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We all have habits we know aren't exactly clean but some are downright shocking when you stop and think about them. So, what’s one of the most unhygienic things people keep doing anyway?
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#1
Not washing hands after using the bathroom, particularly a public one.
Final score:
21points
Alexia 4 months ago
One of the reasons I went no contact with my narcissist brother was his personal hygiene (or lack of). He never washed hands after coming in from outside or after using the bathroom. I told him this and the result was that he "washed" his hand very quickly and superficially. I found traces of black dirt on the towel 🙄
Seadog 3 months ago (edited)
I never really paid attention to others before 2020. I can't believe how many people I see not washing their hands even after going #2. That explains why when they tested touchscreen order pads, especially after fast food places started automating, they found that all touch screens test positive for feces.
Catharina Geerts 3 months ago
I hate it when people don't wash there hands after a visit to the bathroom. I seldom see that happen, but I'm a woman, don't know how it goes in the men's
Partypants 3 months ago
I work in Healthcare, think elderly folks and it is appalling how many staff do not wash their hands.
RELATED:
#2
Sneezing without covering. Sure, a sneeze can really sneak up on you, but you can almost always get the crook of your elbow up to your face in time. Ewww, you say, sneeze goo all over my sleeve or bare skin. Well, at least it's NOT all over the air other people have to breathe. Your bare skin you can then wipe off and sanitize, and your sleeve you can wash later. But you are not privileged to just blow your sneezes any darn where you want.
Final score:
14points
Glen Ellyn 3 months ago
If I can't get to a tissue before a sneeze, I pull on my shirt neckline and cover my mouth to contain the sneeze. If there's any spray, no one will see it on me.
#3
Men that pee, and then just give it a shake, and tuck it back in. My husband does this, and it's like cleaning up after a potty training toddler.I don't know, for the life of me why parents aren't teaching their sons to dab it with a bit of tp. It only takes a second.
Final score:
9points
B 3 months ago
Middle aged male here. I've sat down to pee for the past 3 decades. Why? Well I always thought my stream was going straight down into the bowl (the side, right next to the water, so no splashing) but one day a ray of sunshine through the window highlighted just how much 'invisible' spray was decorating the rim, the floor, my shoes, even the walls. Sat down every since then, and we ask all our guests to do it too - none of them have ever complained, some even said they do it in their homes. No idea why all men can't do this.
BeesEelsAndPups 3 months ago
They don't even make toilet paper available in urinals. It's why I like to wait for a stall
#4
Double-dipping your chips.
Final score:
8points
MalayDragon 3 months ago
"You just double dipped your chip, You don't double dip. That's like putting your whole mouth in the Dip"
#5
Paying for your McDonalds with cash, then eating right away without washing your hands. You don't know where that money has been and what germs it has picked up.
Final score:
6points
Kim Karlotta 3 months ago
Well, those few lingering particles are not going to have an effect on you. The bacteria/germs however might.
Load More Replies... #6
Almost everything you do. After you hear about how much bacteria and germs are on EVERYTHING you touch you you first go through the ultra-clean phase followed by the inevitable acceptance that everything you touch is filthy and it's basically unavoidable. Maintain good hygiene standards, you'll be fine.
But definitely going to have agree with the salad-tossing post. I know that bacteria is on everything, that's not the problem here.
Final score:
4points
Anthony Elmore (Submission author) 3 months ago
The problem is that the amount of cleanliness required to not make it disturbing is not a level I would trust most people with. I may not see the bacteria, but I don't want to taste them either.
Load More Replies... #7
Not washing hands before eating and touching their faces.
Licking their fingers to flip a page. (I see this mainly with older people and this habit may be dying out.)
Dropping food on the floor then eating it.
Walking through the house with outdoor shoes on.
Not washing sheets often enough.
Brushing their hair in the lunch room. Clipping nails in the lunch room.
Not bathing often enough then covering up their stench with deodorants and chemical sprays.
Picking butts off the ground and reusing the tobacco.
Picking their ears, noses, scratching the sleep out of their eyes without washing their hands.
