# Men: Do you wash your hands if nobody else is in the room? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 2, 2003, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941 "2003-04-02T12:50:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941/21 "2003-04-02T16:59:37Z")
The results of several studies on this matter can be found here- [http://www.washup.org/page03.htm](http://www.washup.org/page03.htm) About one third of restroom users don’t wash. Personally, I think these studies are flawed because they have to have a person in the restroom watching you to see whether or not you wash. I would bet the actual percentage is much lower. ---
**Author:** ![godzillatemple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@godzillatemple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/godzillatemple)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941/22 "2003-04-02T17:35:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Surreal \* > \*\*About one third of restroom users don’t wash. Personally, I think these studies are flawed because they have to have a person in the restroom watching you to see whether or not you wash. I would bet the actual percentage is much lower. \*\* Well, that’s my point… How many men **only** wash up when there is somebody else in the restroom, especially when it comes to urinating. Barry ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941/23 "2003-04-02T18:33:52Z")
If no one is in the room, I still wash my hands. It’s really convenient, since I also piss in the sink. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941/24 "2003-04-02T18:47:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\*“I always use my foot to flush.” > > Doesn’t that get your foot dirty? > \*\* How would that get my foot dirty? I’m using the bottom of my shoe. It’s not as if I’m sticking my foot in the shitter. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941/25 "2003-04-02T19:38:32Z")
Here’s a better study- [http://216.239.33.100/search?q=cache:1IVvBHqsPK4C:www.daydots.com/xq/asp/strIssue.3/strArticle.gloves/qx/food\_safety\_solutions.htm+STUDY+HIDDEN+MEN+WASH+HANDS+RESTROOM&hl=en&ie=UTF-8](http://216.239.33.100/search?q=cache:1IVvBHqsPK4C:www.daydots.com/xq/asp/strIssue.3/strArticle.gloves/qx/food_safety_solutions.htm+STUDY+HIDDEN+MEN+WASH+HANDS+RESTROOM&hl=en&ie=UTF-8) “_Another recent study by the American Society for Microbiology found that only 58% of men and 75% of women washed their hands after using the restroom._” It appears that I’m in the minority. However, this still doesn’t tell what the percentages are for people who poop vs. those who just pee. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941/26 "2003-04-02T19:44:55Z")
I’ll try the link one more time- [http://216.239.57.100/search?q=cache:1IVvBHqsPK4C:www.daydots.com/xq/asp/strIssue.3/strArticle.gloves/qx/food\_safety\_solutions.htm+study+hidden+cameras+men+wash+hands+restroom&hl=en&ie=UTF-8](http://216.239.57.100/search?q=cache:1IVvBHqsPK4C:www.daydots.com/xq/asp/strIssue.3/strArticle.gloves/qx/food_safety_solutions.htm+study+hidden+cameras+men+wash+hands+restroom&hl=en&ie=UTF-8) ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941/27 "2003-04-02T19:53:10Z")
Always, always wash. The new casinos here have “hands free” faucets (just put your hands under and the water starts) so you only touch soap and water - not even the handles of a faucet. I do, however, know a guy who washes his hands BEFORE he pees…claims that part of his body is certainly cleaner than his filthy hands that have touched handrails, phones, desks, etc. all day. ---
**Author:** ![Tertius01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@Tertius01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tertius01)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941/28 "2003-04-02T19:55:43Z")
I am an occasional washes. I am more likely to wash if someone else is in the bathroom, but usually the decision is based on whether or not I am in a hurry. “…they teach us not to piss on our hands.” ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941/29 "2003-04-02T20:06:05Z")
You touch doorknobs, buttons, phones, and everything else that’s got everyone else’s crap all over it every day. Even if you don’t pee or shit on your hands in the bathroom, going to the bathroom presents a perfect opportunity to get all that other crap off your hands so you reduce the risk of contaminanting your eyes or food with it. I wash my hands every time with soap and warm water no matter who is or isn’t around. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941/30 "2003-04-02T20:11:27Z")
Hell, I piss all over my hands after I leave, too. Would you like fries with that? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![roadrunner70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@roadrunner70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roadrunner70)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941/31 "2003-04-02T20:12:28Z")
I wash before I pee, mainly because I care more about my d\*ck than I do my hands. You only have to get Skydrol[sup]TM[/sup] on your pecker _once_ to learn… ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941/32 "2003-04-02T20:35:22Z")
