Is it a bit OTT to disinfect your shopping when you get it home?

[Bunnylady54]

I keep seeing posts on Facebook about doing this & tbh it wouldn’t have occurred to me at all. I keep as safe as I can when I shop but not sure it’s necessary to spray what you take home. Also saw something about washing coats etc when you’ve been for a walk.

I've been doing this for years, welcome to the world of OCD.

It's crossed my mind like touching parcels, but it's not going to be eliminated by you anti- bacing your cornflakes, so I'll catch it at some point. The idea is less people catch it now so we can have enough beds in the hospital. The idea is not that you never catch it, because that's going to be pretty impossible.

Unless you lick the outside of your tins and packets, the wash your hands advice is much, much more important and relevant

I don’t agree with this. If you wash your hands and then start cooking (for example), you touch then outside of food packaging and then you touch the food itself or something else, any trace of the bacteria or virus that is on the packaging can transfer.

If I didn’t wash the outside of an orange (because it’s going to be peeled), I could pick up my orange, whatever is on the skin could transfer to my hands and then when I peel the orange I can transfer it to the food I’m eating.

Washing your hands helps with this but washing the food packing obviously adds additional protection. That doesn’t mean everyone has to do it.

Even coranavirus aside, we are all different in the legal of hygiene we practice.

If you wash your hands and then start cooking (for example), you touch then outside of food packaging and then you touch the food itself or something else, any trace of the bacteria or virus that is on the packaging can transfer.

Ok but say I'm making a tomato sauce. I wash my hands, chop up onion and garlic, tip into the pan, wash my hands. Then I add a tin of tomatoes, tip into the pan, wash my hands. Then add salt, which is no danger as has been sat in the cupboard for months.

Surely that is fine?

@Pishposhpashy I think that would be ok but most people wouldn’t do that. I believe many people would wash their hands before they start cooking and then probably not do so again, which is why I’d want everything we would touch when we’re cooking to be clean.

If it’s something that doesn’t go into a pan, like an orange or a pack of crisps, it’s harder to wash your hands at a time that avoids anything getting into your food / mouth.

I agree hand washing is so important but I’ve seen how some people wash their hands. I don’t believe they do it often enough or properly. If everyone did then disinfecting our shopping wouldn’t even come into it.

I should point out that I’m one of those people who won’t touch a pen in a bank or shop as others have touched it and who uses a paper towel to open doors after going to the loo at work... I’m a germaphobe anyway.

@GachaBread. There’s really no need for your attitude.

It’s easy to transfer from surface to surface. We all do things automatically & without thinking. Touch our own faces,those of lived ones. Touch a contaminated tin,PICU up a glass too near the rim etc

I personally just prefer the stuff coming into the house to be cleaned to prevent bringing it into the house, so the house feel more ‘clean’ & safe

People not wanting to wash stuff coming in the house puzzle me. Even if you think we will all get it eventually, why not do all you can to prevent getting now when we’re heading into the peak & people needing ventilators won't all get one?

People not wanting to wash stuff coming in the house puzzle me

Well actually, I think I and others have quite clearly explained our reasons up thread.

@AmelieTaylor I have no attitude, I swear. We are going through times that no one could have imagined, we are all scared. But all this is too much, way too much. My normal is not your normal and if you believe disinfecting your shopping, your shoes, your clothes, your mail every time you come through the door to be the safest way in not getting the virus then go for it. We have months and months of this, this will be exhausting and then when it's all over these habits will be so engrained in you that this will become your normal for the rest of your life. Kids will pick up on this, mental health services will be so overwhelmed, the list goes on. If this is how you want to lead your lives then carry on.
What happens when germs, viruses mutate in such a way that cleaning does nothing because of all this over cleaning? Be safe yeah, and do what's right for you but please don't judge me and assume I am going to die just because I did not do wipe my supermarket purchases down. They say wash your hands for 10 minutes, how long do we need to wash a packet of biscuits to eradicate any nasties? We can wash, wipe, scrub endlessly and still catch it, what then?
Half of you lot don't even know if what you are using is killing these germs 100 percent, all this stuff you use claims to only kill 99.9 so the other 1 percent could linger into 2 and 3 and boom your washing efforts are for nothing. I need to come off here because you lot are making my sanity going.
Stay safe everyone

No, it’s not unreasonable to disinfected. One droplet is life or death to us.

@GachaBread I’m surprised you don’t see how your posts reek of “attitude”. As you say we are all approaching this differently but the way you expressed yourself was rude and judgmental.

