Do you think this is unhygienic?

[katilac]

  frankly, anyone who thinks their kitchen sink is clean is deluding themselves.

 

It's a happy delusion, and the least people can do is wash their hands in the bathroom to help preserve it. 

 

 

 

 

I can’t figure out what is so bad about a man touching his penis and then washing his hands.

 

Nothing? The hand washing is a good thing. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Unless someone is immunocompromised or is having specific problems with e coli caused illness or the like, I don’t see the preoccupation with this sort of thing. I am on immunotherapy and not one doctor has told me to avoid washing my hands in the kitchen or to not wash towels and underwear together. (Though to be fair, my immune problems have never centered on bathroom bacteria. )

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ausmumof3]

Seriously though, how many people wash underwear etc on cold? Sanitize (i.e. extra hot), and then the hottest dryer setting, all the way. Using bleach on an empty load in the washer multiple times a week just because some germs could be left there seems kind of extreme.

Extra hot here just ends up with saggy elastic and stretched out socks and shirts. We don't use a drier but Sunlights supposed to kill the germs

[Ausmumof3]

Why would it be unhygienic to throw them in with something else? They all get clean by the end of the load, don't they?

Well we have one of those water efficient front loaders and stuff doesn't always smell or look clean after a wash. So i don't have a lot of trust in that.

[Ausmumof3]

Unless someone is immunocompromised or is having specific problems with e coli caused illness or the like, I don’t see the preoccupation with this sort of thing. I am on immunotherapy and not one doctor has told me to avoid washing my hands in the kitchen or to not wash towels and underwear together. (Though to be fair, my immune problems have never centered on bathroom bacteria. )

 

 

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We had a long running vomiting thing for a while - cycled around for a month. I'm not sure if it was two things or what. I started getting obsessive about germs and you can just about send yourself crazy when you start thinking about how to do things perfectly.

[SKL]

Seriously though, how many people wash underwear etc on cold? Sanitize (i.e. extra hot), and then the hottest dryer setting, all the way. Using bleach on an empty load in the washer multiple times a week just because some germs could be left there seems kind of extreme.

 

Yeah, unless there's a serious epidemic to worry about, that article struck me as quite germophobic.  :P

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

We had a long running vomiting thing for a while - cycled around for a month. I'm not sure if it was two things or what. I started getting obsessive about germs and you can just about send yourself crazy when you start thinking about how to do things perfectly.

I could see in that situation wanting to do a lot more. I remembered after I hit post that I had c-diff at one point. Then my doctors did give special instructions.

[Ausmumof3]

I could see in that situation wanting to do a lot more. I remembered after I hit post that I had c-diff at one point. Then my doctors did give special instructions.

Yeah I imagine that would be a nightmare.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I am not fussy about "family germs".  It would bother me in the practicality sense, not in the hygiene sense.  But I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE ARE IN MY KITCHEN so that's part of my problem.  The germs I bring in from the supermarket (bottom of grocery bags, meat juice, etc, etc.) are things are bodies are more likely not to have been exposed to.  The germs we're all carrying in us... well, four kids and ten years... we're probably pretty well inoculated unless someone is actually ill.  

 

When my kids are actually ill, especially stomach bugs, I basically build them a pallet bed in the bathroom and they live there until they are better...

[Laura Corin]

I don't worry too much about germs.  The last time we had a stomach bug was over ten years ago, in China.  All of our environments are constantly full of germs and we evolved to deal with that, so as long as people are doing the basics (washing their hands somewhere after the toilet) then that's fine.  I'm not too worried about clothing wash temperatures either - most germs die pretty fast on dry, porous surfaces and we are pretty healthy - we seem to deal fine with any residual bugs.  I mostly wash on cold.

Edited March 16, 2018 by Laura Corin

[MEmama]

I wash kitchen towels and bathroom towels with regular clothes, on cold, all the time. I don't wash anything on hot and I use the drier very sparingly (never for unmentionables).

 

Like washing hands in the kitchen sink or a thousand other housekeeping sins, it just doesn't seem to hurt us any. So I don't see the point in getting worked up.

