To think hygiene standards are low in Britain?

[castemary]

This obviously does not apply to everyone. But in Britain, I think there is a general acceptance of fairly low hygiene standards. I see it in several areas.
With individuals you have people telling everyone they do not wash bras for months, do not clean their teeth every day, do not wash face masks every day.
In public areas, offices and shops the cleaning often consist of no more than a quick hoover occasionally, a mop and a bit of damp wiping. Apart from toilets, places are rarely properly cleaned.
I think most people simply do not realise how unhygienic Britain is until they go to countries that do have a good standard of hygiene. There seems to be a lot of emphasis in Britain on superficial things that make places look good such as scatter cushions or make-up, and not on basic hygiene and cleanliness.
AIBU?

@BeneathYourWisdom

Someone needs to explain to me why washing up bowls are a problem

Because people fill a bowl with soapy water and dip all the dirty stuff in to wipe or soak then put it to drain without rinsing?

I wash crockery under hot running water with a soapy sponge if it can’t go in the dishwasher!

Washing up bowl water ends up cool and full of bits of food!

I give my dishes a quick rinse first when the water is warming up. Never after and I haven't got a washing up bowl!

If your washing up bowl ends up cool and full of bits of food you’re not changing the water often enough and are washing things in the wrong order and probably didn’t scrape the plates properly first. Maybe people who think washing up bowls are unhygienic don’t understand how to use them. They also don’t preclude rinsing so I don’t know why they are blamed for that!

I agree , carpets in bathrooms just one example.

I haven't seen carpet in a UK bathroom since the 1980s.

Our local swimming pool changing rooms have a no shoe rule but they are extremely manky for various other reasons, mainly lack of maintenance.

@BeneathYourWisdom

I have never seen a shoe rack outside the changing room or in the lobby in any swimming pool in Britain. Changing rooms in British pools are usually rank.

Same here, the floor is usually muddy from people wearing shoes on the wet bits! And I always worry about catching veruccas or fungal infections now they’ve done away with foot baths, so I wear swim socks (to protect my feet and grip, not because I need to protect others from my feet!)

Its like that at our local pool as well, people also find it acceptable to leave plasters, old socks, bits of grass etc all over the floor. The family changing room always has talcum powder all over the floor.

I don't know of its just the UK but I remember being astounded at the start of the pandemic, when the actual prime minister had to go on national tv and explain that washing your hands prevents diseases .
People had to be told to wash their hands after using public transport wtaf, that's something my son knew from a toddler

Wearing shoes indoors is nasty. I’ve been into homes where people traipse in off the street and put their feet up on the coach without removing shoes or even lie on the bed with all their outdoor clothes on and shoes. Could barely watch. Not my house so had to keep my mouth shut.

The best thing is that if people really despise the country they live in, they can move to another cleaner one!

Why assume that just because the government decided to patronise the public with three word slogans people were not already washing their hands?

@JackieWeaverHandforthCouncil yet a high number of people have athletes foot which I don’t want on my carpets - that’s more gross than shoes after you’ve wiped them on entering. I wouldn’t call sweaty athletes foot covered feet hygienic.

[quote m0therofdragons]@JackieWeaverHandforthCouncil yet a high number of people have athletes foot which I don’t want on my carpets - that’s more gross than shoes after you’ve wiped them on entering. I wouldn’t call sweaty athletes foot covered feet hygienic.[/quote]
Nope. My friend’s GS got ecoli after crawling on her mum’s carpets - the doctor said it happens more frequently when you allow shoes into the house because you have no idea what people have walked in. All it takes is someone who owns dog or cat walking in and you have a potentially lethel situation.

@lazylinguist

I agree , carpets in bathrooms just one example.

I haven't seen carpet in a UK bathroom since the 1980s.

You're lucky. I went to view a flat once and the whole place was carpeted, including the top of the toilet seat and the kitchen. The flat looked like it had never been cleaned and all the windows and curtains were closed while the current residents (potential landlords) were sat on the sofa smoking.

I never understood why people thought the brits were dirty, until I saw this with my own eyes. No one batted an eyelid, not even the lettings agent.

