# Men who carry handkerchiefs... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 27, 2018, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594 "2018-10-27T16:27:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/61 "2018-10-29T16:20:25Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > So, for those people who use hankies, how do you launder them? Please don’t tell me you wash them with the rest of your clothes! Good grief. Just good grief. Do any of you anti-hanky folk understand the concept of underwear? And what underwear comes in contact with? And that underwear gets washed just like everything else? A used hanky is _far_ less disgusting than used underwear. (To most people, anyway. And those I don’t want to deal with.) I mean, come on. There a quadrillions of other real, important things to worry about here. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/62 "2018-10-29T17:08:03Z")
I’m old (64) and have been carrying a handkerchief since I was in grade school. Most days I use it once or not at all to blow my nose. If I have a cold I often carry two. It seems unlikely to me that my snot poses any risk of infection to me; and it poses little or no threat to anyone else when it is folded neatly in a handkerchief in my pocket. I more frequently use it to cover my nose and mouth when I cough or sneeze. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/63 "2018-10-29T17:34:00Z")
My father has always carried (and used) a handkerchief, though I’ll also point out that he’s about to turn 85. When I was in my early teens, he tried to encourage me to get in the habit of using them, but when I noticed that none of my peers used them, I quickly stopped. I’m not at all sure that I could tell you the last time I saw someone younger than my father (more or less) using a handkerchief. My WAG: usage of them might stem from a time when facial tissues were, relatively speaking, more expensive (and less ubiquitous) than they are now. I usually have a packet of tissues in my backpack, and during the winter, I’ll often try to grab a clean tissue or two, and carry them in my pocket, in case they’re needed. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/64 "2018-10-29T18:00:52Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > There are few things more disgusting than pulling an already snotty piece of cloth out of your pocket, searching momentarily for an unused corner, and blowing even more snot into it before wadding it back up and tucking it back into your pocket. You need to get out more. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/65 "2018-10-29T18:59:07Z")
Oh, grow up! I realize most of you are prob having fun feigning outrage at snot, but really. . . Your mucocutaneous zones (the areas where the inside of your body meets the outside of your body ie: eyes, nose, mouth, ears, anus, penis, vagina) are constantly producing mucus. It is LITERALLY flowing out of every orifice of your body! And snot may be the [cleanest one of them all](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC116505/). Consider, that your nose is continually producing snot. Your upper lip is coated in it right now (you prob even have some in your mouth!) So is the front of your shirt. And so is everything at your work station. Just about everything you come into contact with daily has snot on it (and not just yours!) For those of you grossed out by laundering hankies with the rest of your clothes. . .consider that your underwear is full of mucus (among other secretions), the inside of your shirt, pants and sock are coated in a mix of sweat, skin, hair, and a plethora of microscopic fauna. And I haven’t even mentioned the benefits of your nasal secretions. You should be celebrating snot, not maligning it! mc ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/66 "2018-10-29T20:03:47Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#): > > And I haven’t even mentioned the benefits of your nasal secretions. You should be celebrating snot, not maligning it! You might think it’s funny, but it’s snot. _ducks and runs_ ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/67 "2018-10-29T21:29:41Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#): > > Consider, that your nose is continually producing snot. Your upper lip is coated in it right now (you prob even have some in your mouth!) So is the front of your shirt. And so is everything at your work station. Just about everything you come into contact with daily has snot on it (and not just yours!) Yeah right, in the same way that every surface has some radioactive molecules on it from the Hiroshima explosion. Dunno about your drippy self, but my upper lip and shirt are dry. As for the OP, my dad keeps a wadded _paper_ tissue that he repeatedly re-uses as a sneeze-catcher/snotrag, wadding it up a bit and stuffing it back in his pocket between uses. Its something I try not to dwell on. Myself I’ve found it handier to keep a box of kleenex nearby, and when that doesn’t suffice I head to a bathroom to give a proper blow with the paper and water available there. It usually takes a bit of work to get everything cleaned out to the standard I require. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/68 "2018-10-30T01:53:54Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Good grief. Just good grief. > > Do any of you anti-hanky folk understand the concept of underwear? And what underwear comes in contact with? And that underwear gets washed just like everything else? > > A used hanky is _far_ less disgusting than used underwear. (To most people, anyway. And those I don’t want to deal with.) > > I mean, come on. There a quadrillions of other real, important things to worry about here. If the underwear had a full load in it, you’d empty it out, and likely wash it separately. Your snot rag is full of snot. You think one rinse in the washer is going to rinse it out of all your clothes? ---
