# Why doesn't everyone (including women) wash their hands after using the rest room? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 16, 2003, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933 "2003-07-16T18:03:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933/1 "2003-07-16T18:03:51Z")
Think about it: What’s the last thing you touch before leaving the rest room? The toilet handle. And what things do people do with their hands, before flushing the toilet? Well, you really don’t know, but chances are that toilet handle has more germs on it than anything else you might ever touch. Someone might have fecal matter and/or any conceivable body fluid on their hands when they flush. And how many toilet handles ever get cleaned, especially in a public restroom? ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933/2 "2003-07-16T18:18:13Z")
a) I flush the toilet in public restrooms with my foot. b) I wouldn’t dream of leaving the restroom without washing my hands. c) In JuanitaTech’s Little World, everyone washes their hands after using the restroom. ---
**Author:** ![Isabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5a626/32.png) [@Isabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isabelle)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933/3 "2003-07-16T18:19:09Z")
Some people are just lazy. What’s worse is when you see a food worker in the bathroom and they don’t wash their hands and go back to preparing food! ARGH!!! I saw this happen at Wendy’s. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933/4 "2003-07-16T20:01:58Z")
Some people also use a paper towel or tissue to open the door handle to leave the restroom, then they just drop the paper on the floor! I knew someone who did this & other things, like wipe off their utensils at a restaurant. Reminded me of Jack Nicholson’s role in “As Good as It Gets.” ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933/5 "2003-07-16T20:18:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Violet \* > \*\*Some people also use a paper towel or tissue to open the door handle to leave the restroom, then they just drop the paper on the floor! \*\* I do this at work, but DON’T drop the paper towel on the floor I throw it away. This may seem paranoid but about 1/3 of the men around here don’t wash their hands after using the urinal. I mean come on! Those things splash for cryin’ out loud! ---
**Author:** ![LauraLittlePony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LauraLittlePony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LauraLittlePony)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933/6 "2003-07-16T20:23:22Z")
I’ll admit to being a filthy wench. I live in a dorm and don’t wash my hands unless I feel they’re dirtier than usual or I’m making food. Haven’t gotten a funky disease yet. ::shrug:: Works for me. I figure I have enough to worry about. 🙂 What I find unacceptable is leaving a big, nasty mess for others: unflushed toilets, toilet paper everywhere, dirty dishes in the sink for more than an hour, or worse–used UNsanitary products. ::shudder:: Once I went into a stall and discovered that someone had left their used product on the little ledge between the toilet paper rolls–LESS THAN A FOOT FROM THE WASTE CONTAINER!!! Come on, people. There was graffiti/discussion paper and a pen in the stall, so I left a scathing note, but no one owned up. And the lady who cleans our bathrooms is so sweet! ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933/7 "2003-07-16T20:32:33Z")
[slight hijack] I once went to see George Carlin. He did a whole routine about not washing his hands after using the bathroom unless he shit on them (“And how often does that happen? Once, twice a week. Tops! Maybe a little more often during the holidays.”) Anyway, after the show, I went to use the restroom and dutifully washed my hands alongside all the other people who had just seen the same show. I was tempted to refer to the joke, but you just never know how people are going to take things.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933/8 "2003-07-16T20:45:01Z")
Here’s the ritual I see in my building, which really perplexes me: man enters bathroom, walks up to urinal, unzips, pulls out apparatus, _spits_ into urinal (!), urinates, shakes (where is the “leftover” going?), zips up, walks away without flushing, leaves without washing hands. I don’t get it at all. Especially the spitting. What the hell IS that, a form of kickstart? ---
**Author:** ![Sock\_Munkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Sock\_Munkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sock_Munkey)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933/9 "2003-07-16T22:13:02Z")
As of right now I’m placing a call to the Bathroom Ninjas. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933/10 "2003-07-16T22:47:30Z")
“What’s the last thing you touch before leaving the rest room? The toilet handle.” Okay so they touch the toilet handle then touch the faucet handle, wash their hands & then touch the faucet handle again? Like that does anything…yeah, right. PS: Cecil wrote alot about germs, you should read his article on TOILET PLUMES ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933/11 "2003-07-16T22:50:38Z")
I think anyone who doesn’t wash their hands after using the bathroom is pretty much a slob. [Here](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_220.html)’s a classic from Cecil on the topic. ---