Final score:
4points
Seadog 3 months ago
Stench - this one. I worked with a guy that I honestly believe anly took a bath once a week. We worked for AutoZone and he'd buy those car airfreshner sprays that are supposed to smell like name brand colognes and use those for cologne. And if this isn't bad enough, his wife was even dirtier than he was....way dirtier.
BeesEelsAndPups 3 months ago
Yeah, the licking fingers thing is gross. That's why I just lick the corner of the page. In all seriousness though, if you moisturize, then your fingers won't be too dry to turn a page.
#8
Walking in the ocean or a pond with an open cut.
Final score:
4points
WindySwede 3 months ago
Vibrio bacteria agrees with you. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibrio
Load More Replies... BeesEelsAndPups 3 months ago
I grew up in Rio de Janeiro, and I basically lived in the ocean. Most definitely went in with open wounds. My grandmother would tell me to clean out my scrapes in the salt water. I seem to be still alive, and relatively healthy.
Barrie Verdin 3 months ago
Good way of cleaning a cut, even if it does sting. Not in a pond tho., that standing water
Vermonta (Submission author) 3 months ago
11 people sick and 4 dead from vibrio bacteria in the ocean in Florida. Bacteria in Lake Michigan. Farm waste in Lake Champlain.
Load More Replies... #9
Others have mentioned not washing hands. I'll go a step further. Biting your nails. Whether you chew on it, or spit it out, there's a ton of c**p under them that is gross. On a side note, picking your nose. Sometimes a tissue just won't do, but jeez don't eat it.
Final score:
4points
#11
Tossing Salad.
Final score:
3points
The Other Guest 4 months ago
Either this is a euphamism (sp?) for something else, or this person is unfamiliar with salad tongs.
Anthony Elmore 3 months ago (edited)
This is most definitely a euphemism. It means to uh... hrm... Well it's sort of like kissing someone, but there's an inordinate amount of a*s involved.
Load More Replies...
#12
Physical intimacy.
Final score:
3points
Lyone Fein 3 months ago
So true. People should wash themselves before and after being intimate with others. If you care about your own health and the health of your partner.
Auntriarch 3 months ago
You only need to get a UTI once to see the sense of that 😖
Load More Replies...
StoryTeller 3 months ago
I'm not trying to be a prude but s*x is unsanitary plus sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as chlamydia, gonorrhoea and herpes can be passed on during oral s*x, i am a health care provider and tons of people are unaware of this...
BeesEelsAndPups 3 months ago
I'll keep doing it though. But it's best not to think about what you're actually sharing. Also a good idea to shower afterwards.
#13
Letting dogs on the bed without washing their paws after they walked through who knows what all day.
Final score:
3points
BeesEelsAndPups 3 months ago
lol, my dog sleeps under the covers with me. That's why I have a mattress protector, and I wash the linens every week at least.
#14
Touching their own phones without having it cleaned. I forget to, but your fingers have a lot of bacteria. Imagine what colonies are living on it now if you have not wiped it down.
Final score:
3points
Seadog 3 months ago
exactly why hand sanitizer and anti-bacterial soaps are actlly bad for you. They k**l the good bacteria as well and that's our first line defense against everything we touch.
Lyone Fein 3 months ago
What? The “good bacteria” are inside your gut. There is nothing wrong with killing the various pathogens in your bathroom, kitchen, etc. And when I pick up a shopping cart at the store I am definitely wiping it down……..all those toddlers with snotty hands sitting up there where the handle is!
Load More Replies...
AuspiciousTree283 (Submission author) 3 months ago
I was a little tired typing this. I meant that I forget to wipe my phone, but I do so once in a while. Those fingers have a lot of bacteria.
#15
the "5 second rule" for food dropped on the ground
Final score:
3points
Auntriarch 3 months ago
This one is silly. It depends on the state of the floor and what you're going to do with the food. If it's your floor, and the food can be run under the tap, and you don't have health problems, it's probably safe. Time is not the issue.
Apatheist Account2 3 months ago
Food will pick up any muck on the floor - and there will be muck - instantly.
Load More Replies... #16
Dog "kisses". Don't let you dog lick your face ffs.
Final score:
2points
KatSaidWhat 3 months ago
I am absolutely letting dogs lick my face. I have for 50 years, why stop now? (RHETORICAL)
BeesEelsAndPups 3 months ago
But she loves me, and she just wants me to know she ate out of the litter box.
