Going Green or Going Clean (Ultra Clean) The Dirt on Cleanliness
Human societies and most religions value cleanliness highly. In Christianity, the saying goes that it’s next to godliness. Being clean is vital in preventing the spread of diseases, avoiding food poisoning, and avoiding many other health hazards.
However, ‘clean’ is a moral concept and a cultural preference beyond hygiene. In slang, ‘clean’ means good, pure, or high quality. Modern tastes favor clean lines in design, clean living and clean eating. Unfortunately, this love of cleanliness has some dirty consequences.
From Dirt to Ultra-Clean Environments
Nowhere is the downside of cleaning more apparent than in the home environment. In 1989, medical researchers first proposed that living in ultra-clean conditions might be implicated in the rise of allergies and autoimmune conditions, including hay fever and asthma. Research showed that children on farms and in rural environments had a lower incidence of such allergies. These autoimmune problems were also lower in less developed countries but increased as they industrialized and became more affluent.
Exposure To Dirt
It’s generally accepted that exposure to dirt helps the body learn to manage the threats posed by microbes. (An allied example is the role that good bacteria, or so-called probiotics, play in digestion.) And yet, the value placed on domestic cleanliness seems higher than ever. Consumers are bombarded with ads for products that achieve pristine kitchen countertops, sparkling toilets, and gleaming floors. Typically, they show homes that squeaky-clean, picture-perfect families also populate. Not only should your home look good, but it should also smell fragrant, as the avalanche of ads for air fresheners and perfumed fabric conditioners insists.
Specialty Cleaning Products
It’s about selling the dream, but the reality is a little less shiny, starting with the fact that millions are spent yearly on products that aren’t strictly necessary. Soap and water will do the job on most surfaces without needing heavy-duty detergents or antibacterial wipes that cost a lot more. Manufacturers have also developed specialty cleaning products for every dirt type and location. Many people will buy one bottle of detergent for the kitchen and another for the bathroom, even though a good general-purpose cleaner would do both perfectly. Ultimately, it’s about persuading consumers to buy more products.
Plastic and Packaging
It’s not only bad for your budget. The amount of extra plastic and packaging produced by the cleaning products industry and its environmental impact are problems in their own right. The contemporary clean culture encourages overkill and the overuse of often unnecessarily harsh chemicals, which don’t just vanish after they go down the plughole with the germs.
Energy and Noise Pollution
In addition to the environmental contamination that clean craziness generates, excessive energy use and noise pollution are other unwelcome accompaniments. Makers have long sold vacuum cleaners based on superior cleaning power, which entails higher energy consumption. Yet, as consumer organizations such as Which? Point out that more power doesn’t equate to more efficient cleaning. In the European Union, the maximum wattage for vacuum cleaners that can be manufactured has now sensibly been reduced from 1600 to 900W, as has the maximum permitted noise level.
Household Cleaners
Cleaning products are also a well-documented threat to health. Perfumed laundry conditioners and air fresheners can trigger asthma attacks and migraines in susceptible people. Numerous household products can lead to skin irritation. The threat many cleaning products pose to pets is perhaps less well-known, but it’s a long list. To give but one example, popular disinfectants, such as those that turn milky in the water, like Dettol, are potentially toxic to cats. Birds and fish are especially vulnerable to the effects of chemicals in household cleaners.
A Balanced Diet
The preoccupation with clean, inside and out, spills over into multiple domains. Clean eating seemed like a good idea at first. It sensibly recommends eating lots of fruit and vegetables, whole grains, and unsaturated fats, all sustainably sourced. As one dietitian has noted, however, clean eating has come to imply that everything else is somehow dirty. Food puritanism can lead to bad choices, too. The wrong mix of clean foods can be just as dangerous as a poor diet. It should be about a balanced diet, including some processed foods, burgers and cake without risk.
Going Green or Going Clean: A Little Bit of Everything
In most things, clean is undoubtedly good, but moderation is key. Green cleaning products are a great chemical alternative, but a mindset shift is cheaper and often just as effective. Why fret about that invisible dirt that product manufacturers warn about? Sometimes, it’s invisible because it isn’t there or poses little or no threat. Clean doesn’t have to be sterile. Junk food is okay as an occasional treat. Sometimes, dirt is good for you, your pets, and the planet.
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