# Do you wash your hands before dining at restaurants? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 29, 2020, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186 "2020-01-29T20:25:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186/21 "2020-01-30T00:04:54Z")
It’s never occurred to me. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186/22 "2020-01-30T00:06:59Z")
I went yes but its probably more like 65-70% of the time; less if I am headed basically from home to where-ever it is I’m eating, more if I’m stopping somewhere for a fast meal after several other stops inbetween. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186/23 "2020-01-30T00:35:30Z")
No. But if I want to wash my hands in a restaurant for some reason, I’ll take ice out of the water glass and rub my hands with that. Whatever’s left of the melting cube gets dumped on the bread plate or coffee saucer. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186/24 "2020-01-30T01:01:37Z")
I’ll have already brushed my lip or touched my eye, so there’s not much point in a special trip to wash my hands. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186/25 "2020-01-30T01:05:45Z")
Whenever possible. Or, Purell™. I am aware that this is false comfort, since I’m MUCH more likely to experience severe G.I. distress due to a kitchen worker not having washed their hands. But still. I wash. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186/26 "2020-01-30T01:44:15Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > No. But if I want to wash my hands in a restaurant for some reason, I’ll take ice out of the water glass and rub my hands with that. Whatever’s left of the melting cube gets dumped on the bread plate or coffee saucer. I’ve done this from time to time. In a pinch, even the condensation on a cold glass can suffice. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186/27 "2020-01-30T01:55:53Z")
No. I consider it to be an essential part of my lifestyle to keep my immune system regularly exercised, with exposure to the ordinary pathogens that are encountered in my everyday environment. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186/28 "2020-01-30T02:51:51Z")
So, if the question were just “Do you wash your hands before eating?”, I wonder if the ratio above would change. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186/29 "2020-01-30T03:48:55Z")
How many people wash their hands before taking a cookie from the home-baked plate someone’s passing around at work? I’m sure someone does, but generally speaking I don’t see it. I don’t see people washing their hands before taking those little tasting samples at the supermarket either. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186/30 "2020-01-30T05:10:17Z")
Handwashing weakens immune systems. Eat filth; gain resistance; survive. Only the clean die young. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186/31 "2020-01-30T10:57:32Z")
No, unless there is very obvious dirt or contamination it never occurs to me. Same with hand sanitiser, that seems unnecessarily germ-phobic to me. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186/32 "2020-01-30T11:41:37Z")
I try to excuse myself and wash my hands before the food shows up. I try to, I don’t always manage. It’s not a compulsion or anything, I just prefer to after reading something somewhere about how the menus are full of other people’s virus laden secretions and oozements. I believe those were the terms. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186/33 "2020-01-30T12:50:24Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > So, if the question were just “Do you wash your hands before eating?”, I wonder if the ratio above would change. My suspicion is that most folks wash their hands before eating at home, but that relatively few do so before eating out. > [@Aspidistra](#): > > How many people wash their hands before taking a cookie from the home-baked plate someone’s passing around at work? > > I’m sure someone does, but generally speaking I don’t see it. > > I don’t see people washing their hands before taking those little tasting samples at the supermarket either. I’m no absolutist germophobe. I don’t always wash my hands before eating at restaurants, but I try to do so most of the time. When it comes to cookies/donuts at the office, yep, guilty as charged; these are rare treats, and I eat them with unwashed hands while making minimal contact. I don’t do supermarket samples precisely because I don’t know who’s been touching/sneezing on them. But if I’m going to eat at, say, Wendy’s - and I order a drink, fries and sandwich - then I’m about to put a kung-fu grip on my sandwich, in addition to touching just about every single french fry in the box. I’m gonna wash my hands first. I sometimes eat a sandwich in my car, on which occasions I’ll take the trouble to keep the wrapper between my fingers and the sandwich. > [@Balthisar](#): > > I’ll have already brushed my lip or touched my eye, so there’s not much point in a special trip to wash my hands. Contagion is kind of a probabilistic thing. Every encounter with an infectious agent (e.g. every time you touch your lip/eye) is a roll of the dice; if you roll the dice a dozen times, your aggregate chances of contracting an infection are greater than if you only roll the dice once or twice. Even if you’ve already touched your lips or eyes with unwashed hands, you reduce your risk of infection by washing your hand before further incidents of contact. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186/34 "2020-01-30T12:59:57Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > It’s never occurred to me. This. I eat dinner out on average three nights a week and rarely enter the men’s room for any reason. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186/35 "2020-01-30T13:07:54Z")
If my hands feel dirty and I’ve ordered finger food, generally yes. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186/36 "2020-01-30T13:45:44Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Even if you’ve already touched your lips or eyes with unwashed hands, you reduce your risk of infection by washing your hand before further incidents of contact. That’s why I said “not much point” rather than “no point.” I’m also willing to extend the 5 second rule to 60 seconds or so, if it’s not wet goopy food. My attitude has changed a lot since I posted [this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=70666) almost 19 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186/37 "2020-01-30T13:47:52Z")
I do wash my hands at restaurants. I’m a nurse so I’m very aware of what’s on my hands and what I’m touching. I also pay attention to what I touch in restaurants, too. The backs of chair often have obvious soiling on them (I use my foot to push the chairs out) and the condiments such as salt and pepper shakers are often dirty looking too. If I ran the world, all restaurants would have a hand washing area near the front door. Not everyone needs to use a restaurant’s bathroom, but everyone should wash their hands before eating and it should be made easy. Plus, having a hand washing sink near the door would cause a little social pressure that would encourage its use. Many people should wash when leaving as well, especially kids. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186/38 "2020-01-30T13:57:56Z")
Nope. The only exception is if I stopped and got gas on the way. But that’s mostly because I don’t want to smell gas when I’m eating my food. I AM a wee bit germaphobic when it comes to high concentrate hand traffic areas. I absolutely HATE grabbing the salt and pepper shakers at restaurants. Even more so with restaurants that leave condiment bottles at the table. You can see the grime on the bottles! Ugh! ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186/39 "2020-01-30T13:59:24Z")
I ate at a Chinese buffet yesterday, dropped crab Rangoon on the empty chair next to me and picked it up and ate it, that might tell you something about my hand washing. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186/40 "2020-01-30T14:09:32Z")
I am not a germaphobe, but I am in the habit of washing my hands before I eat. So yes, after I place my order, I excuse myself, go to the ladies room, and wash my hands. Sometimes, while I am there, I decide I may as well pee, too. So sometimes I wash my hands twice, once right away, and once 2 minutes later after using the toilet. > [@Aspidistra](#): > > How many people wash their hands before taking a cookie from the home-baked plate someone’s passing around at work?.. Naw. That doesn’t feel like eating. I do try not to handle too much of the cookie, however. I might even use a paper napkin to pick it up if there is a stack handy-by. But I’ll take a cookie and eat it even if there isn’t. > [@pool](#): > > I ate at a Chinese buffet yesterday, dropped crab Rangoon on the empty chair next to me and picked it up and ate it, that might tell you something about my hand washing. I would eat that unless the empty chair was visibly soiled. So, yeah, not a germaphobe. It’s really just habit. But I rarely get stomach bugs, so maybe that’s part of why I rarely get stomach bugs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-your-hands-before-dining-at-restaurants/847186.md?page=3)