To think hygiene standards are low in Britain?

[castemary]

This obviously does not apply to everyone. But in Britain, I think there is a general acceptance of fairly low hygiene standards. I see it in several areas.
With individuals you have people telling everyone they do not wash bras for months, do not clean their teeth every day, do not wash face masks every day.
In public areas, offices and shops the cleaning often consist of no more than a quick hoover occasionally, a mop and a bit of damp wiping. Apart from toilets, places are rarely properly cleaned.
I think most people simply do not realise how unhygienic Britain is until they go to countries that do have a good standard of hygiene. There seems to be a lot of emphasis in Britain on superficial things that make places look good such as scatter cushions or make-up, and not on basic hygiene and cleanliness.
AIBU?

Who doesn’t wash their bra for months? I have never heard of that.

Some places are definitely cleaner than the UK, but this post generalises rather.

I think one of the things about the pandemic and some of the simple actions, 'hands face space' to use the government phrase, is that it has highlighted how poor hygiene is in this country for many people.

I am not so confident about other countries though either.

They were getting low (based on my last visit in 2019), but I think Covid has put the focus on hygiene for many countries and it will be better everywhere. I don’t think Britain is alone in this though, as standards had been declining here in France as well.

I don't think any of the (mostly European) countries I've been to have noticeably superior hygiene to Britain. At all. I wonder how many people you have heard make comments about bra washing etc to make you come to the conclusion that this is a majority behaviour. Or how many people from other countries you've heard talk about that, in order to compare.

It seems more likely you've latched onto some comments and come to an unjustifiable conclusion tbh. People latch onto those comments precisely because they are not the norm. And (on MN at least) for every slattern there will be an avalanche of daily-towel-washers and anti-baccers to shout at them!

I’m on the side of bacteria and worry about the constant cleaning and our future children having immunity issues! I let my dd play in mud ect, we have a dog ect I think it’s so important to have a strong immune system. Touch wood my dd is rarely poorly.

In an office environment what would you expect a 'proper' clean to consist of. Our desks were wiped and floors hoovered daily. Once a month someone would come round and clean devices like keyboards etc. What other cleaning are you expecting?

I think the UK and a lot of European countries don't really place much importance on cleanliness. It took a whole pandemic for some people to learn how to wash their hands. I think it's even something taken light-heartedly i.e. "I only shower twice a week, and wash my hair once a month " - when I read posts like that I am thoroughly perplexed

Some public places are not that clean really ( I guess that cleaners are not hired or they hire too few of them to really deep clean everything)
I was a cleaner for a while and they expected loads : it was honestly too much for one person to clean lights and the loos and mop and sweep an entire restaurant on your own. When I pointed this out I was told I was being ridiculous although it was obvious they needed a team of cleaners to do it properly! Hence things are missed. It wasn't seen as a necessity for them to hire cleaners. Plenty of managers though.
Things are a bit better now since covid in some stores , but mostly places are pretty bad I agree.
Personal hygiene is another matter. I always wash my bras after one wash and shower daily like clean clothes , clean my teeth , go to the dentist etc
A bar of soap or toothpaste is pennies and it doesn't cost much to keep clean really.
Maybe it's how your brought up ? My own parents were clean and the house was immaculate.

@Breastfeedingworries

I’m on the side of bacteria and worry about the constant cleaning and our future children having immunity issues! I let my dd play in mud ect, we have a dog ect I think it’s so important to have a strong immune system. Touch wood my dd is rarely poorly.

Exactly this! If anything, I think the Brits are overusing products such as bleach and Dettol. I have seen so many posts on there from people bleaching their toilets daily, wiping crumbs off the counter with Dettol etc. Our neighbour even cleans her driveway with bleach. It's insanely bad for the environment and really not needed. We do need bacteria though.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2841828/

However, not brushing your teeth is inexcusable though.

Where are these amazing hygienic countries?

Certainly not France where the overwhelming aroma is of bins and drains IME.

The only major hygiene difference I've observed between countries is that in the Nordic countries they're very big on showering naked and washing before going in a public swimming pool. It's the only thing I've noticed that's universal.

Not brushing teeth every day (not envy)

I must admit the the mask washing thread was an eye-opener.

The tolerance of flies in this country really shocks me. British people seem to have no issue with flies crawling on their food, getting on the kitchen surfaces etc.

@RedcurrantPuff

Where are these amazing hygienic countries?

Certainly not France where the overwhelming aroma is of bins and drains IME.

Don't forget the piss.

Are you talking about personal hygiene or general?

I change my socks and underwear everyday.I wear the other pieces of clothing more then once if they don’t smell of body odour.

I don’t douse everything in bleach, don’t use anti bacterial sprays nor cloths.

We need some bacteria in our life to build up our immune system (not talking about really bad ones like salmonella).

I’d rather be slightly dirty/have some dirt in the house than pour Zooflora everywhere and have issues with stream of colds/respiratory system infections.

Have been on MN for a while and still can’t understand people who bath their kids every day then complain about child’s skin problems.

The hysteria around raw chicken when juices spill on the worktop.

Each to their own though.

Which countries though? I suppose Japan and Singapore seemed very clean and hygiene focused. But I seriously don't know anyone who doesn't clean their teeth and wash/shower daily. I'd be concerned about their mental health to be honest.

Although I only change the duvet fortnightly and have a toilet brush so I probs shouldn't comment .

I worked in retail until recently and it is disgusting. Our keyboards were never cleaned, not even during the pandemic. And we are not allowed to bring any cleaning materials into work, so can’t do it ourselves.

All the floor areas under shelves were never cleaned either.

I’ve lived in 4 European countries and I don’t think hygiene standards differed greatly between them. Indeed the body odour in France was certainly far more of an issue than in the U.K.
Most people I know are hygienic.

I agree OP. I went on the mask wearing thread and could not believe people are wearing masks for months without washing them. It's just grim. And then I saw someone only washed their jeans 4 times a year. Just disgusting.

@YellowScallion I have never worked anywhere that does even that level of cleaning. In every office I have ever worked in I see at least one colleague using a visibly filthy keyboard.

really never noticed.

Some of what you describe is rank, and I don’t recognise the behaviours listed at all (bra washing, tooth brushing, etc). I’m sure every country has extremes of revolting habits and also of shocking over-use of bactericides. But the average? Where are you comparing the UK to?