 

We all have our "things", though.

 

I AM extremely disgusted by people who don't wash their hands in public washrooms. It especially irks me when they don't wash but instead just wave their hands under the hand drier as they pass by--they clearly KNOW better and made the conscious point to be a public health threat.

Edited March 16, 2018 by MEmama

[Carrie12345]

For a long time, my kids HAD to wash their hands in the kitchen, because they couldn't be trusted in the bathroom with soap.  I don't mean trusted to wash their hands, I mean trusted to not get soap all. over. the. bathroom.

 

I use the kitchen sink for all sorts of grody handwashing for myself.  Doesn't bother me at all. 

 

Kitchens have their own grossness, and I'm much more particular about making sure it, including the sink, faucet, soap, etc. is cleaned frequently and thoroughly than I am the bathrooms.  

 

 

[Pawz4me]

We all have our "things", though.

 

Yes! And it's interesting to read about how different or alike we are.

 

As I posted, I'm not hung up on using the kitchen sink only during cooking. But I do wash all my kitchen towels and cloths in a separate load with hot water and bleach. I'm not deluding myself into thinking they're 100 percent sanitized afterwards (and in general I'm not overly concerned about germs, I don't think), but for some reason it does make me feel better to do it that way.

[Laura Corin]

Yes! And it's interesting to read about how different or alike we are.

 

As I posted, I'm not hung up on using the kitchen sink only during cooking. But I do wash all my kitchen towels and cloths in a separate load with hot water and bleach. I'm not deluding myself into thinking they're 100 percent sanitized afterwards (and in general I'm not overly concerned about germs, I don't think), but for some reason it does make me feel better to do it that way.

 

My thing is not sharing serving utensils when someone has a heavy cold.  Because that seems like a fairly high contagion risk to me, it's a family habit to serve food for the person who has a bad cold, but if a guest didn't follow the 'rule' it wouldn't bother me.  Similarly, the coldy person packs the dishwasher but doesn't unpack.

 

I've interested in 'ick' feelings vs. real risks.  For example, this morning I washed my hands after using the toilet, then took out my splint (like a retainer to stop me grinding my teeth) and washed it.  Washing it with warm soapy water is the recommended procedure, and my hands at that point were probably at their cleanest, but the juxtaposition gave a momentary 'ick'.

[Katy]

Frankly unless you are non-organic vegans or you bleach your kitchen sink every single time you cook meat or rinse raw organic vegetables, chances are your kitchen sink is MUCH dirtier than your bathroom sink, where at least someone is spitting mouthwash every day. And that's assuming you don't run a clorox wipe over the bathroom sink daily.

 

Mryiad studies suggest that people who live together share most of the same bacteria strains in their guts anyway.  Bacteria is not as big of a deal as pathogenic bacteria - the type that comes in on organic produce and raw meats.  That's what can make you sick, not someone choosing to wash their hands in the kitchen sink. This whole question seems so OCD it makes me wonder if OP is trolling, or if the real problem in their household is OCD.

[Zebra]

Frankly unless you are non-organic vegans or you bleach your kitchen sink every single time you cook meat or rinse raw organic vegetables, chances are your kitchen sink is MUCH dirtier than your bathroom sink, where at least someone is spitting mouthwash every day. And that's assuming you don't run a clorox wipe over the bathroom sink daily.

 

Mryiad studies suggest that people who live together share most of the same bacteria strains in their guts anyway.  Bacteria is not as big of a deal as pathogenic bacteria - the type that comes in on organic produce and raw meats.  That's what can make you sick, not someone choosing to wash their hands in the kitchen sink. This whole question seems so OCD it makes me wonder if OP is trolling, or if the real problem in their household is OCD.

 

I am going to assume the OP is having some sort of issue at home, and just wants to get perspective from the hive.

 

Not that she's a troll, or OCD.

[Ausmumof3]

I also think a shared touchscreen device is a pretty good spreading mechanism

[Ausmumof3]

Frankly unless you are non-organic vegans or you bleach your kitchen sink every single time you cook meat or rinse raw organic vegetables, chances are your kitchen sink is MUCH dirtier than your bathroom sink, where at least someone is spitting mouthwash every day. And that's assuming you don't run a clorox wipe over the bathroom sink daily.

