Dirty confessions of an otherwise clean person

[Bensmom]

So yesterday I was watching a YouTube cooking video presented by two ladies who are great home cooks (not professionals). One of them is using a lemon juicer and remarks that she finally bought a new one because the lovely yellow and green paint had completely worn off the old one due to fact that she never washed it and always just gave it a quick rinse. Now I own this exact same lemon juicer and leave it on my counter with a small green knife and tiny cutting board that is used just for slicing lemons because I drink lemon water daily. These objects also get quick rinses with each use and only occasional washing with soap. It then occurred to me that my tea strainer is also just rinsed  with use and rarely washed. I suddenly felt very confused on why I as a person who cleans everything else, finds it acceptable to rarely wash these items that I use daily.  I suddenly felt dirty. Embarrassed and worried the kitchen police were going to be knocking on my door, I quickly seized these unwashed offenders and scrubbed them throughly.  I am happy to report that after the tea strainer sat in a bowl of vinegar, I was able to use a little elbow grease to (mostly) restore it to shiny silver. However, though temporarily shamed of my dirty habits, I have this nagging suspicion that I shall revert to them and in a short time the tea strainer will be brown and my lemon juicer will eventually be paintless.  Sigh. 
 

Confession complete. Please resume your regular activities. (Feel free to make your own dirty confessions if you so wish.)

 

 

[AbcdeDooDah]

Pasta cooks in water. The pot only needs quick swirl of water and then gets put away.

[Carrie12345]

I don’t know where this lands on other people’s scale, but I allow my coffee pot/maker to go longer than I actually want it to. My intent is always to put the pot through the dw a few times a week, and run vinegar through the machine weekly... but I don’t. It’s more like pot every 2 weeks and vinegar... 2-3 months? (Pot does always get rinsed.)

But I grew up with a relative who never cleaned hers EVER, I’ve worked in food establishments, and I found another relative who didn’t just ignore regular cleaning- they RAN THE PREVIOUS DAY’S COFFEE through their machine! And never cleaned it. It’s like some people’s eyes can’t see mold!

Okay, now I feel gross and I’m gonna go clean my machine.

[cjzimmer1]

Well, I grew up with a community mug that hung on a nail from the tree by the water pump that everyone used when they were outside and thirsty. I have no knowledge of it ever being washed in my 22 years living at home. So nothing anyone says here registers as a concern to me at all. (But I no longer share drinking cups with anyone)

 

[Spryte]

Coffee machine — guilty here, too. We have a super automatic, so it cleans itself a bit. The lines get cleaned with steaming hot water before and after each use. But there’s this pesky place inside that catches the grounds, and another places that catches the water. I empty and rinse those daily, but washing happens only once in a blue moon. Now I feel completely gross.

Oh, and I have a Monica closet. Or two. If you ever watched Friends you might know what I mean. House is tidy, but a couple closets — well, just don’t open those doors and we’ll be fine.

[alisoncooks]

Sometimes I just rinse my morning coffee cup, and then use it again the next day. Which is totally gross because I use half and half/cream, and I’m pretty particular (aka picky) when it comes to dairy/food safety, lol. Somehow the presence of the coffee makes it all okay. 

[SKL]

I go days using the same coffee cup without washing it.

And I'm generally a clean person ... relatively.

[happi duck]

I don't use soap when I rinse out my English teapot.  I don't think soap is forbidden but I have it in my head that somehow soap will be left behind and affect the taste.

[Carrie12345]

19 minutes ago, happi duck said:

I don't use soap when I rinse out my English teapot.  I don't think soap is forbidden but I have it in my head that somehow soap will be left behind and affect the taste.

That plays into my whole coffee pot thing.  
When I was waitressing, soap in the pots was forbidden. Ice and salt, swirled and rinsed only. But I rarely have ice in my house, so dishwasher it is. (And I’ve never noticed any taste issue, but it’s always my probably irrational fear.)

[ktgrok]

2 hours ago, cjzimmer1 said:

Well, I grew up with a community mug that hung on a nail from the tree by the water pump that everyone used when they were outside and thirsty. I have no knowledge of it ever being washed in my 22 years living at home. So nothing anyone says here registers as a concern to me at all. (But I no longer share drinking cups with anyone)

 

This makes me feel better about seeing the 2-4 cups of water on the counter that my DD11 leaves there and just throwing them right into the dish drying rack for her to use again without washing them. she literally will drink 1 sip, then get a new cup the next time. We are working on that behavior, but in the meantime, she can just reuse it, lol. 

Also, I just rinse the coffee basket the filter goes in, except for maybe once a week or two I throw it in the dishwasher. Pot gets rinsed or scrubbed based on if it looks like oils are collecting from the coffee. But, I don't use the pot all the time, it will also make a single cup. 

I do NOT reuse coffee mugs. I have 3 mugs. One for morning. one for my second cup in the afternoon. And a back up third cup for evening tea or decaf. 

[bensonduck]

I thought I was the only one that used the same coffee mug without washing it for multiple days in a row! I also tend to leave it half full in the kitchen to go back to and sip later. 
 

I have a large plastic 1L Evian water bottle. I drink from it, refill it, drink it, etc. I keep the same one for about 6 months before getting a new one. So gross, I know. 

[bibiche]

3 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

This makes me feel better about seeing the 2-4 cups of water on the counter that my DD11 leaves there and just throwing them right into the dish drying rack for her to use again without washing them. she literally will drink 1 sip, then get a new cup the next time. We are working on that behavior, but in the meantime, she can just reuse it, lol. 

We started using a grease pencil with initial or name to get a handle on this. Also had some talks about loving one’s Mother Earth and conserving resources.

