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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Poor hygiene makes me cringe - AIBU?

217 replies

Defenbaker · 07/09/2019 16:31

I've noticed that quite a lot of people seem to be clueless about basic hygiene, and I inwardly cringe when I see poeple doing certain things. For instance:

A woman served cake to people at a party. She served one slice then licked her fingers before offering slices to others (who all declined - think I wasn't the only one put off by that).
A cleaner at work picked up something dirty from the floor and threw it in bin, then emptied clean items from dishwasher without washing hands first. (She had disposable gloves on throughout, so perhaps as no dirt touched her actual hands she didn't think twice about it.)
A woman played ball with children in garden, then went into kitchen and began making sandwiches for people, without washing her hands first.
A woman in swimming pool changing room used a towel to dry her body off, then threw it onto the floor and dried her feet, before finally drying her hair with it. (I wondered how many people with athletes foot might have walked barefoot on that floor before she did that).

More generally, I hate it when people in cafes handle cash then serve/touch food without washing their hands first (it's widely known that there are lots of germs on money).

Maybe I'm more careful than some people, as I am emetophobic, which makes me very careful about food hygiene. Also I realise that there are germs everywhere, and children develop their imune systems by coming into contact with germs, so a totally sterile world wouldn't be ideal for humans, but AIBU to cringe at this sort of stuff?

Please share your pet hates here, re people's poor hygiene.

OP posts:
soberfabulous · 07/09/2019 17:37

I used to be laid back about stuff like this.

Then I got ecoli and salmonella and spend 5 days in ICU and a month off work.

It was found to be caused by poor staff hygiene in a hotel restaurant (had stayed there for a week and the health dept did a full investigation as I was so so sick).

YANBU op.

Lilyannarose · 07/09/2019 17:37

This is why I never buy home made cakes from a cake stall.
It's the thought of licking fingers and then getting their hands in the cake mix.

StarlingsInSummer · 07/09/2019 17:37

I never get stomach bugs and I do think all the things you mentioned are gross. I have noticed people often seem to think those plastic gloves are sort of germ-repellent, so think they can touch anything dirty with them then touch food and it’s fine.

DappledThings · 07/09/2019 17:38

DD once had some food snatched off her plate by a nephew who then dropped it on the floor. Sil picked it up, blew on it and dropped it back onto her plate. She genuinely couldn't see why I changed dds whole plate for a new meal.*

I pick up DC's food from the floor all the time. If it's on my own clean kitchen floor, or it's a dry food and only been down there a second. Loads of people do this!

DappledThings · 07/09/2019 17:39

Argh. That's the second time today I've had an unexpected carriage return run my holding.

AlexaAmbidextra · 07/09/2019 17:39

Things that make me cringe include people who calmly place their hands on the handrails on the tube,

Eh? OMG, I held a handrail on the tube last Thursday. I’m still alive as I have an immune system.

IncrediblySadToo · 07/09/2019 17:40

I’d notice all of those things too.

I’m very fussy about all of that type of thing , but quite chilled about kids sharing cups, eating grass, etc.

The neighbours DD (5) was in here the other day and used my toilet (somehow much more fun that going back next door!!) and I offered to lift her up so she could reach the sink to wash her hands (she usually asks me to do that several times when she’s here as she loves the pump soap 🙄🤣) but she asked ‘why?’ And I said because you’ve just used the toilet & her big sister (8) said ‘So?’ Transpired neither have been taught to wash their hands after using the toilet - so I assume neither parent does either and it’s making me feel like I don’t want to spend time in their house now and like I need to bleach mine when they’ve been here. It’s horrible 😖 (the bathroom sink, which she can reach by herself, is currently out of action so this is the first time it’s come up, I’ve previously just assumed they’ve washed their hands while in the bathroom!)

Gagging st the thought of some random licking their fingers then touching the cake. Fingers are bad enough, but freshly licked fingers 🤮

erniepigy · 07/09/2019 17:40

I find all of those things mentioned appalling. I think the general hygiene in this country is very poor and I’m also amazed at how many on here have said they are ok with the things you saw. Eeeewwww, dirty bastards lol

Pippapotomus · 07/09/2019 17:44

Dappled Things - even after two different people have touched it and one has 'blown' it clean?

DappledThings · 07/09/2019 17:45

even after two different people have touched it and one has 'blown' it clean?