 

Mryiad studies suggest that people who live together share most of the same bacteria strains in their guts anyway. Bacteria is not as big of a deal as pathogenic bacteria - the type that comes in on organic produce and raw meats. That's what can make you sick, not someone choosing to wash their hands in the kitchen sink. This whole question seems so OCD it makes me wonder if OP is trolling, or if the real problem in their household is OCD.

Some bacteria can live in the bowel without causing problems but if ingested make you sick.

[MEmama]

 

This whole question seems so OCD it makes me wonder if OP is trolling, or if the real problem in their household is OCD.

I know this is my go-to place when I'm struggling or questioning something, or even just merely curious.

 

And I know if I paid attention I probably have 1000 things that seem important to me to do a certain way, or that I do if only to make myself feel better, even if I logically know they are relatively unimportant in the bigger scheme of things.

 

Preferring to use one sink over another doesn't strike as something as extreme as OCD in any way.

[Ausmumof3]

I know this is my go-to place when I'm struggling or questioning something, or even just merely curious.

 

And I know if I paid attention I probably have 1000 things that seem important to me to do a certain way, or that I do if only to make myself feel better, even if I logically know they are relatively unimportant in the bigger scheme of things.

 

Preferring to use one sink over another doesn't strike as something as extreme as OCD in any way.

I may be totally wrong but I thought OCD would look more like cleaning the sink then being unsure if you'd done it well enough so cleaning it again and then again.

[MEmama]

I may be totally wrong but I thought OCD would look more like cleaning the sink then being unsure if you'd done it well enough so cleaning it again and then again.

Yeah, that would be the "obsessive" part in my understanding as well.

 

OCD has nothing to do with mere preferences (see, the "compulsive" part).

Edited March 16, 2018 by MEmama

[Pawz4me]

In threads like this I'm always reminded of the term "germaphobe," which I personally detest.

 

I think we all know the definitions -- 

 

Germaphobe (or perhaps OCD in this case) is anyone who is more concerned with cleanliness/hygiene/overall exposure to icky stuff than I (generic) am.

 

Unhygienic/a slob/whatever is anyone who is less concerned about cleanliness/hygiene/overall exposure to icky stuff than I (generic) am.

 

And no doubt most people think their way is the "right" way.

 

:lol:

 

As MEMama said, we all have our "things."

[SKL]

I know some people think my housekeeping habits are scary - and my kids don't even rise to my standards, by a long shot.  But I have also read that being around germs and dust is actually more healthy than not, for most people.  I might be living proof, as might my kids be.  :p

 

I like a clean house.  But I like sleep even better, so sleep usually wins.  :p

Edited March 16, 2018 by SKL

[poppy]

Frankly unless you are non-organic vegans or you bleach your kitchen sink every single time you cook meat or rinse raw organic vegetables, chances are your kitchen sink is MUCH dirtier than your bathroom sink, where at least someone is spitting mouthwash every day. And that's assuming you don't run a clorox wipe over the bathroom sink daily.

 

Mryiad studies suggest that people who live together share most of the same bacteria strains in their guts anyway.  Bacteria is not as big of a deal as pathogenic bacteria - the type that comes in on organic produce and raw meats.  That's what can make you sick, not someone choosing to wash their hands in the kitchen sink. This whole question seems so OCD it makes me wonder if OP is trolling, or if the real problem in their household is OCD.

 

I'm sitting here thinking, you all put  or rinse raw meat into your sinks and worry about bathroom hands? Bathroom hands need to be washed, but I can't see how they are remotely less gross than raw meat.... I think it's like: I won't fly, I feel safer driving-- even though flying deaths last year: 0.  Auto deaths: 40,000.   