[ktgrok]

6 minutes ago, bibiche said:

We started using a grease pencil with initial or name to get a handle on this. Also had some talks about loving one’s Mother Earth and conserving resources.

I bough her her own very cool Harry Potter mug with cats when she kept taking my mugs. Because again, I am particular, each mug has a time of day and a use, lol. But, then she uses it once and looks for more! She also has a cool insulated cup as well. 

I swear it is a puberty thing. Her older brother did the same thing at this age, and then later outgrew it. 

[Kanin]

I rinse my French press with water but I wash it with soap maybe every.... 6 months?

If I leave a glass of water half empty on the coffee table overnight.... I often just drink it the next morning. Is bacteria growing in there? Who knows!

My DH soaps and scrubs dishes to death and takes a million years to wash containers that just had sliced apples or otherwise non-messy items in them. I don't get it. 

We both ignore the mildew in the bathtub though....

 

[alisoncooks]

20 minutes ago, bensonduck said:

I have a large plastic 1L Evian water bottle. I drink from it, refill it, drink it, etc. I keep the same one for about 6 months before getting a new one. So gross, I know. 

My oldest dd does this, lol. One day, I grabbed her water bottle, thinking it was mine and yuck! The mouthpiece smelled like a swamp! 🤢 After that, I bought her a washable water bottle. 😄 

[Bootsie]

Lemon has antibacterial properties, so it would not seem odd to simply rinse items that frequently come into contact with lemon.  I am obsessive about cleaning cutting boards, counters, and utensils that have come in contact with raw meat or something that is high risk for contamination.  If I add milk to a cup of coffee, I thoroughly wash the cup.  If I have a cup of tea or black coffee, and I will be the person using the cup again, a thorough rinse is sufficient for me.  

[athena1277]

1 hour ago, Kanin said:

 

We both ignore the mildew in the bathtub though....

 

And there’s my downfall.  

[cjzimmer1]

2 hours ago, ktgrok said:

This makes me feel better about seeing the 2-4 cups of water on the counter that my DD11 leaves there and just throwing them right into the dish drying rack for her to use again without washing them. she literally will drink 1 sip, then get a new cup the next time. We are working on that behavior, but in the meantime, she can just reuse it, lol. 

Also, I just rinse the coffee basket the filter goes in, except for maybe once a week or two I throw it in the dishwasher. Pot gets rinsed or scrubbed based on if it looks like oils are collecting from the coffee. But, I don't use the pot all the time, it will also make a single cup. 

I do NOT reuse coffee mugs. I have 3 mugs. One for morning. one for my second cup in the afternoon. And a back up third cup for evening tea or decaf. 

We have a rule of one cup per person per day.  Everyone has their own style/color of cup and if I find 2 out in one day, the offender will hear about it.  If they don't like the previous liquid in it, it's on them to rinse/wash during the end of the day.  At the end of the day I will send them all through the dishwasher.  I had to get tough on the this because at one point the group was generating 20-30 dirty cups every day and I was loosing my mind.

[Tina]

2 hours ago, Kanin said:

IIf I leave a glass of water half empty on the coffee table overnight.... I often just drink it the next morning. Is bacteria growing in there? Who knows!

We both ignore the mildew in the bathtub though....

 

Well, to be fair no one uses the tub here, either!  Yes, mugs from tea or hot water--and those water glasses are just fine the next day!  Haven't gotten sick yet! haha

I read of someone not washing their muffin pans, and that made sense to me!  I use paper liners all the time, so unless I miss the liner, no problem!

[Frances]

2 hours ago, bensonduck said:

I have a large plastic 1L Evian water bottle. I drink from it, refill it, drink it, etc. I keep the same one for about 6 months before getting a new one. So gross, I know. 

I’ve discovered that when I do this or when I used to use the same mug day after day at work for water or herbal tea that I would get a sore throat. Not actually sick, just a mild sore throat. So now I use a fresh glass or mug every day and pour cold water from the plastic water bottle into it before refilling.

Edited October 7, 2021 by Frances

[KungFuPanda]

Some friends recently formed what can only be described as an intervention. They told me that they clean their make-up brushes after each use. I might clean mine twice a year. I still think they’re gaslighting me, but there were three of them. 
 

In my feeble defense, they wear make-up daily and often use   creams. They also all have next-level skills. Until recently, I wore makeup 5-6 times a month and I’m only using my brushes for powders. 

[rebcoola]

I just rinse my coffee cup but I don't use creamer.   

The popcorn popper and bowl only get a wipe usually.  

[barnwife]

2 hours ago, cjzimmer1 said:

We have a rule of one cup per person per day.  Everyone has their own style/color of cup and if I find 2 out in one day, the offender will hear about it.  If they don't like the previous liquid in it, it's on them to rinse/wash during the end of the day.  At the end of the day I will send them all through the dishwasher.  I had to get tough on the this because at one point the group was generating 20-30 dirty cups every day and I was loosing my mind.

OMG - I have more or less instituted the 1 cup thing in our house. I mean 7 people times 3 meals, plus other random cups is just too much! No one has time (or the space) for that. At least, that's what I tell myself. However, it drives my mom absolutely batty. Growing up, our family of five definitely used a new cup at each meal, and anytime we just wanted a drink. So she expects us to do the same. And when she comes she just willy-nilly throws all our cups in the dishwasher after every single meal. I remind her every single time to just. leave them. and she still can't/won't. 

Also, we eat a lot of apples around here. We all prefer to slice them (is that weird?) So we have a dedicated apple slicing knife/cutting board. Same with our homemade bread (dedicated knife and board). We...do not wash them after each use. Well, unless someone who is obviously sick touches them. But mostly they know better and just let someone else do the work. I do try to wash them every few days.

In my defense, I am much better about switching out kitchen towels (hand and dish) and dish cloths than I was at one point in my life.