Jackie Lulu 3 months ago
My GSP Blinkie (r.i.p.) would always find me after she ate her meal and give me a kiss, even if I wasn't the one who fed her. Was she thanking me, or letting me have a taste? I'll never know. But I did find it endearing, and I'd never tell her to stop.
Auntriarch 3 months ago
I don't let anyone lick my face. But I don't freak out if a dog does an over enthusiastic boop, just wash
#17
I have seen people in the candy near the ice cream machine just take a handful of candy. I have seen them use the buffet without gloves after many people have touched the same serving utensil
Final score:
2points
#18
Owning dogs! Sure, they're cute and sweet, but they're honestly disgusting when you think about it. They rub their a**l glands all over the floor, they drool bacteria everywhere, their oily fur sheds all over the place, their paws are never cleaned despite them walking in all kinds of mud and muck all day, they roll in and even eat poop and grime when they get the chance, yet people still let them get on the couch or bed.
Final score:
1point
KatWitch57 3 months ago
And yet they carry fewer germs than humans and less dangerous germs than humans, especially children.
Cee Cee 3 months ago
Yet to see any of my dogs rub their a nal glands on the floor or anywhere else. Bathed every 2 weeks, sprayer in car so paws rinsed off after a walk to avoid mud etc and of course contracting Alabama Rot. Yes they sleep in the bed and the sheets washed twice a week.
Stardrop (Submission author) 3 months ago
this is cool! your dogs sound lovely <3
Load More Replies... Parmeisan 3 months ago
Now, I love cats, have always had cats, will always have cats. But cats are much worse than dogs because of litter. Most dogs don't rub their butts on the floor but cats walk in the litter and then everywhere else. Maybe the table (maybe only when you're not looking). Maybe your bedsheets if you don't make the bed every day. Or maybe just the floor and your lap. I think you just have to make your bed, wipe off the table before using it, wash your hands often, and hope for the best.
Stardrop (Submission author) 3 months ago
i forgot about cats when i wrote this 😅 and yeah i can totally see how litter could get everywhere.
Load More Replies... #19
Buffets and potlucks. You never know who was the last person to touch the spoon or fork, and if they have washed their hands. Potlucks, you don't know how clean their home/kitchen is.
Final score:
1point
#20
Not removing your shoes when entering a house. You've been outside and stepped on all sorts of nasty germs - mud, urine, animal poop, other bacteria, etc.
It's also respectful for other's cultural practices as well.
Final score:
1point
BeesEelsAndPups 3 months ago
I have my outside flip-flops and my inside flip-flops for a reason. I don't like to walk around barefoot in my home anymore because of lego pieces.
#21
Letting kids sit in the shopping cart with their gross shoes and snot. A shopping card is for food, not your lazy child.
Final score:
-2points
Papa 3 months ago
So how do you propose parents with small children do their shopping? You saying a shopping cart is not for a lazy child sounds like you've never heard of toddlers.
Seadog 3 months ago
I agree with both of you. Toddlers, yes, they pretty much have to go in. As for OP, I was in a Sam's Club and the idiot parents had their 7? year old in the cart. He was sitting on the edge of the cart and lost his balance, first thing to hit the floor was his head. There's no way to describe that sound, it's just something you have to hear in person. I was surprised it didn't knock hit out cold. Whether they took him to the ER or not, I have no idea. Then ther's the kids that stand on the front bar, facing forward and hold on with their arms behind them. If they slip, it is nearly impossible to get both hands in front of you before you faceplant the floor.
Load More Replies...
Pam Wilson-Walter 3 months ago
Well, if you put your fruits & veggies in plastic bags they should be OK. Wash down raw foods, containers and cans before opening them. Yes, it sounds like a lot of work but it's a MUST for me. I've seen people just throw raw veggies and fruit down in the cart. I would NEVER do that just because of what the OP mentioned.
UKGrandad 3 months ago
If you wash your fruit and veg before eating it, why are you bothering with plastic bags?
