# What do you think about drinking drinks you've gargled? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 12, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089 "2013-02-12T16:48:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Altivu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a8b319/32.png) [@Altivu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Altivu)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089/1 "2013-02-12T16:48:53Z")
WARNING: MUNDANE TOPIC So…from my extremely large sample of two females, they’ve both expressed disgust at me gargling water in my mouth to remove some of the food residue stuck on my teeth, and then drinking it. They probably relate it to eating food you pick from your teeth. Also, it’s a public poll. Hope that doesn’t affect your opinions. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089/2 "2013-02-12T16:50:41Z")
I agree with your friends. The stuff stuck in your teeth is nasty. ---
**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:** [February 12, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089/3 "2013-02-12T16:52:08Z")
I’m fine with it. I assume that what I knowingly put in my mouth is fit for consumption, even after a long while. Big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089/4 "2013-02-12T16:57:27Z")
It’s gross. But then I don’t really care what you do as long as I don’t have to look at it. ---
**Author:** ![Jr.DNA\_test](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d78d45/32.png) [@Jr.DNA\_test](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jr.DNA_test)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089/5 "2013-02-12T16:59:20Z")
That one person who’s fine with it, hope it’s of the opposite sex and marry it. ---
**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:** [February 12, 2013, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089/6 "2013-02-12T17:21:27Z")
> [@Jr.DNA\_test](#): > > That one person who’s fine with it, hope it’s of the opposite sex and marry it. I know you are, but what am I? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089/7 "2013-02-12T17:24:09Z")
I would only gargle if I had a bad taste in my mouth and I’d probably use mouthwash, so I probably wouldn’t swallow the bad-tasting mouthwash. I wouldn’t hesitate to swallow if I was swishing something tasty around my mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089/8 "2013-02-12T19:04:05Z")
Depends. If you’re doing this while seated at the dinner table, then yes, it’s disgusting. Not because you’re swallowing bits of food (which is no big deal), but because who the hell wants to see that? Please note, though, that spitting it out would _not_ make things any better in this scenario. If you’re off privately tending to your oral hygiene, then I don’t see any problem here, and can’t imagine why your friends should care one way or the other. ---
**Author:** ![Altivu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a8b319/32.png) [@Altivu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Altivu)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089/9 "2013-02-12T19:35:22Z")
WAIT I JUST REALIZED I WAS USING THE WRONG TERM… Not gargling, ugh, uh…I don’t know the word…rinsing the inside of your mouth through sloshing it around? Sorry guys. Maybe that’ll change the view of things. Yeah, outright gargling? No. Ugh, this probably renders the whole poll moot. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089/10 "2013-02-12T19:35:51Z")
My first impulse is to say it’s gross, since I generally only gargle with mouthwash and wouldn’t swallow that. But I guess thinking through it, there’s nothing particularly bad about it- everything you swallow passes through your mouth to begin with, so it’s not like you’re swallowing something that’s been somewhere you wouldn’t want in your mouth. But still, the idea of it is oogy. In high school I was in a play with a girl who would get drymouth onstage so whenever she came backstage she’d take a swig from her mug, but instead of swallowing it, she’d swish it around in her mouth a few times and spit it back into the mug. Then the next time she came off, she’d take another swig, lather, rinse, repeat. Totally squicked me out. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089/11 "2013-02-12T19:41:12Z")
I chose option 4 because my answer is “What you talkin’ about, Willis?” I only gargle with mouthwash, and I’d vomit if I swallowed that. Now that you edited it to “swishing,” which is the technical term, I don’t feel strongly either way. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089/12 "2013-02-12T19:42:55Z")
Drinking drinks _I’ve_ gargled? Can you change my vote from #1 to #3, please? ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089/13 "2013-02-12T19:44:00Z")
You left out my option: What about a drink someone _else_ gargled? ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089/14 "2013-02-12T20:03:01Z")
Swishing isn’t quite as bad as gargling but I still don’t think I’d do it around other people or tell other people I did it. ---
**Author:** ![Altivu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a8b319/32.png) [@Altivu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Altivu)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089/15 "2013-02-12T20:07:06Z")
> [@Altivu](#): > > What do **you** think about drinking [your own] drinks **you** ’ve gargled swished around in **your** mouth? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![CatherineZeta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@CatherineZeta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatherineZeta)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089/16 "2013-02-12T20:11:40Z")
I don’t think it’s that weird. I do the same thing very discreetly so that it’s not obvious that I’m doing anything other than simply drinking the water. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089/17 "2013-02-12T21:12:49Z")
Remember when you were in junior high school and they had a big assembly for a bunch of classes in the assembly hall, and a dentist came in to lecture about oral hygiene and how important it is to brush _each tooth_ for five minutes after every meal? Well, he brought up this very question. He suggested that after lunch (at school), since it’s not convenient to brush your teeth, you should at least rinse out your mouth well at a drinking fountain. But rinsing your mouth and spitting it out (at a drinking fountain!) is disgusting and gross right!!! So instead of spitting it out, just swallow it. EEEEWWWWWW GROSS!!! Well, what’s so gross? It’s just the same stuff you’ve just been eating, right? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089/18 "2013-02-12T21:57:09Z")
I read the OP and got that you meant “swishing” not “gargling.” I don’t see how it’s gross … if you just sucked the stuff out of your teeth, wouldn’t you swallow it anyway? Why is using water to get the stuff out of your teeth and then swallowing said water any worse? ---
**Author:** ![Jr.DNA\_test](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d78d45/32.png) [@Jr.DNA\_test](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jr.DNA_test)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089/19 "2013-02-12T22:04:10Z")
We might as well chew our food, spit it out, take it in again after we’ve ogled it, and swallow. Don’t cows do something of the sort? At least it wasn’t regurgitated. ---
**Author:** ![Altivu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a8b319/32.png) [@Altivu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Altivu)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089/20 "2013-02-13T00:01:08Z")
> [@Jr.DNA\_test](#): > > We might as well chew our food, spit it out, take it in again after we’ve ogled it, and swallow. Don’t cows do something of the sort? At least it wasn’t regurgitated. Well, tell me what sort of practical value that has before comparing. Admiring the strength of your teeth and saliva? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-drinking-drinks-youve-gargled/650089.md?page=2)