The correlation between sustainable development and home hygiene

Abstract

Hygiene refers to the science of the establishment and maintenance of (human) health. In everyday life, hygiene is closely associated with good housekeeping. This article will focus on home hygiene in relation to cleaning, on microorganisms, and on sustainable development of domestic technology. In domestic cleaning there are two beneficial effects: the aesthetic aspects of cleanness and the removal of microorganisms. In cleaning science substantial attention is paid to the interrelation between cleaning and removal of microorganisms. It appears that the parameters of the cleaning process and the detergent properties play a significant role in this interrelation. Changing technology to reduce the environmental impact of household cleaning not only influences the household activities and the functional performance of the cleaning processes but also has an impact on the level of hygiene. Results are presented of research in which the hygiene has been evaluated in relation to such changes. One option recently studied to reduce the environmental impact of households is the reduction of water consumption by water reuse. In such concepts water is used in successive steps for various processes before it is drained. The potential impact of such systems and of the use of rain water on the level of home hygiene is discussed.