[skimomma]

In theory, yes it bothers me.  But I know it really doesn't matter so I hold my tongue.  Our bathroom has the world's tiniest sink and we do not have a utility sink so the kitchen sink is used for all of the nastiest cleaning jobs.  Bathroom hands are nothing compared to cleaning out garbage cans or vomit buckets.  I just make a practice to thoroughly clean the sink daily in addition to directly after any gross cleaning situation.  I do not put food or clean dishes in direct contact with the sink, faucets, or counter top.  For the rare job that requires direct contact, I disinfect the sink/counter beforehand.  My very-well-trained cats would never EVER get on the counter, except perhaps for every single second I am not directly supervising.  Therefore I have to assume all surfaces are contaminated at any given time.

 

What DOES bother me to no end is people, both in my family and out, who "wash" their hands in the kitchen sink in a way that is really just getting their hands wet then using the KITCHEN towel to dry their "clean" hands.  Ick ick ick!  I am constantly tossing only-used-once kitchen towels in the laundry because I know or suspect someone did this.  

 

All that said, we camp for at least 40 nights a year and all standards go out the window with no ill effect.  Often, proper hand washing is not even possible.  I should probably stop overthinking this stuff.

 

[Scarlett]

What do you think about people washing their hands in the kitchen sink after using the bathroom?

 

Don't bother asking why they don't wash in the bathroom sink because that would be too logical. :tongue_smilie:

 

Assume the bathroom has running water, soap, and towels, but the person exits the bathroom without washing hands and proceeds to the kitchen sink to do the washing.

 

Do you find it unhygienic?

I would mostly find it annoying and would probably not allow it if it was a kid. If it is an adult......well again annoying.

 

But I grew up in a time where the kitchen sink was not used for washing ones hands unless you were doing food prep or kitchen clean up, I let my kids wash their hands there after taking out the trash or working outside,.....,but it annoys me.

[Scarlett]

In theory, yes it bothers me. But I know it really doesn't matter so I hold my tongue. Our bathroom has the world's tiniest sink and we do not have a utility sink so the kitchen sink is used for all of the nastiest cleaning jobs. Bathroom hands are nothing compared to cleaning out garbage cans or vomit buckets. I just make a practice to thoroughly clean the sink daily in addition to directly after any gross cleaning situation. I do not put food or clean dishes in direct contact with the sink, faucets, or counter top. For the rare job that requires direct contact, I disinfect the sink/counter beforehand. My very-well-trained cats would never EVER get on the counter, except perhaps for every single second I am not directly supervising. Therefore I have to assume all surfaces are contaminated at any given time.

 

What DOES bother me to no end is people, both in my family and out, who "wash" their hands in the kitchen sink in a way that is really just getting their hands wet then using the KITCHEN towel to dry their "clean" hands. Ick ick ick! I am constantly tossing only-used-once kitchen towels in the laundry because I know or suspect someone did this.

 

All that said, we camp for at least 40 nights a year and all standards go out the window with no ill effect. Often, proper hand washing is not even possible. I should probably stop overthinking this stuff.

Yep. Pretty much me exactly.

[GinaPagnato]

Frankly unless you are non-organic vegans or you bleach your kitchen sink every single time you cook meat or rinse raw organic vegetables, chances are your kitchen sink is MUCH dirtier than your bathroom sink, where at least someone is spitting mouthwash every day. And that's assuming you don't run a clorox wipe over the bathroom sink daily.

 

Mryiad studies suggest that people who live together share most of the same bacteria strains in their guts anyway.  Bacteria is not as big of a deal as pathogenic bacteria - the type that comes in on organic produce and raw meats.  That's what can make you sick, not someone choosing to wash their hands in the kitchen sink. This whole question seems so OCD it makes me wonder if OP is trolling, or if the real problem in their household is OCD.

 

Huh? Trolling? I'm thinking if you see my post count, I've been around awhile, so...

 

I don't think the question is OCD at all. In fact, it doesn't even touch on the definition of OCD. Now, if I said that I can't function when I see someone doing this, or I think something terrible will happen if bathroom hands get washed in the sink, that would be more along the lines of an OCD response.

