Are these things strange

[Newuser75]

I'm just wanting some other opinions as to whether people find these things appropriate or not.

So my son will often have a quick drink of water out of the tap in the kitchen instead of getting a cup.

He also will sometimes wash his hands in the kitchen sink using washing up liquid then dry them on the tea towel. This may be after being outside or just after eating or whatever.

Are these things disgusting? My husband seems to think so, I'm struggling to see the problem.

@TwoLeftSocksWithHoles why would her son have picked this up from her husband, who she stated in her first post finds it disgusting?

And why hope the son never works in a restaurant as a result? He's 11 years old! Pretty sure most 11 year olds have various habits that wouldn't be welcomed in a work environment because, funnily enough, we grow and learn a fair bit between childhood and adulthood...

I've never heard of hand towels in a kitchen either, how weird. I always use fairy liquid to wash hands in kitchen sink too, probably more hygienic than soap

He also will sometimes wash his hands in the kitchen sink using washing up liquid then dry them on the tea towel. This may be after being outside or just after eating or whatever.

Doesn't everyone do this?!

@bloodyeffinnora

well, no it's not the same thing. if I wash my hands whilst cooking I have started off with properly clean hands & if I'm washing them while cooking I'm only washing off food etc

that's not the same as washing your hands in the kitchen sink when you've been playing out or gardening, or whatever, which I can live with, but not when I'm preparing food.

Why would you not have soap in the kitchen? I am constantly cleaning my hands when cooking. Also wiping hands on the tea towel is unhygenic. There should be a separate hand towel.

No, normal

Washing up liquid is soap, there is no need for an extra hand soap in the kitchen. How is drying your hands on a tea towel unhygienic? If you have just washed your hands there is no dirt going onto the towel. If you are using the tea towel to dry dishes do you not get a clean towel from the drawer/cupboard for this purpose (since you don't know how clean the one hanging in the kitchen is)? If you have a hand towel in the kitchen do you change it as frequently as the tea towel? Or do you store it far away from the tea towel to prevent cross contamination?

I'm certain I did both of those things at his age. Definitely remember guzzling water from the tap.

People saying they change their tea towel multiple times per day… how many times are we talking? What are you using it for? And how do you possibly have time to do this

yes it is the same thing, the outcome is clean hands

I don't have a hand towel in the kitchen, never really thought much of it.

Also have an 11yo that washes his hands in the sink when he comes through to eat - again, never thought much of it - always just been pleased he washed his hands regularly without being asked

I'm constantly washing my hands while cooking, so that seems normal enough to me. Separate towels or not, I wouldn't care, but I do tend to switch out towels fairly often to keep a fresh one on hand.

Drinking from the tap might irritate me slightly to see, though now you mention it, I do remember doing that as a child.

Neither issue would be worth getting too worked up over, imo.

If drying hands on the tea towel is disgusting, but you don't have a hand towel then what do you and your DH do when you have washed your hands?

BTW you could just use a piece of kitchen roll to dry hands if you think using the tea towel is unhygienic. I personally don't see a problem as after washing then hands are surely clean?

I have a hand towel and a tea towel. I change the tea towel a couple of times a day and the hand towel every day. I am not a mumsnet clean freak. I just think that as soon as kitchen towels are damp they need to be changed.

Why wouldn't you hang the damp towel on the towel rail/hook/oven door handle to dry? They're designed to dry quickly, that's why they're so thin.
What is so unhygienic about a damp towel that it must be immediately washed? Are you using the towel to dry things that haven't been properly washed?
Are you one of those people that will not use any towel more than once before washing it?

Is your son actually putting his mouth on the tap?

I've never had a separate hand towel in my kitchen, but I do have handwash as washing up liquid is too harsh for my hands.
It's all detergent so it doesn't matter
I remember drinking from the tap too, like a drinking fountain
I must admit I really don't see why people get so worked up about a perceived threat of " germs" nowadays
Medical reasons excepted of course

My mistake - I read it as 'husband didn't find it disgusting'

I wouldn't bet on that with an 11yr old boy.

Definitely did both of those things at that age.

Using a glass meant having to wash and dry and put away the glass. Using my gob under the tap meant I had to do none of those things, just wipe up any spilt water.

We didn't have hand soap in the kitchen, and to get to a bathroom via either entry door you'd have to walk through a hallway or upstairs meaning mucky hands would likely touch walls/bannisters... so hand washing in the kitchen (first room you came to after the back porch) was encouraged.. and using as little dish soap as possible was also encouraged (And using Daddys Swarfega was absolutely forbidden no matter how pretty it looked!)..

I do not recall if we had a hand towel in the kitchen, probably not. I do now, but I wipe my hands a lot out there and don't like the feel of the dish towels much.

So.. perfectly normal, not disgusting, not even a 'boy thing' just a 'child thing'.

It's very unhygienic to use tea towels but I can't see any problem with drinking from taps. Tea towels 'can cause food poisoning' www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-44401330

Can’t see the issue and stunned anyone would think drinking from a water flow is unhygienic, he clearly won’t be sucking from thr tap. I also don’t see an issue with using the tea towel either.

How can he catch anything from the tap?! The exact same water would just be pouring into a glass instead of directly into his mouth, it’s not touching anything else!

@ExcitingRicotta

ss many times as I need to.

using it to dry some dushes
rest some draining dishes on
dry down the worktop
hold hot dishes.

how do I have time to get a clean t towel and put the other one in the wash (a few seconds??). What???

@uncomfortablydumb53

I must admit I really don't see why people get so worked up about a perceived threat of " germs" nowadays

becsuse I'm not a fan of having D&V