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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Should we or should we not be wiping shopping??

295 replies

Jaem02 · 03/09/2020 23:23

I know the gov say it isn't necessary but lots of people are still wiping down or quarantining shopping. Should we be?

OP posts:
JinglingHellsBells · 04/09/2020 12:53

So many people are missing the point. Maybe that's why had so many infections in the UK ?

If you wash your hand the container goes into your fridge where the virus lives for days. It's not simply about washing your hands after you have unpacked it . It's possibly on the plastic for 5 days so you'd have to ask everyone to wash their hands every time they took anything out of the fridge before touching anything- even the fridge door.

YetAnotherSpartacus · 04/09/2020 12:54

Yes. Washing, wiping with 70% alcohol and/or quarantining. Will be doing for some time.

ddl1 · 04/09/2020 12:55

I usually wipe shopping, but don't quarantine it.

TurkeyTrot · 04/09/2020 12:56

@devuskums

I just put anything not for the fridge or freezer in my cupboard for a few days. No drama
Isn't that what you normally do with shopping?
MadameBlobby · 04/09/2020 12:59

@JinglingHellsBells

So many people are missing the point. Maybe that's why had so many infections in the UK ?

If you wash your hand the container goes into your fridge where the virus lives for days. It's not simply about washing your hands after you have unpacked it . It's possibly on the plastic for 5 days so you'd have to ask everyone to wash their hands every time they took anything out of the fridge before touching anything- even the fridge door.

Or maybe not missing anything given WHO said there have been no confirmed cases through food or food packaging.
draughtycatflap · 04/09/2020 13:03

Nope but I do insist on wiping down the postman before he delivers his package.

Antonin · 04/09/2020 13:08

We wipe stuff that goes in fridge, freezer and the quarantine period is shorter than the rest that goes straight into quarantine.
To avoid mixups one person in household is responsible for release of stuff from quarantine.
Might seem tedious but with a house full of vulnerable people it’s a lot less tedious, not to say perilous than not taking precautions because we can’t be bothered to continue.
Folk who aren’t vulnerable or who of the same mind as Piers Corbyn and Trump shouldn’t judge the rest of us.
A young person with no known underlying health issues attended a Covid Party in the US arranged by people who felt precautions were unnecessary and his last words before he died were “I was wrong” (sorry no ref but it was reported by the Guardian)

Hobnobswantshernameback · 04/09/2020 13:11

So the person who attended the party presumably caught the virus from the other people
Absolutely fuck all to do with packaging Hmm

RegularHumanBartender · 04/09/2020 13:12

Never have, never will.

Topseyt · 04/09/2020 13:14

@MustShowDH

My husband has been making us do this since March. It's driving me potty!
Mine would have been told to either do it himself immediately or shut up.

I've never quarantined my shopping or deliveries nor wiped them down and I don't know of anyone who has. I simply couldn't be arsed to live like that at all.

islockdownoveryet · 04/09/2020 13:16

No and I very much doubt anyone has caught it from packaging .
But if it makes people happy to clean the packaging then it's no skin off my nose .

overwork · 04/09/2020 13:29

Ha. God no.

IrmaFayLear · 04/09/2020 13:29

I manically cleaned and quarantined at first... it’s gradually dropped off.

I must admit I was panicked by MN people. One person claimed a relative who had been nowhere for six weeks got it off the delivered government food parcel. After thinking about this I realised they were talking crap. Likewise all those posters who know hundreds of people who’ve died from covid. You just have to stop a minute and realise that there are some serious liars on here - on every subject.

JesusSufferingFuck22 · 04/09/2020 13:36

I still do and actually like having an excuse to do it! Sainsbury’s delivery driver at the start of pandemic told me and ds to wipe down the shopping and wash our hands after as we don’t know who’s been touching it! I feel that way about my shopping all the time. Some people are minging and don’t know the first thing about cross contamination either. I have MS and asthma. Good clean dirt is fine but viruses are not!

0blio · 04/09/2020 13:40

@WankyDoodleDandy

I’m too lazy 😬
Yep, me too.

I started off wiping shopping but nearly dropped a wet bottle of wine so I stopped that nonsense!

JesusSufferingFuck22 · 04/09/2020 16:29

Further to my last post. Supermarket just delivered. I have a plastic crate I put at the front door. Delivery driver dropped a couple of things and just picked them back up and put them in the box. If this is what some people do in front of customers I can only imagine what goes on when they’re not looking. I think I’m going to keep wiping my stuff down long after this is all over.

LowLou · 04/09/2020 16:37

Some nasty posts on here. What people.choose to.do in their own homes is non consequential so I don't understand the strong offensive responses.

It's like askingbdp ypunsitnor stand to wipe after having a poo? What ever this you do is right and works for you. Are you going to call someone out on it?

Thecazelets · 04/09/2020 16:40

No wiping or quarantining going on here. I haven't been doing that at any point, although I did think about it early on in lockdown. I have a house full of teenagers who empty the fridge more or less daily, so it would be a full time job.

thepeopleversuswork · 04/09/2020 16:42

I stopped at the end of lockdown.

Don't blame people for doing what they feel they need to do to keep themselves safe but it is pretty irrational: there's plenty of evidence to show that the chance of transmission by this route is minute.

It also doesn't make much sense to be doing this when people are at work again, schools are back etc.

I think if you're given to being a bit OCD about dirt anyway (which plenty of people are) this will just have amplified it. Understandable that people feel like this but pretty unhelpful really.

Roussette · 04/09/2020 16:44

I have a plastic crate I put at the front door. Delivery driver dropped a couple of things and just picked them back up and put them in the box. If this is what some people do in front of customers I can only imagine what goes on when they’re not looking. I think I’m going to keep wiping my stuff down long after this is all over.

Am I being a bit stupid or what? So he's delivering your shopping and dropped a 4 pack of toilet rolls and a pack of satsumas on the step where your crate is, so picked it up and put it in the box. Or am I missing something

lifesalongsong · 04/09/2020 16:48

Do what you like with your own shopping, you don't need validation or permission but bear in mind that if food packaging was in any way a risk don't you think we might have heard about huge infection rate amongst supermarket workers, I know someone who works in a very large supermarket, none of the staff have had covid. Till staff don't wear gloves in any shop I go into and touch 1000s of items every day

Thisismytimetoshine · 04/09/2020 16:50

I have a plastic crate I put at the front door. Delivery driver dropped a couple of things and just picked them back up and put them in the box. If this is what some people do in front of customers I can only imagine what goes on when they’re not looking. I think I’m going to keep wiping my stuff down long after this is all over.
What did you expect him to do? Confused

foamrolling · 04/09/2020 16:51

I'm with Rousette on that post - what do you think the delivery driver should have done?! I'm intrigued!

RosieLemonade · 04/09/2020 17:02

People on this website are loopy!

Topseyt · 04/09/2020 17:06

@JesusSufferingFuck22

Further to my last post. Supermarket just delivered. I have a plastic crate I put at the front door. Delivery driver dropped a couple of things and just picked them back up and put them in the box. If this is what some people do in front of customers I can only imagine what goes on when they’re not looking. I think I’m going to keep wiping my stuff down long after this is all over.
What was he supposed to do? Leave them on the path?