 

It was just a question about whether you think a behavior is unhygienic, and from many of the responses, some people clearly don't favor it but they don't get too wigged out about it, either. That's the camp I'm in, I think, although there's something a little gross to me about it. I guess I just think about the meal prep that happens near the sink.

 

And here's the thing, if it's no big deal, why do restaurant bathrooms have signs reminding their employees to wash their hands before returning to work? Presumably they don't want their staff to use the bathroom and then walk to the kitchen area to wash in the sinks there. Unless they just post those signs to make other "OCD" people feel better.  :lol:

Edited March 16, 2018 by GinaPagnato

[marbel]

It's a habit for me to wash my hands in the kitchen before doing pretty much anything so if I was going right to the kitchen from the bathroom I might wait. But if I had nastiness on my hands, I would also wash in the bathroom. I think another poster said she used one hand for certain activities and the other for opening the door, etc. That works for me. I can't get too cranked up over stuff like this. I do go through multiple kitchen towels per day because sometimes one falls on the floor, or gets used inappropriately. I mostly don't dry dishes though, but let them air dry.

 

If we had illness in the house I might do things differently.

[Arcadia]

And here's the thing, if it's no big deal, why do restaurant bathrooms have signs reminding their employees to wash their hands before returning to work?

I see that sign in many places besides restaurants and supermarkets, places like Staples, Cost Plus, book stores. I just assumed that those signs has to do with business protocol/norm or the stores are legally obligated to put up those signs as a workplace compliance thing.

 

There is a OSHA code for this apparently Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens, 29 CFR 1910.1030 https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=10051

 

This company makes OSHA compliant hand washing signs and I have seen most of these signs in public restrooms https://www.compliancesigns.com/m/products/handwashing/osha-handwashing-signs

[Bluegoat]

Huh? Trolling? I'm thinking if you see my post count, I've been around awhile, so...

 

I don't think the question is OCD at all. In fact, it doesn't even touch on the definition of OCD. Now, if I said that I can't function when I see someone doing this, or I think something terrible will happen if bathroom hands get washed in the sink, that would be more along the lines of an OCD response.

 

It was just a question about whether you think a behavior is unhygienic, and from many of the responses, some people clearly don't favor it but they don't get too wigged out about it, either. That's the camp I'm in, I think, although there's something a little gross to me about it. I guess I just think about the meal prep that happens near the sink.

 

And here's the thing, if it's no big deal, why do restaurant bathrooms have signs reminding their employees to wash their hands before returning to work? Presumably they don't want their staff to use the bathroom and then walk to the kitchen area to wash in the sinks there. Unless they just post those signs to make other "OCD" people feel better.  :lol:

 

Commercial kitchens also often have separate hand washing sinks.

 

The reason is that there is a significant difference in terms of disease when you are talking about commercial kitchens.  There are more cooks, far more customers, people who are unrelated, a lot of food going through the kitchen.

 

There are all kinds of regulations for commercial kitchens you'd never use in your own home.

[SKL]

 

And here's the thing, if it's no big deal, why do restaurant bathrooms have signs reminding their employees to wash their hands before returning to work? Presumably they don't want their staff to use the bathroom and then walk to the kitchen area to wash in the sinks there. Unless they just post those signs to make other "OCD" people feel better.  :lol:

 

Personally I think they do that to make us customers feel better.  Or maybe it is a law that they have to post it. 

 

It's not like they have cameras monitoring who washes their hands in the bathroom.

 

Come to think about it, they would probably get more compliance if they had a sink in the kitchen where they could police which employees wash their hands.  Though that would not solve all the problems either.  My brother worked at McD and the stories he tells ....

[Tap]

What is up with your bathroom floors? I don’t get either of these. Why would the floors be covered in urine? Are you in the middle of potty training? I don’t think this is a concern for most people.

Men who stand, splatter.  Even with good aim the spray is still there..  Tall men have even more problem with this effect. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

I'm sitting here thinking, you all put or rinse raw meat into your sinks and worry about bathroom hands? Bathroom hands need to be washed, but I can't see how they are remotely less gross than raw meat.... I think it's like: I won't fly, I feel safer driving-- even though flying deaths last year: 0. Auto deaths: 40,000.