3 guys are in a public restroom, a Michigan Grad, a Michigan State grad, and an Ohio State grad. The MSU’r finishes up and goes to the sink to wash his hands. He then says: “In East Lansing, we wash our hands after using the restroom.” The Buckeye, does the same and responds: “In Columbus, we also wash our hands after using the facilities.” Finally, the Wolverine finishes and heads straight for the door, bypassing the sink entirely. He looks at the others and says: “In Ann Arbor, we know enough not to piss on our fucking hands.” ---
**Author:** ![DrLizardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5fc32e/32.png) [@DrLizardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrLizardo)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941/33 "2003-04-02T21:00:02Z")
DMark: > [@](#): > > I do, however, know a guy who washes his hands BEFORE he pees…claims that part of his body is certainly cleaner than his filthy hands that have touched handrails, phones, desks, etc. all day. Maybe you know me then, 'cuz this is my view precisely. I get up in the morning, shower, put on freshly laundered underwear, then I touch handrails, phones, door knobs, newspaper, etc… I’m WAAAY more concerned with washing my hands BEFORE I unzip than after… But to answer the post – no, almost never when I’m alone (hey, I just washed 'em before, and I do manage to not p\*ss all over my hands). And to be honest, yes, I sometimes (call it 50%) will breeze my hands under the water simply for the sake of someone else being there observing. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941/34 "2003-04-02T21:46:18Z")
Some of the replies in this thread are giving me the heebie-jeebies! I honestly never thought any person over the age of 16 would even consider not washing one’s hands after using the restroom. Ick. ---
**Author:** ![Drastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Drastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drastic)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941/35 "2003-04-02T22:05:09Z")
I’ve always liked this kind of thread. Someone always provides an early link to Cecil’s column (and other things) that point things out about just how much coliform bacteria are about, which is invariably followed by multiple people looking right past it and saying “Why? I don’t piss on my hands!” Even if the state of my wabbily bits area was the standard by which industrial-medical clean rooms were measured by (“Johnson, we must look into a new filtration system; latest test indicate only a 0.75 corespondence to Drastic’s Groinly Cleanliness!”), I’d wash my hands because of all the people out there who don’t and go out to rub their personal bacteria all over every surface in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941/36 "2003-04-02T22:25:07Z")
For those of you who are so adamant about sterilizing your hands everytime you pee or scratch yourself, how do you manage to get out of the restroom? Isn’t there usually a germ-laden doorknob there you have to come into physical contact with to exit?? Everytime you go outside you’re touching doorknobs, handrails, shopping carts, park benches, etc. All of these things are covered with germs and have been touched by those of us who do not always wash up. Do you live your lives in constant fear? ---
**Author:** ![typhoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed8c4c/32.png) [@typhoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typhoon)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941/37 "2003-04-02T23:01:53Z")
I never wash my hands after peeing, unless I pee on them. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941/38 "2003-04-02T23:09:09Z")
Cecil writes about ‘toilet plumes’ which is really neat,like say how when you flush the toilet droplets of it are on everything in the bathroom. I often wash before peeing & then after & never ever touch any door handle or faucet handle with any bare part of my body 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941/39 "2003-04-02T23:23:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Surreal \* > \*\* > > I also don’t wash my hands when I’m at home. I use my sink as a urinal. \*\* Remind me NEVER EVER to go to **Surreal** ’s place for a Dopefest. That’s disgusting. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![cleops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2acd7d/32.png) [@cleops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cleops)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941/40 "2003-04-03T00:12:18Z")
Very funny thread. I wash after because I think it makes a difference, whether or not it really does is another question. But, as has been mentioned, you do have to open the door to get out of the restroom, and if you wash (whether before or after)there are, I’d imagine, fewer horrible microbes on the door handle for the next person. Besides the aesthetic reason, it is a chance to wash your hands (be it before or after) of all those microbes that might give you a cold or the flu. At least that’s what the scientists tell us. I’m for lessening the likelihood of that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-wash-your-hands-if-nobody-else-is-in-the-room/165941.md?page=3)