the mood of cleaning, we do it with such an energy that sometimes we end up cleaning too much. Yes, you heard it right, too much. There are several experts these days warning us of the “dangers” of a sterile environment; houses that are clean top to bottom, with no sight of dirt, can make your immune system non responsive; therefore there are more possibilities of developing allergies.

What can we do to make sure our home is clean without converting it into a sterile bubble?

1- Clean often: Do you remember how long it took you to get rid of that tomato sauce stain? If you leave dirt for later chances are you will need to use strong products to scrub it out. If you wipe clean as you go, in most situations a damp cloth would be enough to clean the area in question.

2- Do not use antibacterial products: These are linked to allergy reactions if used in excess. Antibacterial chemicals contain triclosan, which is a pesticide and an endocrine disruptor. So in fact, you could be causing more harm than good when using them.

3- Use chemicals with no fragrance: Perfume on cleaning products is made of hundreds of chemicals, some of them dangerous to your health. If you want to freshen your home, open windows, buy fresh flowers or bake a cake!

4- Do not over do it: When you clean, use only as much cleaning product as you need, no more. The less you use the less toxins you will spray into the air.

These are simple steps to help you take care of your family’s health while cleaning your house. Like with everything, go step by step, try to clean with a mild detergent; if it doesn’t work then try something stronger, but if it works your job will be done with no harm caused.