Coming home to a clean house can give you a sense of relief and relaxation from the stress of the outside world. There’s more to cleanliness than just being pleasing to the eyes. Having a clean home environment has benefits for your health and well-being too. 

Now that many of us are staying at home indefinitely due to the pandemic situation, we believe this topic about the health benefits of a clean home is a timely and relevant one.

1. Reduces Infectious Disease Risk

No place is completely safe from contaminants and infectious agents. Even sterile environments in hospitals and laboratories need regular disinfection to keep the areas free from pathogens. You can make your home a safer place than the outside world by taking disinfection to the next level through deep cleaning. If you live within a big city or the suburbs, your home is constantly exposed to dust, dirt, and pollution. Regular cleaning can only take care of surface dust and dirt, but over time, these contaminants accumulate in areas that you cannot reach or fail to regularly clean, such as under the rugs, carpets, sofas, ceilings, basements, attics, furniture, and other inconspicuous places. Luckily, there are cleaning services you can hire especially in large cities such as New York to clean deep-seated dirt that can’t be removed by regular cleaning. It is important to note though, that when you hire deep cleaning services in NYC, the service rates vary depending on the square footage to be cleaned, the number of cleaners needed, and other factors. If you are working with a limited budget, you can at least ensure that your kitchen, living room, and/or bedroom undergo deep cleaning, as these are places where you and your family frequently stay in.

2. Reduces Allergy Risks and Symptoms

Allergies are another health concern that many homeowners face. You or some of your family members may have allergic rhinitis or skin allergies that may be seasonal or happen year-round, and having a thoroughly cleaned home can reduce the frequency or even prevent allergy episodes.

Dust mites, pet dander, and pollen are the most common allergens found at home. These allergens can stay on carpets, sheets, dirty clothing, and furniture. Make sure to regularly dust, vacuum, or wash allergen-attracting items at home. Deep cleaning services also offer steam cleaning, which is effective in removing dirt and allergens from sofas, floors, and upholstered furniture.

3. Promotes Relaxation and Reduces Stress

Make your home a sanctuary from stress by cleaning it regularly. A messy or untidy home only adds more stress as the view of unwashed dishes or piled-up laundry tells your brain that you still have much to do at home. When you clean up your home regularly, you are affirming your brain’s positive imagery of your kitchen, living room, or bedroom as relaxing spots where you can relax and take things easy.

Decluttering and keeping things organized at home can also make it easier for you to locate important things such as your car keys, your watch, or files and reports. Designating areas and storage receptacles where your important stuff can be tucked away can help put your mind at ease and reduce stress and tension buildup.

4. Promotes Quality Sleep

Having a clean home also reduces sleepless nights and nights where you constantly toss and turn on your bed. Again, allergens like dust mites can play a key role in giving you discomfort when you sleep. Bedbugs and mosquitoes can infest your bedroom if you do not regularly clean your beddings or if you keep your laundry piled up in a corner. Regularly wash your beddings, including comforters and duvet covers, and use hot water or a hot dryer to get rid of dust mites and bed bugs. Also, have a regular laundry schedule to avoid laundry piles where mosquitoes hang out. When you get to a clean bed without anything bothering you, you get to sleep well and without interruptions.

5. Promotes Healthy Eating Habits

A messy home can tempt you to make poor diet choices. When you leave food wrappers, ice cream cups, or partially consumed pizza boxes and chips lying around in your home, you are sending a negative impression to your brain and you are more inclined to select the things you see in the mess. However, if you clean your home regularly, you are removing junk food and unhealthy snacks out of the picture, and you choose the food that’s prepared for you in the kitchen or make healthy snacks. Stress also leads to stress eating and poor diet choices, but you can counteract this by making your home clean and relaxing. Feeling relaxed at home and having an organized kitchen also makes you cook more often and order fewer takeout foods, which are usually processed and unhealthy.

6. Improves Mental Health and Anger Management

Cleaning your home is an excellent way of channeling tension and pent-up anger within you. It is a constructive way of redirecting your energy to doing something beneficial rather than doing something destructive or hurtful, which will only aggravate your negative emotions. 

A clean home also gives positive and relaxing imagery to your mind and helps calm it down. When you feel anxious or depressed, clean up your house and take delight and pleasure in the neat and organized atmosphere you have made. You will be smiling and forgetting your worries and anxieties in no time.

7. Reduces Risks of Injuries

Most injuries from accidents at home can be avoided by cleaning and decluttering. Round, pointed, sharp, and heavy inflict injuries when improperly placed at home. Marbles, balls, BB pellets, Orbeez, and other small round objects can cause slips and fall if left lying on the floor. Umbrellas, bottle caps, chairs, tables, and small furniture can injure your feet if they are misplaced. Keep your pathways clean and organized, and avoid stacking heavy things overhead to avoid risks of head injury.

8. Reduces Pest Infestation

It’s not just airborne and surface pathogens that you can get rid of when you clean your home, you can also reduce pest infestation. Pests are also carriers of diseases, and they thrive in messy and dirty places. By regularly cleaning your home, you are making your home a less desirable environment for pests to live and you are depriving pests of their food source. When you keep pests at bay, you are also safeguarding your health and the health of others living in your home.

Make your home a true refuge from the harsh elements of the outside world by cleaning it. Making cleanliness a part of your lifestyle can uplift your mood and improve your health and well-being. We hope that the health benefits we shared here can motivate you to adopt cleanliness into your home.