**Author:** ![Taters](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/taters/32/2845_2.png) [@Taters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taters)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933/12 "2003-07-17T00:52:34Z")
EEEEWWWWW! I don’t understand people who don’t wash their hands. I flush the toilet with my foot. Grab a few paper towels, use one to turn on the faucet, wash my hands, use another clean towel to turn the faucet off, dry my hands with another towel, grap the door handle with the towel, hold the door with my body and toss all the towels in the trash. I know, I know! This sounds waaaay too fastidious, but I learned quite a bit while typing up papers for an Infection Control nurse, lo these many years ago. ---
**Author:** ![LauraLittlePony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LauraLittlePony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LauraLittlePony)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933/13 "2003-07-17T01:11:42Z")
We slobs are not meant to be understood! Seriously, it’s never affected my life in any way except saving me time. ::shrug:: I still wash them sometimes, just not _every_ time. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933/14 "2003-07-17T02:00:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LauraLittlePony \* > \*\* Seriously, it’s never affected my life in any way except saving me time. \*\* You’re not supposed to do it for you, you’re supposed to do it to keep from spreading your particular strains of coliform bacteria to others, in whom it may cause illness. QtM, MD ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933/15 "2003-07-17T02:36:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JuanitaTech \* > \*\*a) I flush the toilet in public restrooms with my foot. > \*\* Then you should wash your feet afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![tarragon918](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@tarragon918](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tarragon918)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933/16 "2003-07-17T03:13:46Z")
Don’t get me started! This is definitely a major pet peeve with me. There are some really filthy folks at my job, unfortunately–and not washing their hands after using the toilet is one of the -lesser- sins. Some don’t flush the toilet after using it…leaving behind number 2 in more than a few instances–GROSS!! There’s also someone (or someones maybe) who seems to either use a boatload of toilet paper or those tissue toilet seat covers (which I’d like to add here that I think they are about the most worthless things ever put into a public restroom–ever try using one?! And then, what do you do with it afterwards? you have to put it into the toilet!), wads them up and stuffs them into the toilet, then leaves the toilet, unflushed. So then someone has to call the facility staff to unclog the toilet. ☹ One thing to remember, though, if you use the toilet in the handicapped accessible stall: many handicapped people probably do not flush with their feet, they use their hands–so please do not flush the toilets there with your feet. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933/17 "2003-07-17T03:14:36Z")
Well, this is why I don’t wash my hands in public bathrooms (but now that I work in a fancy-shmancy office building I fake it just like everyone else. And I mean FAKE, and I mean EVERYONE. Trust me, I pay attention.) In my book, public bathrooms (even brand-spanking-new ultra clean ones that reek of clorox) are a thousand times dirtier than my penis could ever be, and as long as I’m still breathing the only part of me that’s ever going to touch any part of a public bathroom is the bottom of my shoes. **My routine for peeing in public:** unzip my fly, grab one flap of my boxers and kind of “flip” my wang out without ever touching it, “flip” it back in and zip up when I’m done. If it’s a toilet I flush with my foot, and if it’s a urinal I don’t flush at all. I then grab a paper towel without touching the handle and use it to open the door. As I’m walking out I throw the paper towel in the trashcan that’s behind almost every public bathroom door. If a paper towel can’t be obtained without touching some sort of handle, or if they have one of those stupid hippie air-dryers, then I push on that triangle “arm” thing at the top of the door and voila. What have I just done that requires soap and water? ---
**Author:** ![SweetLucy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@SweetLucy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SweetLucy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933/18 "2003-07-17T03:55:33Z")
I almost always wash my hands, but when women’s public restrooms usually lack soap and paper towels, it’s hard to get motivated to wash ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933/19 "2003-07-17T04:12:15Z")
Sick, sick nasty bad monkeys, rasied by wolverines! ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933/20 "2003-07-17T04:14:29Z")
Raised, as in nurtured…sick, sick nasty monkeys nurtured by wolverines… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-everyone-including-women-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-rest-room/188933.md?page=2)