Load More Replies... Lyone Fein 3 months ago
Kids have to use that seat in the cart. However, everyone else should be wiping down the front area—anything in grabbing distance from that seat. People just grab those snot covered handles and proceed to go through the store touching all sorts of food items that they don’t buy! Two things should apply here: Wipe the handles on your cart. And don’t go around touching things that are basically other people’s food. Don’t just pick something up because you’re curious about it.
What do you think ?
UKGrandad 3 months ago
Why are so many people obsessed with bacteria? A typical human body contains approximately 30 trillion (30,000,000,000,000) human cells and 39 trillion bacteria cells. We are all more bacteria than human. The more sterile and 'germ-free' we make our homes the more vulnerable we are to infections once we step outside of them. By all means keep clean but obsessing over bacteria is bad for both physical and mental health.
Lyone Fein 3 months ago
This bacteria inside our bodies have evolved to be there; and our bodies have evolved to incorporate them. They live their entire lives inside our bodies. These are not the same strains as those outside of us, nor are bacteria the only pathogens out there. Viruses, yeasts, molds, and yes, bacteria…….as well as car exhaust, toxic metals from industrial pollution, allergens, carcinogens, etc. The reality is that human urbanization and technological development have moved quickly in the last 250 years , and evolution has not kept up. Evolution doesn’t move that quickly. Our bodies are simply not currently equipped to defend themselves from the effects of living in close proximity to so many other people , or from the waste products of “progress “.
Load More Replies...
geezeronthehill 3 months ago
If we never challenge our immune systems, they will grow flabby and weak. Go out and roll in the dirt. The strong will survive.
BeesEelsAndPups 3 months ago
Nobody mentioned the one thing that is guaranteed to make you sick 9 months out of the year. Having children. They are like little petri dishes. I think when my oldest started in daycare I was sick for 18 months straight. Eventually your immune system starts to learn the full range of horrors those little creatures share with each other, but it takes a few years.
Kristy Raymond 3 months ago
Truer words were never spoken. When I started dating my husband he worked in a children's hospital. I thought I was tough. I was WRONG.
Load More Replies... Tyranamar Seuss 3 months ago
For the love of God. Not all bacteria are bad. Trying to keep everything bacteria free will make you sick. Your body has to have something to attack or it will attack itself. And many harmless bacteria help keep the population of harmful bacteria in check. People are insane with the keeping everything germ free. That's not good for you folks.
UKGrandad 3 months ago
Why are so many people obsessed with bacteria? A typical human body contains approximately 30 trillion (30,000,000,000,000) human cells and 39 trillion bacteria cells. We are all more bacteria than human. The more sterile and 'germ-free' we make our homes the more vulnerable we are to infections once we step outside of them. By all means keep clean but obsessing over bacteria is bad for both physical and mental health.
Lyone Fein 3 months ago
This bacteria inside our bodies have evolved to be there; and our bodies have evolved to incorporate them. They live their entire lives inside our bodies. These are not the same strains as those outside of us, nor are bacteria the only pathogens out there. Viruses, yeasts, molds, and yes, bacteria…….as well as car exhaust, toxic metals from industrial pollution, allergens, carcinogens, etc. The reality is that human urbanization and technological development have moved quickly in the last 250 years , and evolution has not kept up. Evolution doesn’t move that quickly. Our bodies are simply not currently equipped to defend themselves from the effects of living in close proximity to so many other people , or from the waste products of “progress “.
Load More Replies... geezeronthehill 3 months ago
If we never challenge our immune systems, they will grow flabby and weak. Go out and roll in the dirt. The strong will survive.
BeesEelsAndPups 3 months ago
Nobody mentioned the one thing that is guaranteed to make you sick 9 months out of the year. Having children. They are like little petri dishes. I think when my oldest started in daycare I was sick for 18 months straight. Eventually your immune system starts to learn the full range of horrors those little creatures share with each other, but it takes a few years.
Kristy Raymond 3 months ago
Truer words were never spoken. When I started dating my husband he worked in a children's hospital. I thought I was tough. I was WRONG.
Load More Replies... Tyranamar Seuss 3 months ago
For the love of God. Not all bacteria are bad. Trying to keep everything bacteria free will make you sick. Your body has to have something to attack or it will attack itself. And many harmless bacteria help keep the population of harmful bacteria in check. People are insane with the keeping everything germ free. That's not good for you folks.
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