New research suggests that there may be a link between a spotless home and breast cancer. Scientists investigating the disease found that women who use air fresheners, general use cleaning products and mould and mildew removers on a regular basis could possibly be increasing the chances of contracting breast cancer.

The research was conducted in the US. Experts telephoned a number of women in the Cape Cod, Massachusetts, area to ask them about their cleaning habits and how often they used pesticides and other general use cleaning materials. 721 of the women spoken to were cancer free and 787 were suffering from the disease. All of those interviewed were between the age of 60 and 80.

Once all the women had answered the study’s questions about their cleaning habits they were put into four categories from high product users to low. The rates of breast cancer within each group were then compared.

According to the study, the use of insect repellents, pesticides and mothballs seemed to have relatively little impact on the rates of cancer. Leader of the study, conducted through the Silent Spring Institute in Newton, Massachusetts, Dr Julia Brody, announced that the results suggested that those who used the largest combined amounts of cleaning products were twice as at risk of developing breast cancer than those who used the smallest amounts.

According to Dr Brody, whose findings have been published in Environmental Health, the study is the first of its kind and highlights the genuine risks involved with commonly using air fresheners.