To expect guests to wash their hands on arrival?

[SillyFillyDress]

Am I being unreasonable in thinking people should wash their hands when coming from outside to your house?
Would you ask kids who come to yours for a playdate to wash their hands?
Would you ask adults?

I would never ask anyone else to do this (except, as others have said, small children before eating or if visibly muddy etc) but I usually wash my hands on getting home or if I travel by public transport to a restaurant. My hands usually feel a bit grubby or sticky after travelling. And quite often I need the loo when I arrive somewhere so I wash my hands then anyway. We are all exposed to numerous germs everywhere so washing my hands on getting home doesn't mean I'm living in a sterile bubble!

I do prefer people to do this due to my weak immune system. We do as a family but other people coming in don't tend to.

I would never ask, expect or think about this, not even before a meal. I let my kids play in the garden and then eat their food. It’s good for them.

Only if I had a vulnerable family member whose life was dependent on avoiding germs and bacteria as much as possible.

Otherwise, no. Health anxiety?

I wouldn’t ask them to but it would be nice if they did.

If I am visiting others, I usually just put a bit of anti-bac on my hands OR sometimes I may wash my hands because I travel by public transport and it’s visibly dirty in this country so I feel better afterwards and it mean if I get offered a biscuit or something I don’t need to go wash my hands then.

I do as I get the bus and it's habit but I wouldn't make anyone else. It's a hang over from covid.

I always wash my hands when I come in from outside, get to work etc, I find I get less germs. I also wash my hands during the day sometimes too. I used to before covid too, and everyone would laugh at me, and then everyone was washing their hands....

I am not a germ freak by the way.

I wouldn't expect someone to wash their hands when they come to mine, but I also don't expect to be laughed at if I want to wash my hands when I want to!

As part of a general gathering together before a meal, yes.

Children coming from playing outside, or indoors doing whatever messy thing. Adults coming in from farm or garden or workshop or home from a manual job or via public transport. Or even from a pristine office in a private luxury car.

For a quick visit not involving food, no, not unless there was a specific reason.

I think it has value as a wee ritual, cleansing away one part of the day and moving to another. I also think it's unwise to abandon basic hygiene practices that were once essential to maintain the health of a population just because life is currently more privileged. That can change, fast.

So I'd definitely teach children to wash their hands before food, and have casually told lots of other people's kids to do so as part of a general instruction!

Since covid I am far more fussy and so I do wash my hands when I come back into my house. When I go to my friends/family I have usually travelled quite a distance so on arrival I use the toilet and wash my hands. I wouldn’t ask an adult visiting me to wash their hands but I would ask children to before they eat.

I’m sorry but I have never ever done this. Ever🙈

The vast majority of 600+ said they wash their hands here, so makes sense to asks guests to do it to:

www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5105422-to-wash-my-hands-every-time-ive-been-out

No

We are all exposed to numerous germs everywhere so washing my hands on getting home doesn't mean I'm living in a sterile bubble!

I agree with this. I don’t know why people say that. When I lived in America I noticed hand washing especially before meals was much more commonplace and this was way before covid . A lot more in the Uk seem to be more resistant to basic hygiene practices such as hand washing.

I’m already breathing in a zillion germs on public transport ( the last two times I had covid or a bad flu were shortly after a train journey) and there’s no getting away from that but no way is food going in my mouth with the same hand that’s touched a handrail or bus seat etc without washing it first. Hardly the same as wearing a hazmat suit!

Always wash my hands when I get in the house and when I arrive at other people’s homes, my kids do also. However I don’t ask adults to wash their hands. Children yes before eating.
Went to a mates last night and she had done a picky tea, cheeseboard meats etc, I was the only one to wash my hands before eating. Didn’t bother me but I noticed it.

I wash my hands when I enter my own home (started in covid but carried on) and also ask my child to wash his if we have come in together (because he will almost inevitably be eating a snack with his fingers fairly soon after getting home). I don't ask my husband or guests to do so, or notice it if my child comes in with other people and doesn't.

We always wash our hands when we get home as a general thing and always have. However the only time I would ask guests to wash hands is if my children have friends round to play straight after school. I’ve found generally when we have been to friends they’ve asked kids to wash hands when we get in from school too.

Wow all the comments who think it’s rude, not normal, it wasn’t that long ago people were regularly sanitising and routinely washing their hands.OP it’s your home, if visitors get offended, to do something that takes a minute then, that’s actually rude of them, because it’s your home.
Personally when l get home, it’s the first thing l do it’s second nature and with all food prep.

Contamination OCD?

I wash my own hands.

I wouldn't ask another adult to wash theirs.

That doesn’t mean someone is unreasonable, just because you don’t do this.

It's something we all ought to do (thought about it more during covid) but its not an expected norm. So I wouldn't be offended (if you said sth like, worried about winter flu etc, if you just looked at me like I was drty I might be 🤣) but I wouldn't do it automatically.
However I nearly always go to the loo when arriving home so hand wash is default, and although I rarely go to people's houses if I'd been eg, on a dog walk I would ask to go wash my hands.
I would always wash my hands before a meal though. And most the places I eat have pets we have been fussing so washing hands is normal then.
I was brought up to always wash hands before a meal or after using the toilet. They are absolutely ingrained and people who don't do those horrify me.

I would never go to someone's house and go off and wash my hands. That would be really weird to me. No one who has ever come to my house in 50 years has ever washed their hands - apart from my mum who has poor MH and I think has OCD.

I've never come across this at all.

Nope, their choice. I didn't change the way I washed my own hands during covid and never caught it, wouldn't expect anyone coming to mine to wash theirs either.

Not unreasonable if a newborn baby or someone in the household is immuno compromised.

It is unreasonable on just entering the house without these things.
Everyone washes their hands before food in our house - adults do it to set a good example for children.