I am high risk due to immunosuppression and underlying medical conditions.
I would rather spend 10 - 20 minutes once a day cleaning surfaces and anything that comes into the house, than be washing my hands every single time I touch a potentially contaminated surface.
I wash my hands before cooking, after using the loo and whenever I think necessary.
Maybe every couple of hours.
We know that the virus can live for days on some surfaces. Products in shops are handled and coughed over by lots of people.
I have a very simple system for handling, unpacking and cleaning things. The shopping comes in a couple of times a week.
I find this helps me to remain calm and relaxed, which is better for my health.
I have read the latest research on infection control around Covid-19 and am confident that I am doing the best I can.
I think this is rational and reasonable. Of course others can disagree.

Do you think milton fluid would be good to use ?

@BunnytheBee reading your posts make me want to scream. I have to get off here while you continue to scare already fragile people into your way of thinking.

@GachaBread You’re right. You need to get off here.

Milton is perfect for surfaces that are safe to use bleach on.
Detergent is good for hard surfaces that can't take bleach. Ordinary soap is good for hands.

I have been doing a bit of reading about this issue as DH saw an "expert" on TV saying that you should scrub all fruit and veg or packaging with soapy water.

There is nothing on the NHS website to say you should do this. Most experts appear to agree that the risk from packaging is very, very low. Follow the social distancing in the supermarket. Wash your hands when you get home.

Also the WHO says risk of transmission from deliveries and packaging etc is low.

Thanks endofthelinefinaly, I use it for baby bottle so will make up a solution for cleaning hard surfaces and any shopping coming into the house.

you need to be very careful that what you use to clean shopping is actually not more harmful using milton a form of bleach without rinsing properly is going to be dangerous ingesting soap etc is not good for you neither are cleaning aerosol sprays good for your lungs

you need to weigh up carefully the actual risk as opposed to perceived risk or what might make you feel better psychologically but actually might harm you more physically

Bog standard cheap bleach is just as good. Milton is expensive, maybe save it for the baby stuff.

If there was just me I wouldn't bother but my husband is high risk. I shop, he wipes.

I agree nobody should be spraying chemicals.
Obviously, I only clean and dry packaging as necessary, not actual food items.
I wipe tins and plastic with a cloth wrung out in a solution of bleach and detergent.
I always clean tins before I use them as they are stored in places where there are mice etc.

Can't believe how many people think this is OTT - and it's especially disturbing that people are saying if it was important, the government would have told us to do it. (Are you the ones who were still going to pubs because "if they're still open it muct be ok"?) The constant repetition of "wash your hands" was chosen because they don't want to confuse people with lots of different instructions. They've told us it can remain on plastic for days. Perhaps they're crediting people with too much intelligence to realise this means packaging in supermarkets?

I'd much rather wash things when they come into the house and then relax and not worry about re-washing my hands when I've touched anything in my own home.

As for all the head-tilty "You ok hun? How's your mental health?" posts: obviously soaping down everything you buy or throwing out the packaging before it touches anything else would be ridiculous and veering into OCD territory ordinarily, but during a pandemic which is killing thousands of people all over the world, it seems quite sensible!

And saying "ooh, no, I couldn't live like that, how do you find the time?" is a bit like saying "What, you brush your teeth TWICE a day? And floss too? Gosh, I could never do that...." It's a routine that takes a minute or two and it's necessary to avoid potentially unplesant consequences.

But by all means, take the risk. This guy is probably the only one who thought it would be a laugh to lick things in supermarkets to make his mates laugh...
metro.co.uk/2020/03/23/man-licks-toiletries-supermarket-asking-scared-coronavirus-12441271/

Can't believe how many people think this is OTT - and it's especially disturbing that people are saying if it was important, the government would have told us to do it. (Are you the ones who were still going to pubs because "if they're still open it muct be ok"?) The constant repetition of "wash your hands" was chosen because they don't want to confuse people with lots of different instructions. They've told us it can remain on plastic for days. Perhaps they're crediting people with too much intelligence to realise this means packaging in supermarkets?

No, I haven't been to any pubs, cafes or restaurants for a month and I've been WFH for 6 weeks. Please do not tell me I am not taking this seriously.

I am not just trusting the government. I am also trusting the WHO and the NHS, all of whom have said the risk is low.

For some of us, the risk of our mental health being completely decimated by sterilising our groceries outstrips the miniscule risk of contracting coronavirus from packaging. Please do not dismiss that.