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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Disgusting things discovered on MN

999 replies

Pricklypear12 · 24/03/2021 14:34

During my time on MN I have read about some disgusting/unhygienic things that people do on a regular basis.

Examples are:
Letting dogs lick human plates
Washing dog bowls in dishwasher with regular dishes
Sharing bath water (seen this one today!)
Sucking snot out of a baby's nose (I somewhat get it but really think I could never)

What are some vile things you've read about on MN that are seemingly normal to those that post about them?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
poppycat10 · 24/03/2021 17:18

@WetJan

Re. Sharing bath water, do you mean one after the other or at the same time? DH and I used to rather enjoy the latter Grin
Yes :)

But I did share bath water as a child.

I also wee in the shower, not sure why that is so much more disgusting than washing poo off. Or letting period blood flow out - I don't wear tampons.

LemonMeringueThreePointOneFour · 24/03/2021 17:19

And it's fucking ridiculous to wash towels after every use. So wasteful.

Dogmum81 · 24/03/2021 17:19

[quote Januaryissodull]@Dogmum81 we do it too.

We shower anyway in the morning, but my family are fond of hot baths. So I'll gladly hop into the dcs bath water and so does dh.

I quite like being disgusting to be honest.[/quote]
Well I say we shower in the mornings! The shower has just packed up 🙄 and the other one got ripped out ready to be replaced so we actually haven’t showered first! I really am a tramp...

poppycat10 · 24/03/2021 17:19

(that is in the shower - I wear pads the rest of the time: I am not a free bleeder)

Sayamino · 24/03/2021 17:20

I lick my ass to clean it. I let the dog share my bath. Then I wash the kids, in the same water. We all pick our noses & eat it.

Sometimes I wear the same pants for a month. We only possess one toothbrush. We also use it to clean underneath our nails.

I don’t care.

TattyDevine · 24/03/2021 17:20

I haven't read the full thread but people can be terribly precious, or at least want strangers on a forum to think they are.

A few anomalies jump out.

Pet bowls in the dishwasher doesn't bother me. Less potential cross contamination than hand washing them with presumably a dish brush or similar that then might be used for something else? Or do you bleach them then boil the bleach then torch it all with a flame thrower or something? Anyway the dishwasher gets to 100 degrees whereas my tap doesn't so it's a bit of a no brainer.

I don't wee in the shower as my routine is to wee first thing and then get in the shower, but it should be noted that urine is sterile and therefore contains less microbes than the water that washes it away that has flowed via your skin which has hundreds of millions of bacteria on it.

Towels - obviously a clean one each day is the most hygienic, but there ought to be a cost benefit analysis of that vs the environment, your time, and your water and electric bill. A few days seems a good compromise to me, and I make sure I hang it up to dry properly, but each to their own.

Ditto bedding. Add to the frequency equation summer vs winter, sleeping naked vs head to toe pjs, your time and how you like to spend it, vs the utter joy of crisp clean sheets and I tend to average around weekly or thereabouts.

Things that make me irrationally grossed out which probably don't phase others:

Days old leftovers -I just can't
Bin juice - doesn't happen anymore as all food waste goes down the waste disposal but yuck. And that horrible banana skin and coffee ground aroma of food waste bins is why I have an insinkerator, but big respect to those with successful compost piles, I salute you and so does the environment.

howmanyhats · 24/03/2021 17:21

@Mamamamasaurus

Dragon butter? Munting? 🤔
There used to be someone on here who's name was dontgoogledragonbutter.

Good advice, that was!

belinda789 · 24/03/2021 17:21

@ Cattermole I often share a packet of crisps with one of my cats (another “Senior Gentlecat” by the sound of it) in the middle of the night when we two are the only living things on the whole planet that are not asleep. I always lick the salt off the ones I give to him.
After the cats have all had dinner I hand wash their plates in the sink then they go in the dishwasher. (Don't get any ideas. I am talking about the plates.)

MidsummersNightie · 24/03/2021 17:21

I was last in and used to play with the scum. I lived

Ah yes!! The scum!! I'd forgotten all about the scum!

Chanjer · 24/03/2021 17:22

I lick my ass to clean it

Grin
Confusedandshaken · 24/03/2021 17:22

@Pricklypear12

By sharing bath water I mean people going in one after the other, not at the same time. I think getting in the bath together to have a fun splash about with young kids or a romantic soak with OH is fine. It's more when the same bath water is used to "clean" several people.
I grew up in the 60s. Money was tight, central heating was for rich people and we could only afford to put the immersion on once a week. So we had one bath a week and all 4 kids shared it. Then it was run again for Mum and Dad and the tank was cold again until the following Sunday. Other days we washed (or didn't) with a flannel using the Ascot heater over the kitchen sink. Mostly us kids didn't.