**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:** [October 30, 2018, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/69 "2018-10-30T04:14:44Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > If the underwear had a full load in it, you’d empty it out, and likely wash it separately. Your snot rag is full of snot. You think one rinse in the washer is going to rinse it out of all your clothes? Yes. The handkerchiefs are quite clean when they come out of the wash, as are the clothes washed with them. Mucus is fairly water soluble, it cleans out easily in the wash. ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/70 "2018-10-30T11:50:46Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Some work gloves actually have a nose-wiping patch on them. . I know I am going to regret asking this… but cite? :eek: I also carry a handkerchief every day. I will use it to wipe a runny nose, but to properly blow my nose I will always us a tissue. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/71 "2018-10-30T12:22:05Z")
I’m 33 and have used handkerchiefs since I was old enough to know what one is. For the same reasons everyone else has already said. They’re more durable than tissues for when a good hard nose blow/wipe is required, can be washed and reused essentially for free, and are much better for the environment. Yes, you get snot on your hands when using them, but that also applies to tissues. Where this is a problem, you need to wash/sanitise your hands after use in either case. Admittedly I am very unusual among my generation in using handkerchiefs but that applies to a lot of other things, too. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/72 "2018-10-30T14:46:04Z")
WOW! Who knew that something like a hanky could get everyone so riled up! I don’t use hankies, I use kleenex. I have a box in both bathrooms and one by my desk at work. I always have a small pack in my purse and one in my pocket when I walk the dogs. I don’t use them steady, but I like to have them just in case. I have nothing against anyone that wants to use a hanky! My dad always had a hanky in his pants pocket (he was born in 1938). My sisters and I LOVED to iron his hankies when we were around the ages of 5-9. My mom would lower the ironing board so we could reach. We’d actually fight over who got to do it! I remember we’d spray them with starch (I can still smell that) and listen to the sizzle when the iron hit the cloth DRENCHED in starch. I think it was just fun to spray! I have no idea if he ever noticed that his hankies were overly starched. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/73 "2018-10-30T15:03:16Z")
> [@Orville\_mogul](#): > > I know I am going to regret asking this… but cite? :eek: I don’t know about work gloves, but a nose-wiping area (usually fleece) is a pretty common feature of cold-weather gloves for runners. > **[16 Great Running Gloves You’re Sure to Love](https://www.runnersworld.com/gear/g20862641/best-running-gloves/)** > > Keep your hands cozy in all conditions with these top performers. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/74 "2018-10-30T15:05:54Z")
And, on the work glove front, take a look at this set of Carhartt gloves on Amazon: > **[Carhartt Men's W.B. Waterproof Breathable Insulated Glove at Amazon Men’s...](https://www.amazon.com/Carhartt-Waterproof-Breathable-Insulated-Glove/dp/B005I33EAW)** > > Shell: durable, all- purpose polytex with soft-shell trim and reinforced PU palm From the product description: “The WB also features a nose wipe.” ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/75 "2018-10-30T17:00:12Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > And, on the work glove front, take a look at this set of Carhartt gloves on Amazon: > > [https://www.amazon.com/Carhartt-Waterproof-Breathable-Insulated-Glove/dp/B005I33EAW](https://www.amazon.com/Carhartt-Waterproof-Breathable-Insulated-Glove/dp/B005I33EAW) > > From the product description: > > “The WB also features a nose wipe.” I have learned something today. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/76 "2018-10-30T18:29:34Z")
Carry ‘em? Hell, I embroider them. And use them. Most of the year, they’re for sweat on my dewy brow. On days when there’s a high mold count, I find myself sneezing a lot. These allergy sneezes are not huge booger fests with phlegm fountains. Just a little pollenated nose debris. I do have and occasionally use travel tissues, but find myself often in places where I can’t jettison the used offenders right away. So they go in my purse or pocket and THERE’s a nice little present to find when you’re fishing for your phone or your Lifesavers. Now on days like today when I’m a veritable snot factory, I only use the disposables because I’ve got the germy mucus snot and I’m coughing up the ol’ sputum, too. (I’ve got sinus congestion and two bruised ribs trying like hell not to get pneumonia.) Colds and germs demand Kleenex, not handkerchiefs. I know, that no matter how carful I am about checking my pockets one of those used Kleenex will get washed and dried with my next load of clothes. More than likely the dark ones. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/77 "2018-10-30T19:16:59Z")
> [@BeeGee](#): > > …pollenated nose debris. Band name! During my college years, in the '80s, two local bands played an all-time great double-bill at a local club: “Snot Rockets” and “Angry Pollen.” /hijack ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/78 "2018-10-30T20:13:43Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > If the underwear had a full load in it, you’d empty it out, and likely wash it separately. Your snot rag is full of snot. You think one rinse in the washer is going to rinse it out of all your clothes? If I had 20 pounds of snot in my hanky I’d Try Something Else (cue **dropzone** ). But I live in normal reality. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/79 "2018-10-31T01:49:30Z")
> [@BeeGee](#): > > Carry ‘em? Hell, I embroider them… I swear to jeebus I first read this as “I embooger them…” mmm ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/80 "2018-10-31T05:39:13Z")
Well, now I think I have a new pattern to work on in those long winter nights. And I embooger them as well. My sinuses are imbiggened and unruly this week. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594.md?page=5)