to wish there were more handwashing/ sanitising facilities in public places

[Twitney]

I've thought this for a long time, but more than ever with the coronavirus situation, why can't there be more hand washing facilities at stations etc? Rather than making people go into the toilets, touching door handles etc on the way for one thing, couldn't there be sinks or at least gel dispensers freely available in places with heavy traffic?

Surely if everyone was encouraged to practice good hand hygiene and we provided very clear ways for people to do so when out and about, it would only be a good thing? And whilst sinks etc might be tricky, surely hand gel dispensers are achievable and would be a great visual cue for people to take responsibility for keeping themselves and others healthy?

Handgel is awful for my hands: it makes them cracked and sore and surely even more open to infection. It's the same if I'm constantly washing them.

I'm actually similar, I have really bad eczema, especially on my hands. I kind of mean more to remind people that we should all be taking responsibility for hygiene. You see so many people not washing hands after using public bathrooms etc, or sneezing into their hands and then touching everything and anything, I feel like there should be an effort to encourage a cultural shift towards more hygienic standards!

Great idea. If the majority of people are able to practise good hand hygiene it will help everyone, even the minority with a condition that prevents regular washing/sanitizing as the general environment will be cleaner.

Not sure if it’d be the same as hand gel but kleenex do anti bac hand n face wipes?

I’ve always got dettol wipes and hand gel in my bag but it’s more for cleaning down me post nappy and the public changing/high chairs for ds. Not for viral risks but allergens left from the last baby.. and I wipe up as we leave too, I don’t understand the people who leave everything covered in visible fodder never mind the ones who cough/sneeze freely.

Anti-bac wipes are horrible for the environment and do nothing for viruses, of which coronovirus is just one.

I wish all these ridiculous products would bugger off and that people just washed their hands properly in hot water and soap when they could. And coughed into their sleeves etc.

On issue of gel being terrible for skin Boots do an anti viral foam it’s with the the plasters weirdly. It’s brilliant much kinder to hands and more effective than alcohol rubs.

And yes agree OP!

I’m in Malaysia at the moment and have noticed that many of the restaurants have a sink in the corner somewhere. People go over and wash their hands and face before and after eating. Seems like a great idea.

I agree.

It would be nice if there were also posters reminding people to cough into the crook of their elbow and use hankies when sneezing too.

Absolutely sick to death of ignorant people hacking their guts up without covering their mouths. Lost count of how many times people coughed or sneezed directly in my face in Sainsbury’s or at Church this week. My family and I have complex health problems and two of us are neutropenic so it’s always stressful just being out in public when people have no manners about spreading their germs.

We’ve been staying home much more due to Coronavirus worries. Sick of colleagues going on holiday to affected areas and saying “oh well, if we get it we get it!” and refusing to isolate. Right. If you then pass it to US then we most likely won’t survive it. And I’d hoped to live beyond my 30s thanks.

A local rest home owner went off to Italy (tour including Venice and Milan) last night and is planning on returning to work next week. Selfish bastard.

Not sure how you think this would work OP?

At what point(s) in my visit to a Railway station would you expect me to wash my hands exactly?

I‘ve done a study on handwashing behaviour a while ago (i worked for a soap manufacturer) - about half of people who use the loo don’t wash their hands. yuck.
and most of the ones who do, don’t do it properly. more yuck

We put a full hand gel soap in the public bathroom in work on Friday. At least 700 people have used it over the weekend and only a tiny bit of soap has gone.
It really knocks me sick thinking about how disgusting people are!

Totally agree with you. The thing that gets my goat is that when there ARE handwashing facilities,I frequently find that the soap dispenser is empty. yes Costa's I'm looking at you

At what point(s) in my visit to a Railway station would you expect me to wash my hands exactly?

I guess if you've just sneezed into your hands and are about to get on a train? Or if you have bought a sandwich and want to clean your hands after handling money and doors etc?

Not saying it's the answer to everything, but I just think there should be some emphasis being placed on people making their best effort to keep their hands clean and not spread germs around.

I think that it could be a good place for homeless people too- especially if there was a drinking water tap.

How much are you prepared to pay for this?
Would it be provided by the council?

I agree. You have to pay to use the toilets at our train station. Quite often I don't want to go to the loos as they are expensive and/or horrible. I would just like to wash my hands before eating.

Who would fund these? In my local A&E they are chained up as alcoholics kept nicking them!

surely it'd be cheaper than caring for people who have caught things that could've been avoided if people were a bit more mindful of hygiene?

cafes/ bars / restaurants could pay for their own

There was a norovirus outbreak at our local hospital recently.

Any people entering the hospital were met at the doors by staff asking them to go and wash their hands in the nearest toilets and to do the same on leaving. Everyone seemed to be doing as asked as obviously no one wanted to pick up the illness.

I thought it would really make sense if hospitals were designed with a row of sinks near the entrances and visitors were always asked to wash their hands before coming inside. I'm sure it would cut infections and the spread of illnesses.

It’s an okay idea in theory, but I think a lot more education needs to be done.

I regularly see people wander off after using the toilet without washing; they are hardly going to start washing their hands after coughing and sneezing.

It would be helpful if the handwashing facilities in the loos were better, too. What's the point of using cold water, often with no soap, and then showing your hands to a pointless hand-dryer.

You need hot water, plenty of soap and paper towels or a really good hand-dryer like the Dyson ones.

You will tut at me but I don't bother washing my hands if the facilities are rubbish. I'll just use my gel once I get outside - better than using cold water and no soap.

How much are you prepared to pay for this I am more than happy to pay say 20p for a loo with decent facilities. I noticed there is a campaign at the moment to encourage more businesses to make their facilities available rather than locking them (who knew that Waterstones bookshop puts a code on their loos - so you need to buy a book first?) I know from previous threads many MNers think it's an abomination for businesses to provide loos for the public as well as paying customers, but in a civilised society they just would.

I think a lot more education needs to be done.

so do I!

*It would be helpful if the handwashing facilities in the loos were better, too. What's the point of using cold water, often with no soap, and then showing your hands to a pointless hand-dryer.

You need hot water, plenty of soap and paper towels or a really good hand-dryer like the Dyson ones.

You will tut at me but I don't bother washing my hands if the facilities are rubbish. I'll just use my gel once I get outside - better than using cold water and no soap.*

And this is where education is needed. Yes, obviously you need soap but cold water is effective for hand washing. Anti bac gel doesn’t kill all germs and is ineffective for things like norovirus, so it isn’t effectively stopping the spread of germs.

Think about what you touch, your phone for example. So I'm sick with a virus, I touch my phone, I go to Tesco/park/and wash my hands then I touch my phone immediately after. My hands are dirty again.

I used to be an absolute germaphobe, I'm much better now but I do still clean my phone after work. If people can't even wash their hands after having a shit, how are we going to convince them to do it randomly?