Cultural cleaning practices

[mubarak86]

Sort of reminded by another thread about how when I got with DH and spent time with his non British family, how they were horrified by some of my cleaning (or not so) ways.
Eg, his family always wash meat/chicken before use. Not just a rinse under the tap, but they use flour, lemon juice and some even use olive oil soap and massage it in, before thoroughly rinsing it off.
Another one is how they wash the dishes. Small bowl of warm soapy water, sponge is dipped in, dish washed and set aside before rinsing soap off. Wearing of flip flops in bathroom, no bare feet ever. Flip flops left in bathroom, never to be worn outside of bathroom.

Would be interested to hear if you are in a mixed culture marriage or if you are not white British in what ways you feel you do things differently (or even if you just know others) . Keep it respectful please, no one is asking for opinions on what is the "right" way to do things.

@Deadivy I could have written your post! Live in Italy and my experience is identical. I do put the bed covers on the window now. I like the washing machine in the bathroom (Italian bathrooms and kitchens are no bigger than English ones either). It works better here because they are mainly apartments and you can take the washing outside to dry on the balcony on the same level of the house. Trickier in UK when the bathroom is upstairs. I love not having a wheelie bin and just taking it all to big central bins so I don't have smelly bins cluttering up my garden. Hygiene in Italy is good and health is an obsession. The swimming pools are so much cleaner due to flip flops and swimming caps. No veruccas and no floating hairs. Dh has long argued the British don't rinse dishes and I've always tried to defend us....reading this thread though, I give up!

We are British & have always rinsed dishes. I admit I used to find meat washing strange, but I understand the purpose of it now, even if I don’t do it myself.

My dear nan was still washing down the front door steps of her house right up till she was in her mid 90s, something my mum remembers her doing when she was little.

We used to live next door to a lovely Polish family who had a dc around the same age as our dc. Our dc likes to be barefoot in the house and in the summer, sometimes likes to go on the garden grass barefoot too. I don’t have a problem with it, but the dad next door was visibly horrified the first time he saw her walk around barefoot. He said twice ‘ xxxxx has no shoes on?’
His dc always wore house slippers as soon as she came in the house.

No I don't.

Teapots..., depends. I rinse it a few times, if it looks like it needs washing up I wash it up.

Air the bed and the house, I'd love to every day. The reality is some days I don't have time to think about it, let alone do it.

@Lesperance - I think the old debate about whether you do or don't wash your teapot has got a bit confused and it actually comes down to what type of tea is used. I believe - might be wrong - that the practice of not washing a teapot to allow it 'season' only applies to Chinese tea. In Britain, where we typically use black, Indian blends with lots of tannins, cleaning your teapot is obligatory.

@brideandprejudice - Bit of a derail here and I hope you don't mind me asking as I only wish to understand. I know it doesn't apply to all traveller or gypsy groups, but there are some who leave waste and rubbish etc behind when they leave a site they've been living on. Given the importance of cleanliness, do you know why some do this? Its easy for those of who don't come from those backgrounds to assume it's down to contempt for others but I'm interested to know if there are other factors at play. Like difficulty accessing refuse sites etc due to prejudice?

I hope you're not offended by me asking, I just thought that your background might lead you to have more insight and I genuinely wish to understand, not judge.

Austria - compulsory showers at swimming pools, even lake areas before getting in. Even tiny toddler have ‘ water shoes’ for walking around poolside.
In saunas no costumes allowed at all as swimwear contains ‘ chemicals’ from washing detergents etc. Again compulsory showers then naked saunas.

schools and nurseries all are outdoor shoe free, and everyone changes into slippers in arrival. If you get nits, you need a doctors letter of ‘being clear’ before you can return.

Something struck me today at work, everyday the office bathrooms are full of people cleaning their teeth after lunch. I don't recall ever seeing this in UK when I worked in an office. Maybe because they are shared bathrooms?!

