The Healthiest Way to Clean Your House

The pandemic inspired new vigilance about germs, including more frequent and thorough house cleaning—changes that stuck with many of us years later. But while cleanliness is a virtue, germ fixation is not. Cleaning your house too thoroughly, or with the wrong kinds of products, can be harmful to health.

Of particular concern is the overzealous use of potent disinfectants that kill 99% of common bacteria. “The pandemic has had a long-term impact, and people use stronger disinfectants now,” says Orianne Dumas, a respiratory epidemiologist at the French Institute of Health and Medical Research. 

“We’re cleaning more than we ever have, for both good and bad, depending on how people do it,” says Jill Heins Nesvold, senior director of indoor air quality at the American Lung Association.

Here’s what researchers know about the risks and how to clean house effectively while protecting yourself and those around you.   

Studies reveal that the air inside our homes is more polluted than the air outdoors, and a portion of these toxins come from household cleaners. They contain scores of chemicals linked to health problems, including those that affect breathing. However, these risks depend on the dose.

In 2023, the nonprofit Environmental Working Group researched 30 common cleaning products and found that all together, they contained 193 chemicals hazardous to health. Many are volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, such as acetone, methanol, and glycols like 2-butoxyethanol. These evaporate easily into the air, where they can be inhaled, trigger allergic reactions, and irritate the eyes, nose, and throat. Too much irritation can inflame and damage the airway, potentially resulting in breathing issues. Higher asthma rates have been observed in people who clean professionally and even in ordinary people exposed to these irritants as infrequently as once per week.

There’s also an association with lung weakness. One study found professional cleaners have a 43% higher risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than the general population. Dumas says that more research is needed to establish this COPD link in people who just clean their own houses, who have less exposure.

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The potential impacts go beyond the respiratory system. Once inhaled, VOCs can mimic the activity of hormones, disrupting the endocrine system. Such disruptions may increase cancer risk. As with COPD, some studies suggest higher cancer rates among cleaning professionals, but research hasn’t shown the same link among casual household users, Dumas notes.

Overexposure can mean different things. Big doses of harsh disinfectants can disrupt health rapidly, while lower amounts used too frequently over the years can also be harmful. “You could use a cleaning product once per week for 10 years, or two times per day for one year, and get the same exposure,” Heins Nesvold says. “With a lot of use, you’ll have the effects more quickly.”

To protect yourself while cleaning your house, start by using fewer products to limit contact with lots of chemicals. You could select a multi-purpose cleaner instead of the specialist approach: one for glass, another for the bathtub, a specific floor product, and so on. “Reevaluate your product arsenal to find places to cut back,” advises Samara Geller, senior director of cleaning science at EWG.

Another easy swap: Instead of a kitchen-specific cleaner, use dish soap and water on your counters. “You don’t necessarily need a unique kitchen product,” Geller says.

Don’t overdo it with bleach and other strong disinfectants. “Cleaning should not be synonymous with disinfection,” says Doug Collins, a chemist at Bucknell University who studies cleaning products. 

You want the cleaning horsepower of a disinfectant when up against serious filth like bacteria, viruses, mold, and fungi. That’s why hospitals use disinfectants daily. For your home, though, plain soap and water will often work just fine. “Soap is really good at grabbing greasy stuff,” Collins says. He suggests alcohol-based products—ones without added chemicals for killing germs—as another example of basic cleaners that do the job.

Improper use of bleach is especially harmful. Bleach is a great disinfectant because it’s a strong oxidant, but this quality also makes it potentially dangerous. The body has antioxidants that “tamp down on bleach’s oxidative potential and counteract it,” Collins explains, but if you’re exposed routinely, “there’s leakage through that defense mechanism that can cause damage.”

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Collins’s two small children have a knack for turning his bathroom into a crud-filled wrecking zone. When they do, he reaches for bleach, but that’s the rare exception. 

“We do need to disinfect, but not every day, and maybe not even every week,” Dumas says. A few times per month only, recommends Asa Bradman, an environmental health scientist at the University of California, Merced.

If there’s an immunocompromised person in the household, “that’s a different circumstance,” Geller says, warranting more disinfectant. Another example from Heins Nesvold: if an ill house guest sneezes repeatedly, a thorough cleaning is probably wise. 

When you disinfect, do so in a targeted manner. Focus on high-touch surfaces like faucets and doorknobs, advises Akiko Iwasaki, professor of immunobiology at Yale University.

“While excessive use of cleaning products and disinfectants containing synthetic chemicals may harm the human body, when used properly, they can reduce transmission of infections,” Iwasaki says.

You could opt for other bleach alternatives besides soap and alcohol, such as hydrogen peroxide. “We recommend hydrogen peroxide because it’s effective, and pure forms break down into water and oxygen,” Bradman says. It’s easy to remove from surfaces, he adds, whereas bleach often leaves an irritating residue lasting several days after cleaning. 

