00:00A clean home is about far more than aesthetics.
00:04According to the UK Cleaning Products Industry Association,
00:08cleaning underpins the health and wellbeing modern families enjoy
00:11and helps guard against common illnesses such as colds, flu and stomach bugs.
00:16For parents managing busy lives, carving out time for effective cleaning is therefore not just a chore.
00:22It's an investment in the health of everyone under one roof.
00:26We normally look to see whether or not there's visible signs of dirt on our floor.
00:32But of course, that doesn't represent the biological cleanliness.
00:36And by biological, I mean considering those bacteria and viruses that we can bring into the home
00:42from the external environment that can reside on our floor in the nice warm environment
00:47that we create in the home for ourselves. That's a perfect breeding ground for bacteria.
00:52So, what we need is biologically clean floors, not just visibly clean.
00:58Studies demonstrate that consistent cleaning of shared spaces and surfaces
01:02significantly reduces the risk of illness transmission within households.
01:06For example, one large multi-country survey found that improved hand washing and surface cleaning behaviours
01:12lowered rates of diarrheal disease by up to 30-47% and respiratory infection by around 23%.
01:20So, research conducted by Dyson showed that parents spend on average 20 minutes more
01:26on general cleaning than non-parents.
01:28Now, I'm not saying children are particularly dirty, but particularly in school holidays
01:34when children are at home a lot, the microbial burden in the house increases.
01:39And muddy shoes, sticky hands, snacking, dropping crumbs, etc. really compounds that issue.
01:46In everyday homes, floors, furnishings and fabrics accumulate pollutants, which, during the colder months
01:52when doors stay shut and children spend more time indoors, can intensify both infection risk and allergic responses.
01:59Guidance from hygiene experts emphasises a targeted hygiene approach,
02:03focusing on key moments and surfaces to maximise health protection without raising stress levels or cost.
02:09Although we can't really visibly detect microbes in our environment, you know, where there is visible signs of dirt,
02:19you will find microbes. And so it's that frequency of cleaning that allows us to be able to reduce that bacterial load.
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