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CLEANING

Although Louis the XIV who died in 1715 was alleged never to have washed, most major religions have long linked cleanliness with purity.

Adrian Forty, in his book “Objects of Desire”, recounts how electricity, which was introduced in the early 20th century, was said to “hold the promise of a bright, clean, efficient, cheerful and toil free world.” Electrical consumer products, such as vacuum cleaners, were all developed to meet the need for  “a clean and pure home”

However, in 1989 David Strachan formulated his ‘Hygiene Hypothesis’ in the British Medical Journal. It advocated that “environmental microbes play a useful role in developing the immune system. The fewer germs people are exposed to in early childhood the more likely they are to experience health problems in later life”.