I never rinse raw meat or put it in the sink. Are we supposed to? I open packages of meat over the pot that it is being cooked in and put it in there directly. Or I put it on a cutting board to cut it and then dump it directly into the pan. The cutting board is then sanitized. So I guess my kitchen sink isn’t as dirty? (I still wash it out before using. )

[Laura Corin]

I never rinse raw meat or put it in the sink. Are we supposed to? I open packages of meat over the pot that it is being cooked in and put it in there directly. Or I put it on a cutting board to cut it and then dump it directly into the pan. The cutting board is then sanitized. So I guess my kitchen sink isn’t as dirty? (I still wash it out before using. )

 

Current advice in the UK is not to wash chickens, as the splatter in the kitchen is more dangerous than any benefit of rinsing.  US chickens are chlorine-washed, however, and UK ones are not.  I've not heard of washing other meats.

 

[JudoMom]

Huh? Trolling? I'm thinking if you see my post count, I've been around awhile, so...

 

I don't think the question is OCD at all. In fact, it doesn't even touch on the definition of OCD. Now, if I said that I can't function when I see someone doing this, or I think something terrible will happen if bathroom hands get washed in the sink, that would be more along the lines of an OCD response.

 

It was just a question about whether you think a behavior is unhygienic, and from many of the responses, some people clearly don't favor it but they don't get too wigged out about it, either. That's the camp I'm in, I think, although there's something a little gross to me about it. I guess I just think about the meal prep that happens near the sink.

 

And here's the thing, if it's no big deal, why do restaurant bathrooms have signs reminding their employees to wash their hands before returning to work? Presumably they don't want their staff to use the bathroom and then walk to the kitchen area to wash in the sinks there. Unless they just post those signs to make other "OCD" people feel better.  :lol:

 

Well, some of the staff would be waiters/waitresses and they might walk directly to the floor after using the restroom to serve customers, bypassing the kitchen.

 

But I also think it's more of a feel good sign.  People are either handwashers or they're not, regardless of where they wash.  No one is going to pee, start to leave the restroom, see the sign, slap their forehead in a "d'oh" moment, and return to wash their hands :lol: .  

[katilac]

  This whole question seems so OCD it makes me wonder if OP is trolling, or if the real problem in their household is OCD.

 

:confused1:

 

Seriously? Have you seen some of the questions asked on this board, lol? 

 

Everybody has their things. This doesn't strike me as a very unusual one. It happens to be one I share, but my mind doesn't jump to trolling or OCD if it's not one I share. We've had a discussion on here before about separate baskets for clean and dirty laundry, and there are people who do that. Separate mops for bathroom vs rest of house? That one is common, I know plenty of people who do that in real life. 

 

It's not in the same universe as OCD (which often has zero to do with cleanliness) and it would be an extremely lame trolling effort. 

[Katy]

 

It's not in the same universe as OCD (which often has zero to do with cleanliness) and it would be an extremely lame trolling effort. 

 

I've had more than one patient back in my nursing days that was extremely OCD about other peoples germs- forcing nurses to wash their hands multiple times after touching anything in the room, but who personally refused to bathe at all.  This hyper control of other people not washing hands in the kitchen sink - which is much dirtier than most surfaces in a home - reminds me of those patients.

[SKL]

We all have irrational quirks.  That doesn't make us OCD, I don't think.

 

I have a thing about people not closing doors.  It doesn't make any actual difference, it just bugs me.

 

Also, if my shoes are on that means it's time to go out.  NOW.  Everyone better be ready because MY SHOES ARE ON.

 

OK maybe I am a little weirder than most .....

[GinaPagnato]

I've had more than one patient back in my nursing days that was extremely OCD about other peoples germs- forcing nurses to wash their hands multiple times after touching anything in the room, but who personally refused to bathe at all.  This hyper control of other people not washing hands in the kitchen sink - which is much dirtier than most surfaces in a home - reminds me of those patients.

 

Katy, I think you're being triggered, as there's nothing in my OP that mentions hyper control of other people's hand washing. Asking a question does not equal control.

