To NOT disinfect shopping and mail?

[safariboot]

When I get into the house with the shopping I just wash my hands then put it all away as normal. And when the mail arrives I just open it and read it. But seems like everyone here is spraying, wiping, setting stuff to one side, the works. AIBU to not do any of that?

We're not doing any of that. We are limiting the number of trips to the supermarket like everyone else, and only DH going rather than both of us. Also having fresh food delivered from catering suppliers who have switched to home deliveries when all the restaurants closed. And yes, washing hands after coming in, unpacking shopping whatever.

But all these people bleaching their mail and washing their tesco shopping packets in fairy liquid.... no way. The chances of you picking up coronavirus or anything else from a letter or a tin of bins is vanishingly small.

It's easy to see how this leads to disordered thinking - oh the postman has pushed a letter through the door... it's fallen on the floor.... floor contaminated have to bleach it. But I've now stood on that floor, have to clean my shoes/feet... and what about the doorstep where the postman stood... better bleach that too. And what if he sneezed on the door... more bleach... and now I've been outside which is contaminated/dangerous... have to wash all my clothes... have a shower... and now another leaflet has come through the door....

Route to total madness.

I'm not disinfecting post or shopping either, OP. I think the chances of picking anything up from the mail is miniscule.

I see a lot of people wearing gloves touching trolleys, shelves etc then getting their phones out

Yesterday I went to donate blood. They asked everyone to go and wash their hands before donating. And then everyone sat in the waiting room playing on their mobile phones, me included. How stupid is that?

I wipe everything down with a solution of bleach. Is it extreme? Maybe but I'd rather that than love with regret. No one can be sure how it's transmitted. There's conflicting advice on not wearing masks for example yet the CMO and Boris have got it

Route to total madness

Well a few weeks ago people were saying that you should not go out for a walk because if you have the virus, you touch your shoes to put them on, then you walk over a stretch of pavement, then I walk over that same stretch of pavement, then I go home and take off my shoes, and low and behold I have the virus too. This certainly indicates the health anxiety that some people have.

I hadn't been wiping shopping, but Dr Chris on BBC Healthcheck programme yesterday said he is. He's an infection based doctor and knows a lot more than me, so I'll be planning to wipe down shopping from now on. (He suggested using soapy water or diluted bleach) I'll have a go and just do what I can.

Re: parcels, we've been leaving them on the side for a day/two before opening and washing hands after discarding packaging.

I’ve stopped wiping shopping and parcels etc since reading a bit more about viral load.
The school of thought behind it being that the likelihood is most of us will need to catch it at some stage and you might be better off catching a “milder” dose from say, picking up your post than a “stronger” dose from contact with an infected person.
It may be wrong but somehow it made sense to my tiny brain!
Can anyone do a better job of explaining this rationale than me?

Nope other than washing hands regularly not doing anything different. Also the virus itself is not alive. It only activates/becomes alive if it invades a living cell. To do this it needs to enter your body first. Hence why we have been told to wash our hands regularly as this is how it gets inside the body. Just open packages as soon as you get them and wash your hands.

I have read the same about viral load too.

I don’t either. I have a friend who believes Coronavirus is only highly contagious if you don’t keep things clean. I’ve told her (obviously via messages) it’s air-bourne but she completely ignores it

As long as you keep things clean, you’ve very unlikely to get it, according to her.

I am just washing my hands after handling post or shopping.

It's about a individual risk assessment, I do it but I do not under any circumstances want to get this virus so I am doing anything possible to avoid it

Everyone idea of risk is different

I'm shopping in gloves, which I then take off carefully when I get home (and then wash my hands). I have two pairs of cloth gloves which I alternate, and I only go shopping every 3-4 days so Im assuming any virus on the gloves would wear off before being worn again. The shopping I buy, I then put away and wash my hands. Any post that comes in, I open, and then wash my hands...

Up to you, I disinfect the packaging on all of mine 🤷🏻‍♂️

I do the same. I wash my hands when I get home, put the shopping away then go for a shower. Disinfecting every item is just madness.

We wipe down tins,plastic etc with hot soapy water and remove all packaging which goes straight outside. I couldn’t live with myself if I infected my kids for the lack of 2 minutes worth of wipe down.

@Broooooom the virus isn't airborne. People coughing and sneezing make saliva and snot particles temporarily airborne and these may carry the virus. That's why the social distancing rules, to minimise the chance of inhaling aerosolised contaminated particles.

Crimples I've also wondered that based on the viral load theory.

For those saying that people wiping down their shopping are crazy are indeed just nasty. I am wiping my shopping down before I even enter the house. My mum (who I currently live with) has severe asthma and if me cleaning my shopping before I put it away helps her then I’ll be doing it 10 times over if need be!

I am not whispering a spell and completing a satanic ritual... I am simply being careful and respectful. Don’t judge others because you’re own selfish and ignorant attitude.

I just put it all away and then wash my hands. If I was going to touch it again within a couple of hours, I’d wipe it first.

I don’t. I do leave mail and non-perishable items in my hall for a few days in the hope that any virus on them will have died off by the time I touch it. And then when I’ve opened it or put it away I wash my hands.

Mainly because I already have anxiety and I definitely have obsessive tendencies so don’t want to start that kind of ritual and have it escalate. I have a family member with OCD so have seen how much distress their rituals and fear of contamination cause. I’m NOT saying everyone who wipes down shopping has OCD!! Just that for those of us who might have a predisposition towards that, it could become a problem. If wiping down shopping gives you peace of mind great! You carry on! But for me personally I think it would be an additional source of anxiety rather than a calming thing to do.

Broome the virus isn’t airborne! It’s passed through droplets. It can be picked up by touching anything! People really need to know this!

I don't at all

I’m aware I’m creeping into slightly neurotic territory..
I’m wiping down all packaged groceries with dettol spray, removing and discarding as much packaging as possible and Washing fruit and veg. Post I’m trying to leave 3 days before I open and I’m afraid I am regularly wiping down the floor too.
This on top of the usual cleaning surfaces, handles etc and washing hands lots and after each of the actions above.
Anyone that knows me would be shocked I’m doing this but it’s making me feel a bit more in control I guess. I do have underlying conditions which doesn’t help.