I love my dishwasher because I don’t have to spend as much time at my kitchen sink as I used to; more importantly than that, it gets things REALLY clean. Maybe too clean though, according to a new study in Sweden that says allergies are more common in families who use dishwashers, than those who wash dishes by hand.
The research involved 1,029 children aged between 7 and 8 years, and found that those whose parents said they mostly wash the family’s dishes by hand were significantly less likely to develop eczema, and somewhat less likely to develop allergic asthma and hay fever.
The study concluded that a less-efficient dishwashing method may induce tolerance via increased microbial exposure.
The findings are the latest to support a theory called the “hygiene hypothesis,” which basically suggests that people are growing up too clean. It stipulates that microbial exposure during early life stimulates the immune system, giving it a chance to tell the difference between good and bad, hence reducing the risk of allergy development.
While it might be time to ditch the hand sanitiser and chill out on the cleaning front (great news), personally, I won’t be ripping out my dishwasher anytime soon.