 

You're seriously reaching here. If the thread is triggering you this much, maybe back out, because your "diagnosis" of OCD is just so off the mark.

 

Edited March 16, 2018 by GinaPagnato

[Pawz4me]

I never rinse raw meat or put it in the sink. Are we supposed to? I open packages of meat over the pot that it is being cooked in and put it in there directly. Or I put it on a cutting board to cut it and then dump it directly into the pan. The cutting board is then sanitized. So I guess my kitchen sink isn’t as dirty? (I still wash it out before using. )

 

I never rinse meat (never figured out any logical reason you'd want or need to do that), but I do place whole chickens in the sink before opening the package because "juice" always runs out everywhere and I'd miuch rather have it in the sink, which is easy to disinfect/sanitize, than running all over the counter. My method of doing that involves cleaning/sanitizing the sink, dealing with the chicken and getting it in the crock pot and then cleaning/sanitizing the sink again.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I never rinse meat (never figured out any logical reason you'd want or need to do that), but I do place whole chickens in the sink before opening the package because "juice" always runs out everywhere and I'd miuch rather have it in the sink, which is easy to disinfect/sanitize, than running all over the counter. My method of doing that involves cleaning/sanitizing the sink, dealing with the chicken and getting it in the crock pot and then cleaning/sanitizing the sink again.

 

I will get a casserole dish, open it in the casserole dish so that the juice runs into that.  Then I will cut it up or dump it in the roaster (or crockpot or whatever) whole.  Then I put the casserole dish and/or the cutting board into the dishwasher on sanitize.  Yes, it's an extra dish but so easy. 

[HS Mom in NC]

You mean the kitchen sink that has the garbage disposal where people put food leftovers gone bad because they were unnoticed in the back of the back of the fridge and where people wash their hands after emptying/cleaning trash cans and fixing clogged garbage disposals?  No, not a huge deal to me, but I do wonder why they would use the kitchen one when they were just in a bathroom that had a perfectly functioning sink. 

[KungFuPanda]

So even if we can all agree that urine splash and flush vapor is a serious hygiene problem that coats your floors, walls, celiling, clothes, and hands, we now have a much bigger problem than just where you wash your hands. If you think about it to the point that you’re really squicked out, than it seems only a complete bathroom scrub down, a shower, and a change of clothes would be good enough to make you feel ‘clean.’ I simply do not have that level of vigilance in me or that kind of time.

 

I get that it would be awesome for things to stay super clean. I lived in military barracks and enjoyed the level of cleanliness that comes from daily detailed cleaning by an entire squad of fit adults AND monthly DEEP cleaning. There’s just no way to reproduce this in my home. I live with my family, not soldiers. If only I could wave a wand and make it so . . .

[Alice]

It would not bother me from a kitchen sink being contaminated standpoint. In our current house, it would bother me because it would mean the person had to leave the bathroom and intentionally walk to the other end of the house to wash their hands. That would seem weird and I would ask them why they were doing that. Also, I make the kids wash their hands in the bathroom because they always seem to want to use the kitchen sink right at the moment that I’m busy in the kitchen (and we have a smallish work space). It’s more of a “get out of my space thing†than a “ick†factor. 

 

I tend to worry very little about germs and infection. And we get sick as a family really really rarely. Not sure if I don’t worry because we are lucky and have good immune systems and don’t get sick that much...or if being less worried about it helps us have lots of good bacteria that strengthens our immunity. 

 

***Since most people know I’m a pediatrician I feel like I should say I wash my hands all the time at work. Before going in a room, before touching the patient, after touching the patient and after coming out of the room. In the office or the hospital, I believe in being very cautious. But at home with my own family, not so much. 

 

[katilac]

So even if we can all agree that urine splash and flush vapor is a serious hygiene problem that coats your floors, walls, celiling, clothes, and hands, we now have a much bigger problem than just where you wash your hands. If you think about it to the point that you’re really squicked out, than it seems only a complete bathroom scrub down, a shower, and a change of clothes would be good enough to make you feel ‘clean.’ I simply do not have that level of vigilance in me or that kind of time.

