Too clean!

[Whyisitsodifficult]

Do you think that with everyone being overly cautious with cleaning and hand washing, sterilising, alcohol gel, disinfecting etc that we’ll be heading towards more problems? You quite often read about children not having the same immunity as we overly sanitise everything compared to the ‘a bit of dirt never did me any harm generation’.
Some even blaming this for the increase in allergies etc..

I genuinely worry that we’re gearing up for more problems due to our obsession with overly cleaning and anti bacterial wiping everything!

I’ve got a friend who has a tuner set for every 30 mind for her family to all trot off and wash hands.

It’s overkill - they haven’t left the house/garden for 9 (?) weeks. There is just no need and it’s obsessive.

My mum uses dettol constantly and bleach even though she has not been out. I personally wipe down bathrooms etc but I dont feel like I have to dettol my entire house when soapy water is fine unless someone is Ill.

@ClientQ I'm wondering if there is a link as I have spent many years doing the same sharing Snacks with horses and as a teen picnicing in the barn etc with no soap or hand gel in site... Never a stomach bug or much illness here (touch wood) think it must be the amount of time outdoors and immunity to germs after all those years

@Tinty ummmm nope 😐 . We are really washing a lot less, not just hands. Maybe I exaggerated a bit but trying to get my primary aged dc in the bath is a battle at the best of times. When I know they are spending the next day rolling in mud in the garden it’s not worth the argument. Once a week for them is our current aim, plus feet before bed as they don’t wear shoes. I’m still cleanish but washing my hair twice a week now. And as for the toddler....

"We've all got to eat a peck of dirt before we die". One of MIL's favourite sayings, usually after dropping the Sunday joint on the kitchen floor.

Also, there are NO children in our very large family who haven't kissed a dog.

There is this beautiful book by Ed Yong 'I contain multitudes' ...

Amazingly we are not dead as although we practice general hygiene (hand washing before meals after toilet etc) the only anti bac gel in the house is several years old from the DCs last camping trip.

I have not washed shopping down.
I do not anti bac every surface.
We clean bathrooms once a week or if there is a mess - I don't bleach daily
I have never bough zoflora! I also don't use anything special in the laundry
Vinegar diluted does most jobs and doesn't leave an over perfumed stink behind

DCs are happy and healthy and rarely get sick

I'm a germaphobe anyway. Everything in my house has always been disinfected. I do suffer really really bad OCD. It's made it even worse now.

I genuinely worry that we’re gearing up for more problems due to our obsession with overly cleaning and anti bacterial wiping everything!

A few months of being more hygienic won't harm people.

I think this has turned out to be true.

I've never had as many colds as I've had post lockdown.