More dirt, less sniffles, it seems...

Couldn't agree more.

Kids that grow up with pets in the house have fewer allergies too.

Makes perfect sense

Yes, it is definitely true. The increased levels of asthma in children is directly attributable to our environment. The deceased use of carpets should have meant a decrease not an increase.

The Irish expert is certain that be are born with certain 'xxx' needed to deal with normal invasions. When these are not utilized, these turn on our own bodies causing the problem and so the increase.

The safest environment for a child is where it trades bugs with other kids, building up the tolerances of all. Next was a farmyard!

I believe most (if not all) species benefit from some contamination present within their environment. If what's around you can not be diminished it must then be tolerated. Guarding against ever present toxicity might not be wise as body chemistry seems adaptable and immune systems enjoy the challenge.
This is not to say dining on ecoli ruffage will make a Super Hero, only that some impurities might help mankind evolve.
Now, don't get me started on genetically "engineered" foods!

bring back grime

As Mom used to say... "It's just a little dirt. Don't worry about it."

My dog eats garbage...he don't got no allergies, I think I'll dine with him from now on!

I think there is a big difference between clean and obsessive clean. It's learning where to draw the line that is the problem for some.

My mother was an obsessive cleaner ... but I was a "tom-boy", so I got dirty all the time. Kids will eat dirt! I had to chew bacteria tablets when I was in the hospital with Mononucleosis years ago (to help me digest my food after they killed ALL the bacteria in my body with drugs).

We have all these "bugs" for a reason. We can't live without some of them!

It is a fact, which I have heard referenced on several separate occasions of late, that we host more foreign cells in our bodies than we are actually intrinsically made up of. So, we have to keep "everyone" happy.