Put down the Ajax and back slowly away

Well, glory be. Here's another study that indicates keeping a clean house can put your child's health at risk. Australian researchers found that fumes from cleaning products and other industrial-strength household chemicals could be contributing factors in children's asthma. Houses that reek of Lysol and air freshener may in fact be making the kids inside of them sick. And isn't that just what I'm longing to hear, as I look around at my dusty dressers and grimy countertops and moldy shower stall and industrial-strength dustbunnies. Now, instead of feeling guilty about the grubbiness, I can rest peacefully in the knowledge that, due to my lack of housekeeping skills, my kids' immune systems are getting a good workout battling such a fine variety of microscopic predators, while their respiratory systems are clean of cleaner residue. Could messiness be next to godliness? I'd sure be willing to participate in any study that proves that theory.