@castemary

I am not a new poster, I just name change frequently because of poor data protection here. I agree there is a minority of British people who go the other way and bleach everything in sight. But there was a recent survey published nationally that said about one-eighth of British people did not clean their teeth every day. A minority, but a big one. I go to swimming pools and am disgusted at how dirty changing rooms are. The office I worked in until working from home, the light switches, door handles were never cleaned. Desks and surfaces were cleaned about once every two months. Hoovering was done about every three to four days. Maybe it was supposed to be more frequently, but I got into the office at 7am and so saw what was actually done. As I said Britain is good at keeping the toilets clean, people do seem to care about that. But a lot of other public places are filthy.

You keep mentioning that cleaners are not doing as much as you think they should, but if you look at Japan, arguably one of the most pristine nations, they don't generally pay other people to clean up their mess. I lived there for several years and never once saw a 'cleaner'.

www.bbc.com/travel/story/20191006-what-japan-can-teach-us-about-cleanliness

@Spectrumofhumanlife

The best thing is that if people really despise the country they live in, they can move to another cleaner one!

No, the best thing is it’s perfectly possible to live in the same country as people with different hygiene standards and cleaning traditions, it’s part of what being a diverse country means. And if people with a lower tolerance of dirt than me want to kick off about the state of swimming pool changing rooms, public transport etc I will be right behind them!

Someone up thread mentioned Hong Kong. Are you serious? A place where people regularly spit and pick their noses whilst eating in public.

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel

Our local swimming pool changing rooms have a no shoe rule but they are extremely manky for various other reasons, mainly lack of maintenance.

Personally I’d rather people kept their shoes on than exposed my bare feet to their athletes’ foot and veruccas. The obsession with taking shoes off amazes me. We don’t do it in hotels and it’s rare to see filthy carpets in those.

With regards to office cleanliness I can only speak for where I work. In order to work throughout the pandemic my employer has gone the other way. We are not allowed to m name drinks for anyone other than ourselves. We have staggered start and finish times and everything has to be cleaned down on A regular basis. Every screen, phone, door handke, keys, photocopier, chair, work surface, you name it it has to be cleaned at the start of every day and any public office disinfected after every customer, from top to bottom. Everything sprayed and wiped down. I cannot leave my equipment at work I have to lug everything home and fetch it all with me. Pens, headset, laptop, mouse mat, papers. You name it I have to lug it forwards and backwards constantly. Not one of us has been ill and we have worked solidly through this pandemic. I suppose there is method in the madness, no lost time through sickness.list
I wish hospitals were as through I despise seeing grubby visitors lounging about on patients beds and chairs.

@Breastfeedingworries

I’m on the side of bacteria and worry about the constant cleaning and our future children having immunity issues! I let my dd play in mud ect, we have a dog ect I think it’s so important to have a strong immune system. Touch wood my dd is rarely poorly.

This.

I most certainly do not live in a filthy house and we clean every day but surfaces are not dettol cleaned and I do not want my home to be close to sterile, thank you.

OP, Can you confirm exactly what harm it does to wear a bra or jeans until they appear to need to be cleaned? We obviously all know what harm washing clothes and towels after only one use does as it is an environmental disaster.

I use my washing up bowl to wash my bras. I think I need advice!

washing bra in washing up bowl lol

I do wonder about the survey saying that the Dutch are the less clean people in Europe. When I have been to the Netherlands I have never seen any shop with that layer of grime on the surfaces and the dirt in the corners that you see in so many shops and public buildings in Britain. I have never in any other country than Britain seen someone wash the floors in a shop and then throw the dirty water on the pavement (including in freezing weather. Thanks for making me pretend to be Bambi on ice). Granted I have only ever teavelled in Europe.

"travelled"

You're lucky. I went to view a flat once and the whole place was carpeted, including the top of the toilet seat and the kitchen.

Yes, but that's my point. Somebody seeing a flat with a carpeted bathroom once is not any indication whatsoever of the hygiene practices of an entire country, is it? There are people with questionable hygiene (not to mention decor) practices in every country in the world. Also, why would the letting agent bat an eyelid? They are trying to let the flat. Saying "Urgh - carpeted bathroom" probably isn't going to help do that!

@Manzanilla55

Washing meats in other parts of the world may be because their national meat farming standards are lower hence the need to wash meats prior to cooking them. I do agree however that hygiene standards are pretty low in this country and that the pandemic has enabled many people to improve their cleanliness habits.

Having been to food markets in several countries there are plenty where it's understandable why they would wash everything. This happy omnivore goes veggie in some places.