I open the outside door to work with a key…even though I can just pull on the unlocked handle.
I eat Oreos with a toothpick inserted into the frosting before dunking them in milk.
I keep packs of individually wrapped Wet Ones in my glove box…and routinely wipe down my steering wheel.
I don’t touch ANYthing in public restrooms after I’ve washed. I either push the door open with my feet or use a paper towel as a barrier.
To open the door handle on the staffroom at work, I use my elbow to push it, then push open the door with my foot. When I leave the staffroom, I grab a paper towel to open the door handle and pull the door open.
I lift toilet seats with my foot, but I think this is cancelled out by using public transport and not giving a damn about what I touch so long as it isn’t too sticky. I also get grease (from cars) off my hands through the use of eating greasy snack foods with my fingers (It works great)
I don’t touch surfaces in a bathroom after I’ve washed my hands. I’ll wash my hands in a sink whenever one is convenient or use an alcohol wipe whenever one is offered*, but other than that, I don’t worry about it. I figure a few germs now and then help build a healthy immune system.
My local grocery store has an alcohol wipe dispenser at the door so you can sterilize the handle of your cart.
Although, sometimes when I’m in public restrooms, I will pretend I’m checking something in the mirror until someone else opens the door and I can catch it with my foot or slip out before it closes.
If someone comes in my room who I have seen leave a bathroom without washing their hands (I live in dorms), I will wipe down anything they have touched with clorox wipes. After they’re gone, of course. I wanna be clean, but don’t need to be a jerk about it.
I’ve been known to do this. Or, with things like Doritos, I’ll slip them edgewise between the tines of a fork and pick them up that way. Or, with puffy Cheetos or Planter’s Cheese Balls, I’ll stab each one with a toothpick. But mainly it’s because I don’t want to get my fingers coated in greasy, powdery, orangy goodness.
My family thinks I’m a germophobe because I wash my hands often, especially before eating. If we go to a restaurant, I will wash my hands before we leave and again, after I’ve looked at the menu and ordered. I will open the restroom door with a paper towel and it peeves me when there isn’t a trash can nearby to throw it into while I have the door propped open with my foot.
I’m not particularly OCD about keeping my hands clean…I wash them after going to the bathroom and that’s pretty much it. But when I was a cubicle monkey, I’d sometimes have microwave popcorn as a snack, and since I didn’t want to get my keyboard buttery, I’d eat it with chopsticks. The people in my office thought it was very strange, but it makes perfect sense to me.
The only thing I do that’s really OCD is refuse to touch anything in the bathroom at work after I’ve washed my hands. I’ll usually use my ID to touch the handicapped button which automatically opens the doors. I’ve yet to get a strange look from anybody.
I wash them several times a day. The rest of the time, I try not to think too hard about where my hands have been.
When I worked on a register at a drugstore, it did bother me very much that other register workers always had snacks stashed behind their machines. Eat a potato chip, handle some money, eat a potato chip…Ewww!
I wash my hands about every 15 minutes while I am at work (veterinarian). My appointments are booked at 15 minute intervals, and my average surgical time is 18 minutes. At home, I wear surgical gloves if I am doing something messy (painting, cleaning the toilet, mincing garlic). The gloves are freebies and I have cases of them. If I didn’t have gloves I wouldn’t care, though.
About the only time I feel compelled to wash my hands – not including after using the bathroom or whatever – is after I eat. I usually wash before I eat, too, but I can’t stand the thought of sticky greasy fingers.
I think it started when I was a teen. I was pretty much in love with my guitar back then, and the thought of touching it with fingers covered in BBQ sauce or cheese doodle dust was horrifying to me. I got into the habit of always washing up before playing, and that turned into washing up after eating. How people do not do this is now incomprehensible to me.
Around the same time, I was dreadfully frightened of acne. I was convinced that one crumb of pizza anywhere near my face would turn me into Zitman, Lord of Acne. So after meals, I would wash my face.
It remains to this day – after meals, wash hands and face.
I’m not afflicted with this bizarre germ phobia that seems to be so prevalent these days so I take no special precautions at all. I’ll wash my hands if I get something on them. Other than that I give it no thought. What is it that you germaphobes think you’re going to catch?
Why would you put something in your mouth if you’re afraid to touch it with your hands?
I think it has more to do with the fact that they don’t want their hands to be dirty and crumby rather than that they have any concerns about the food itself.
shudder I can be lax about the hand washing, but nothing must ever touch my face. If I need to wipe my face or scratch my nose, I do it with my hair. It’s likely to be cleaner than my hands.
I wash my hands after I use the bathroom, or if they’re sticky. Sometimes before I eat, but not always. I don’t like them to feel sticky, but I’m not too worried about germs. I think if you make your world too sanatized, your body won’t be as able to fight things off when they do come along.