Possibly. Certainly wouldn't be an automatic discarding.

Lauren83 · 07/09/2019 17:45

I also wouldn't notice/wouldn't get worked up about this, although I did recently leave a review on Trip Advisor when a staff member in a local food hall was cleaning up a child's vomit with blue tissue paper and no gloves then came over to serve me on a food counter, I had also spotted her walking across the hall eating off a plate she was clearing with her hands a while before that so I just stated in the review some staff needed to revisit food hygiene practises, i did actually then get a shitty anon message from her saying I got her sacked Confused

Proseccoyesplease · 07/09/2019 17:46

We were queuing for a coffee yesterday. There were lots of lovely cakes displayed on the counter, uncovered. Some customers were leaning the cakes over to pay, one even started swishing her hair!!! God knows what could have dropped on them if she had dandruff

Stapelberg · 07/09/2019 17:47

I'm a nurse. I get you. My staff hates me. I throw a wobble when one of them deliver personal care and walk out of the room without washing their hands.

AlexaAmbidextra · 07/09/2019 17:48

God knows what could have dropped on them if she had dandruff

Er, dandruff I assume. 😄

Sparklyshoes16 · 07/09/2019 17:48

@Defenbaker just thought of another one that still turns my stomach we had been invited to a get together was really good fun, as a group decided to get takeaway pizza we knew we would be getting take out of some kind so didn't eat before hand! The food came and my friends cat was in the room the cat proceeded to walk across the table, dip it's nose in some of the pizzas then walk past with its bushy tail dragging in part of it! Then walk with it's paws on another pizza We don't have cats but even another friend was stood Shock no one apart from the cat owner had any of the pizzas the cat had walked/nosed at and we divided the one remaining untouched pizza between 8 of us...the friend got upset saying it was fine and it would do us no harm Confused I did feel awful but I just couldn't bring myself to eat food with cat hairs on it!! She was supposed to be making another friends wedding cake who was at the get together but seeing the cat walk on the surfaces etc put her off and ended up paying the extra £400 (our mutual friend had offered to do it £400 cheaper as their wedding present).

MrsPellegrinoPetrichor · 07/09/2019 17:51

Things that make me cringe include people who calmly place their hands on the handrails on the tube

Should they not be calm? Doesn't make a difference? Grin

Pitterpatterpettysteps · 07/09/2019 17:51

AlexaAmbidextra your immune system won't protect you against superbugs

www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/nine-antibiotic-resistant-superbugs-london-tube-travel-network-buses-taxi-cab-a7736666.html

MrsPellegrinoPetrichor · 07/09/2019 17:51

**does it

Timandra · 07/09/2019 17:54

The things you've described are gross but only the person making the sandwiches was likely to give anyone food poisoning and that's unlikely unless the food sat around unrefrigerated for a while afterwards.

Also, the fact that you do things but they haven't made you ill yet doesn't mean you're protecting yourself. It also doesn't stop them being gross and a possible risk to people around you who aren't aware are immunocompromised. If you're handling food or utensils/crockery used by others it's just common courtesy to be careful about hygiene.

BestestBrownies · 07/09/2019 17:54

Can't quite believe we're three pages in and nobody's mentioned gross pet owners.

As in, people who have pets and stroke their fur, let them lick or take food from their hands and then merrily go back to preparing food for humans without hand-washing. Or don't have a designated utensil for the pet food. Or put the dirty pet bowls in the sink/dishwasher at the same time as human crockery Envy

Don't even get me started on lack of bathroom/toilet hygiene in this country or the revoltingness of public cesspits swimming pools due to total ignorance laziness around basic hygiene practises...

SoyDora · 07/09/2019 17:55

Don’t get me wrong, I am careful about my own hygiene and that of my family. But someone else drying their hair with a manky towel? Wouldn’t even register. Not my problem.

lazylinguist · 07/09/2019 17:56
Hmm
SoyDora · 07/09/2019 17:57

Answering the OP though, here’s one disgusting example I can think of. My MIL stood in dog poo and tried to wash it off the bottom of her shoe in my kitchen sink. She was extremely offended when DH told her to take them outside and use the hose to sort it... said she couldn’t possibly as it was cold outside.

speakout · 07/09/2019 17:57

None of these things would bother me OP.

BestestBrownies · 07/09/2019 17:57

crosspost @Sparklyshoes16

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