Vinegar breaks up dirt with less risk than bleach, too, though it’s not as powerful. Collins recommends distilled white vinegar and other acid-based cleaners like lactic or citric acid. You still have to be careful, though. Inhaling vinegar directly could cause “respiratory triggers,” says Bradman.

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Avoid mixing products. Never combine bleach with vinegar, ammonia, or products that have hydrogen peroxide, such as toilet bowl cleaners. The resulting chemical reactions release gases that are toxic and damaging. One large exposure to chlorine gas—produced from mixing bleach and acidic cleaners—can cause reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS), an irritant-induced form of asthma, Geller says.

Follow directions on the bottle that spell out safety precautions, including dangerous mixtures. “It’s key to choose the right product for the right job and follow the label,” says Nicholas Georges, senior VP of scientific and international affairs for the Household and Commercial Products Association, which represents companies making these products. 

Products labeled fragrance-free may be preferable. This is a tricky one, as we often take satisfaction in cleaners with fresh scents, like pine or lemon—a reward for battling the dirt.

However, some of the chemicals responsible for these smells, such as limonene, are the very VOCs that groups including EWG have identified as potentially problematic. Research shows that 35% of Americans using fragranced products report symptoms like breathing issues and migraines.

Fragrance-free cleaners release fewer VOCs. “They’re healthier,” says Bradman, who steers clear of strong scents.

Georges notes that companies perform risk assessments on cleaners to ensure safety and reduce liability. Products must meet fragrance-ingredient standards for protecting health developed by the International Fragrance Association. 

Several organizations certify specific cleaning products as better for health. The American Lung Association and EWG recommend looking for cleaners certified as Safer Choice, a label created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “We’re big supporters of Safer Choice,” Georges says. 

In 2019, EWG developed its own EWG Verified certification for cleaning products. Specific ingredients can also be checked for toxicity against lists compiled by EWG and the EPA.

Another consideration is whether a product is advertised as “green,” suggesting it uses natural ingredients. Separate studies by EWG and Bradman found that green products tend to have fewer hazardous VOCs. 

The quality of these products varies, though. “There’s a lot of diversity in these green products,” Dumas says. Some government regulations aim to control false product claims about being green, but there’s a lack of enforcement. Dumas has found that some green cleaners contribute to asthma risk, partly because natural ingredients aren’t necessarily good for you. For instance, some green cleaners include essential oils, which “may be natural, but could still be volatile” and therefore irritating, Bradman explains.

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Make sure to check the product’s chemical ingredients on its label and online. “Transparency is critical,” Georges says. When products have at least one chemical that’s an allergen—meaning it could affect people with sensitivities, such as asthma—the label has to disclose this, Georges explains. And the specific ingredients, both allergens and other ingredient types, must be listed on the company website or product-specific sites, in addition to on the label, he says.

In its 2023 study, EWG found some chemicals in the air that weren’t listed on product labels. “Oftentimes the label is only scratching the surface of what’s contained in the formula,” Geller says. This discrepancy doesn’t necessarily mean that companies are being deceitful. Rather, it’s hard to predict the byproducts of chemicals once they’re “in the bottle and co-mingling,” Geller says.

Another unknowable factor is what substances the chemicals will encounter after they’re released in people’s homes, such as particulate matter. These secondary reactions can form new substances like formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, Geller explains.

People can further reduce their exposures by circulating the air during cleaning and immediately after. Open windows, run fans, and keep the HVAC system on. “Really get that air circulating to move the chemicals out of the space,” Geller says. Collins runs the bathroom fan for at least 15 minutes after he’s cleaned his kids’ mess.

You can also reduce your chemical exposure by protecting your skin and airways while you clean. For heavy-duty cleaning, consider wearing gloves and an N95 mask. Limit use of sprays that contain chemicals called quaternary ammonium compounds, Collins says. These “quats” differ from VOCs in that they don’t evaporate quickly into the air, but when sprayed they’re easily inhaled, risking irritation and endocrine disruption. Even sprays without quats could harm health if they’re breathed in too much, so try spraying into a cloth first and then wiping surfaces with the cloth. This should reduce how much spray a person inhales, especially if they wear a mask, Collins says.

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Those who are especially sensitive to chemicals, including kids and people with asthma, should go outside during cleaning if possible. In a 2025 study, Dumas found that the overuse of cleaning products in daycares is associated with wheezing symptoms in children under age three. Bradman helped to develop a toolkit on safe cleaning protocols for daycare providers. Pregnant women, too, should take precautions, since some research shows a link between exposure during pregnancy and childhood asthma.

If you’re craving that fresh-as-morning-dew smell after you tidy, you can create it without fragranced cleaners. Geller recommends simmering a pot of water with your favorite herbs and spices. 

Just don’t shy away from disinfectants when you’re looking to banish unhealthy mildews and other tough-to-clean causes of malodor. “The Lung Association isn’t anti-cleaning product,” Heins Nesvold says. “We just want people to be really knowledgeable about what they’re putting into the air they breathe.”