Often, shared washing facilities here will have signs up about it being non-potable water, because of the risk of legionella. That needn't stop anyone; you could bring in bottled water, and you need very little water to brush your teeth, but I've only seen it one or twice in the UK. Most people either do nothing or chew gum, from what I've seen.

One of my dentists years ago insisted thoroughly once a day was enough brushing.
And I've heard other people warned by their dentists of over brushing the enamel if they brush straight after meals.

In an Indian recipe book it said that meat is washed to get the bits off after the bone has been sawed through.

In Taiwan, everyone washed fruit and veg in soapy water to try and clean off the pesticides and the washing up liquid bottles had pictures of fruit and veg as well as plates and glasses. You took your shoes off at the door and there were always slippers provided for guests to wear. A lot of shops, especially for wedding clothes, were no-shoe shops and you'd see piles of shoes outside.

@Deadivy - where are you eating in the UK where there are no napkins? I've always been provided with them.

I don’t understand your point about “economical”. We each wash a full load every time. It’s easy to make one up with towels, bedding and our son’s
clothes.

I find the thought of seeing my colleagues brushing their teeth strangely repulsive. To me that is a private thing you do in your own home and not something that a colleague should see, in the same way that I would not like to see a colleague getting changed in the gym, or on their swimming costume.

I’ve always wondered how men deal with using urinals in offices. Women tend to even try to avoid others hearing them wee.

it’s odd, I would not be remotely bothered by seeing someone I did not know cleaning their teeth or getting changed for a swim, and I happily use a communal changing area at the gym without covering up. But only because I use one far far away from the office.

Same here. Yuk!

I'm struggling to understand the "hygiene" aspect of washing meat. Surely cooking it gets rid of any bacteria. I live in a meat producing country, and I've never heard of anyone washing meat.

@onlythreenow yes cooking would kill the bacteria, but if I can I'd rather remove it beforehand. When washing red meat I've found there are so many tiny bone fragments that come off too. Not strictly hygiene, but again I'd rather not have it in my cooking.

The thought of eating meat that has been sat in bacteria isn't nice though. Why wouldn't you wash it? Like fruit just rinse it. Although I actually wash meat properly with lemon or something.

Rice is the same it needs washing other wise you won't get good rice it's full of starch.

I live in the Tropics and the UK.

My washing machine is outside, as in an area next to the garden, had this in a few different houses. UK in a utility but have had it in the kitchen due to space.

I have to wash all fruit veg with RO water, but dont wash meat where I currently live but have in other countries ie India, UK dont bother. I have a wet kitchen and a dry kitchen, different foods are prepped cooked in each one, UK er, just a kitchen!

No shoes indoors at all, have house slipons as tiled floors are hard on my feet, same in the UK, and yes I ask everyone to bring something to change into when they visit, absolutely no outdoor shoes. Lived in Japan a while and everyone had their own bathroom slippers, I could not wear anyone elses.

Bed has to be aired, never know what may have got under the covers! Aircon off window open with bug screen a must, same in the UK could never get out of bed and make it right away, depths of winter windows open to air the house.

Teapot, now that gets washed after each use, but washing up does get rinsed in a separate sink then left to dry, very hard to get tea towels that are either large enough of decent quality and dishwashers are rare. UK, dishwasher and no rinsing but plenty of tea towels which are changed all the time, it really never occurs to me to rinse before/ after I just wash drain dry, I dont know why its different for me in a different country, not even thought about it before.

Floors have to be swept each day and cleaned each day, lemon juice and vinegar helps a lot!

Bleach is not really a thing here which I use to put dishcloths in overnight and clean the toilets, but joy I found some toilet blocks from the UK in a shop to put round the rim, little things eh!

Well rinsing fruit is OK, because the bacteria on fruit if there is any will be on the dirt, which is water soluble and just rinses away.

