Reasons Why You Should Be Cleaning With a Face Mask

Right now all anyone is talking about is how wearing a face mask can help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other viral infections; however, wearing a face mask can go beyond protecting yourself from outside germs. Many of us are in constant lock downs or quarantine and with spring finally here, we’re bound to do some indoor cleaning—as arduous as it can be. Wearing a face mask can help alleviate some of the cleaning conundrums we experience day to day.  Here are four reasons on why you should clean with a face mask on.

Cleaning with chemicals

We can’t always clean with natural products such as baking soda, vinegar, and a little elbow grease. Sometimes harsh products can make the job easier, but those harsh products come with corrosive chemicals. Many people are accustomed to cleaning with these products, so they’re never given a second thought; however, some side effects of inhaling fumes of general cleaning products can include breathing difficulties, coughing, irritation, headaches, and even nausea. Wearing a mask can prevent and block the inhalation of the products, lessening the chance of experiencing these side effects. Whether it be cleaning your stove top with a spray, or cleaning your bathroom with bleach, it’s easy to inhale product fumes, which can be harmful for your overall health.

Dust

Spring cleaning can also bring in spring allergies (not just from pollen). Dust allergies are common and can be extremely irritating to the general public and even more so to those with asthma. Furthermore, dust mites can aggravate sensitive skin such as those with eczema or psoriasis. Dusting is a pivotal part of cleaning your house to breathe better, but it’s essential to be comfortable while doing so. Wearing a mask can help prevent irritation from dusting due to the fact that you’re blocking out the dust from getting into your sinuses and airways.

Odors

Cleaning can be daunting with surprises everywhere. Odors often lurk around, forgotten, but when come face to face, they’re not afraid to attack with full pungency. Wearing a mask throughout cleaning can shield you away from surprise odors. Furthermore, it can shield away typical odors we face as we’re taking out the garbage or cleaning the bathroom. Masking up only makes our cleaning process faster and efficient, so we spend less time trying to hold our noses and more time getting back to relaxing.

Cat litter

People are well aware that pregnant women aren’t supposed to go near cat litter, but it’s generally best for everyone to take caution. Toxoplasmosis,  is a parasitic infection that can be transmitted through cat feces, which makes litter boxes a possible ground for it. However, toxoplasmosis isn’t just by touching cat feces, but it can be transmitted through aerosolized oocysts as the cat feces dries. It’s possible that when someone goes to change the litter, one can inhale these aerosolized oocysts. Wearing a mask while changing the litter will only lessen your exposure to toxoplasmosis, which will help you stay healthy and safe.