 

 

The awesome thing about the human brain is that it lets us address the things that bother us personally, and blissfully ignore the things that don't.  

 

Katy, I think you're being triggered, as there's nothing in my OP that mentions hyper control of other people's hand washing. Asking a question does not equal control.

 

 

I'm still surprised that any regular reader of these boards would be surprised at the question, lol. 

 

I've had more than one patient back in my nursing days that was extremely OCD about other peoples germs- forcing nurses to wash their hands multiple times after touching anything in the room, but who personally refused to bathe at all.  This hyper control of other people not washing hands in the kitchen sink - which is much dirtier than most surfaces in a home - reminds me of those patients.

 

That's a pretty far reach. Someone who prefers, or even insists, on hands being washed in the bathroom, but isn't bothered by not having separate laundry baskets, does not approach the realm of what you're describing here. 

 

We all have irrational quirks.   

 

 

Yep. 

[lailasmum]

I sometimes wash my hands in the kitchen after using the bathroom downstairs. The hot water in the downstairs bathroom takes an absolute age to run through and it's freezing in there.  Plenty of gross things end up in the kitchen sink so I don't think it's too gross and we wash up in a washing bowl not directly in the sink. 

[caedmyn]

Considering none of the males in this house ever wash their hands unless specifically prompted (which would require me to be aware of every.single.time they use the bathroom, which I'm not, and DH wouldn't do it anyway)...I'd just be glad they were washing their hands out all.  I'm not particularly germ-phobic though.  DH cuts up raw meat, RINSES his hands off (no soap involved), and then wipes his hands on the kitchen towel.  Now THAT grosses me out.  I go behind him when he leaves the kitchen and throw any towels, wash cloths, etc in the dirty basket and disinfect the counters.

[Ausmumof3]

Huh? Trolling? I'm thinking if you see my post count, I've been around awhile, so...

 

I don't think the question is OCD at all. In fact, it doesn't even touch on the definition of OCD. Now, if I said that I can't function when I see someone doing this, or I think something terrible will happen if bathroom hands get washed in the sink, that would be more along the lines of an OCD response.

 

It was just a question about whether you think a behavior is unhygienic, and from many of the responses, some people clearly don't favor it but they don't get too wigged out about it, either. That's the camp I'm in, I think, although there's something a little gross to me about it. I guess I just think about the meal prep that happens near the sink.

 

And here's the thing, if it's no big deal, why do restaurant bathrooms have signs reminding their employees to wash their hands before returning to work? Presumably they don't want their staff to use the bathroom and then walk to the kitchen area to wash in the sinks there. Unless they just post those signs to make other "OCD" people feel better. :lol:

To qualify as a commercial kitchen where I live you have to have a separate designated handwashing sink so there must be something in it.

[Catwoman]

Frankly unless you are non-organic vegans or you bleach your kitchen sink every single time you cook meat or rinse raw organic vegetables, chances are your kitchen sink is MUCH dirtier than your bathroom sink, where at least someone is spitting mouthwash every day. And that's assuming you don't run a clorox wipe over the bathroom sink daily.

 

Mryiad studies suggest that people who live together share most of the same bacteria strains in their guts anyway. Bacteria is not as big of a deal as pathogenic bacteria - the type that comes in on organic produce and raw meats. That's what can make you sick, not someone choosing to wash their hands in the kitchen sink. This whole question seems so OCD it makes me wonder if OP is trolling, or if the real problem in their household is OCD.

Gina has been here for a long time and she is definitely not a troll — I always enjoy reading her posts, so maybe that’s why I have been reading this thread very differently than you have. :)

 

I could be completely mistaken, but I thought she was asking a lighthearted question, not that this was a super-important concern for her.

 

Actually, it seems like a few people here are taking her question far more seriously than she is. :laugh:

 

Personally, the thread reminded me of episodes of Tiny House Hunters, where some of the bathrooms were so small that there was no room for a sink, so everyone had to wash their hands in the kitchen sink after using the rest room — and the people on the show usually thought it was weird to have to do that.