Although you can remove the membranes of meat by washing it in the way you describe, (I've also done this just by hand BTW) it sounds like a labour intensive process and potentially you're not even washing the bacteria off, since bacteria wouldn't just be on the surface like the dirt of the outside of fruit or veg, it could be in the meat itself. Rinsing it under a running tap like fruit definitely isn't a good idea, because as people have mentioned, this will cause droplets of water that have been in contact with the raw chicken to splash around and contact the sink, the counters, even your own clothing etc. That spreads bacteria. Washing it in a bowl with lemon juice is not quite the same thing and probably isn't causing splashes in the same way, but I think most people in the UK would understand "washing meat" to mean rinsing it under a running tap. I had never heard of the bowl method until this thread.

I have rinsed mince before if it is a few days old and had started to sit in a pool of water. But no, in general I'm not concerned about eating meat that has been in contact with bacteria, because washed or not, it is liable to contain bacteria which is why it's important to cook it through. The cooking process kills any bacteria. If you don't like the thought of bacteria in your food then you shouldn't eat meat at all really.

Forgot to add - bacteria in meat is more in the fat which won't be removed by water alone.

DP is Spanish and we live in Spain. Spanish people wash up by wetting dishes, soaping them and rinsing them. The plug is never used. They also wash up immediately and nothing dirty is ever left in the sink. Always dry up promptly too. Dishes Clothes are washed and dried inside out (no idea why). They use A LOT of bleach. They bleach and mop the pavement outside their house/flat. They clean much more than English people and talk about cleaning a lot too. Slippers (or flip flops in summer) are always worn in the house, never outdoor shoes or bare feet. PJs are usually worn when at home rather than clothes you’ve worn outside. They are big on cleaning your bum properly after a poo. I’m sure English people do this too, but I just don’t remember it being discussed lol. Couple of unrelated cleaning things, which I definitely notice as a cultural difference - they take medication for everything and believe you can catch a cold from being in cold weather for 5 mins or having wet hair 😂. (Disclaimer: Spain is a big place and this may very well not apply to the general population, but just my experience from the area where I live and the Spanish people I know).

I understand not all countries have plumbing that can cope with toilet paper. Quite stressful if you have a tummy upset,ibs or more serious problems.

Pretty sure there are plenty of dwellings in Australia that don't have utility rooms, not everyone has a big detached house. I can't see the problem with the wm in the kitchen,you put the dirty( come on how even dirty is most people's) and voila! You get to take lovely clean washing out. As to drying in the house,we don't all have tumble dryers or want them so you are going to have to dry a few things inside in bad weather. I get festooned with washing as my daughter is a clean freak.I've never had damp walls in the house in nearly 40 years.

But no, in general I'm not concerned about eating meat that has been in contact with bacteria, because washed or not, it is liable to contain bacteria which is why it's important to cook it through. The cooking process kills any bacteria. If you don't like the thought of bacteria in your food then you shouldn't eat meat at all really.

I agree. People these days seem to be obssessed with bacteria and imagine it hiding around corners just waiting to attack! I am one of the healthiest people I know, and rarely visit the doctor, and have managed to get into my 60s - without rinsing meat, fruit, vegetables or rice - and most of my peers are the same.

I'm Eurasian - HK/British - & live in the UK but have also lived in Luxembourg & Australia.
I don't generally wash poultry but if cooking a whole one I will (Chinese). Hate the idea of having the washing machine in the kitchen; ours is in an outbuilding by the back door (Lux & Aus). When DS started school they took their shoes off in the foyer and put on slippers to wear inside (Lux). We have a mirror facing the front door to scare away devils (Chinese).

I grew up in Southern Africa, always prefer to be barefoot, I love doors and windows open, DH who is English is obsessed with shutting doors and likes to close windows at night, urgh it gets all stuffy. I'm much more into hand washing and using a nail brush when washing my hands.

Also dogs are great but they are not allowed in bedrooms they can stay in the kitchen or outdoors. I do not ascribe human characteristics to animals.