We also had ice on the inside of our bedroom windows regularly and there was no such thing as a use by date on food. I like these things helped give me the constitution of an ox.

NinePremium · 24/03/2021 17:24

This reply has been deleted

Withdrawn at the user's request

Mrgrinch · 24/03/2021 17:24

[quote DIshedUp]@Mrgrinch are you really shocked by that though? I mean genuinely shocked. Or are you just making a point about how clean you are.

How do you have the time to wash 4 towels a day? Do you not have better things to do with your time? Because realistically I get out of the shower clean, the towel touches my body for 10 minutes maybe. Its fine.[/quote]
Yes I am shocked. You wouldn't wear (and sweat in) the same pair of clothes for weeks on end so why would you sleep in the same bedding every night for that length of time?

And I don't know about you but I don't handwash my laundry, I use a machine. Doesn't take long to open a door, put in laundry and detergent and press a button.

Elderflower14 · 24/03/2021 17:25

@NinePremium

How is sniffing clothes to find out if they’re clean any different from sniffing the milk to find out if it’s gone sour? Honestly, I can’t believe what I’m reading here. Insane amounts of unnecessary washing and wasting bath water.
I had pre Covid, children at school sniffing unnamed jumpers to see if they were theirs or not!!
Sayamino · 24/03/2021 17:27

What the hell is wrong with sharing bath water though? I have a bath with my son, then the bigger son gets in after we’ve got out. What’s the point running a whole new bath? We’re not that grimy, we wash everyday. I could understand if the water was black but for a quick soak/scrub down it’s unlikely to cause a breach of the peace surely?

ProcrastinationIsMySuperPower · 24/03/2021 17:27

@OhToBeASeahorse

I've done the snot sucking. She poo'd in my womb, I'm not that fussed about a bit of snot.
This. My baby was handed to me as soon as she was born, covered in her own shit. She's wee'd on me, pooed on me and been sick all over me. I can cope with a bit of snot!
HiScore · 24/03/2021 17:28

My husband sucked the snot from both my sons noses when they were babies... sometimes he spat it out, other times he didn’t 🤣

I wouldn’t do it but I was more relieved than grossed out each time as it really did help the baby sleep. It was more effective than our snot sucking tool!

SausageBeanz · 24/03/2021 17:28

Eurgh to dogs licking plates. It is actually awful hygiene, particularly if you have children.

A vast majority of parasites are not always easily destroyed by hot water, soap and a wash, believe it or not. Many are extraordinarily hard to destroy or kill. Are a great many diseases dog can acquire or carry ARE zoonotic, more than you'd probably like to imagine.

And yeah I have a dog.

LadyDanburysCane · 24/03/2021 17:29

@LolaSmiles

BertramLacey I agree with you. Between only wearing clothing once, boiling and bleaching towels after each use, wet wipes for bum wiping, endless cleaning wipes, and repeated cleaning cocktails that must be used daily for fear of being grim, no wonder the environment is stuffed.
This ^
Soubriquet · 24/03/2021 17:29

Ah I forgot ds weed on me when he was born!

“Oh he’s so small. He’s so small. He’s....weeing on me ShockGrin

Saying that, whilst I was use (and did use) a snot sucker, I don’t think I could do it mouth to nose

But if I was really desperate and I couldn’t find one, I might have done

MrMucker · 24/03/2021 17:29

Using ear wax as lip salve...
Love
Bear Grylls

Chanjer · 24/03/2021 17:30

My baby was handed to me as soon as she was born, covered in her own shit.

Okay there's a disgusting thing I discovered on Mumsnet

BrintIg · 24/03/2021 17:31

Washing jeans after every wear.
Washing towels after every use.
Washing bed linen twice a week.

All disgusting IMO

Caramelsmadfuzzytail · 24/03/2021 17:32

I learned, when I first moved into my flat, that my toilet didn't like 4ply bog roll. So 2 ply is all i use. I have a bin in my bathroom, I put wet wipes and san pro in that bin.
When I had a dog, he prewashed my plates, slept on my bed before I got a single, but I drew the line at him licking me.
My cat sleeps on my bed.
I dont have a dishwasher, my washing up is done in really hot water and I wear marigolds to protect my hands.
I shower mostly because it takes aaaaages for my bath to fill.

Sayamino · 24/03/2021 17:32

@BrintIg

Exactly. Who does this in RL? Who has the time?!??