To wonder why hankies haven't made a comeback?

[Eestar]

The world is so eco friendly and waste conscious now... plastic straws are out with the dinosaurs, light bulbs have completely changed since my childhood, and using plastic bags seems almost punishable by law... Some of my braver friends have even embraced cloth nappies.

With all of this in mind, using single-use paper tissues just to blow your nose seems such a waste, with an easy and obvious solution - so why are hankies not more of a 'thing' by now??

Yeah. Those disgusting people with allergies and hay fever shouldn't be seen in public. Ffs.

They’re disgusting!

I don’t like cloth nappies either… despite the terrible effect disposable ones have on the planet I couldn’t imagine washing them as well as everything else needing to be done as a new parent.

A snotty hankie.. even the word hankie is rank! Eurgh

OK we've established that the gross thing is:
1 people reusing the same hankie numerous times
2 people carrying dirty ones in their pockets/sleeves/bags
3 snot getting inside your washing machine.

I go through a lot of paper tissues.
1 I don't always throw them away after one use and I doubt half the people on here do either tbh despite claiming they do.
2 I do have a habit of putting them in my pocket/up my sleeve (in my defense, we don't have bins at work so everytime I wiped my nose I'd need to trek to the toilet). On occasion I have put on my coat to find an old used tissue in the pocket which I admit IS gross.
3 maybe I'm unfair on my washing machine but I expect it can cope with a bit of snot.

So... if someone had a hankie that they used once, then put into a hygienic, sealed gizmo like the one above and people had common sense that their washing machines were there to wash away bodily fluids like snot, then would hankies still be considered gross?

I ask because I have been considering getting some hankies (with a carry case) for some time. Mainly to avoid the old tissue in my pocket/falling out of my sleeve but also waste and cost reasons.

I'd throw them in my washing machine on a boil wash like I do my towels and bedding.

Our environment is full of germs and humans are disgusting.

But here we all are.

Hankies are fab!

Unless you are going to use them once and then put the, for washing they’re unhygienic and will encourage the spread of germs.
if you’re washing them after one use then they won’t be eco friendly either - due to the extra use of the washing machine inc electricity and detergent.

My own grandparents, born in the 30s, didn’t use hankies when I knew them because a better alternative was available in the modern age. Yes we used to use them… we also used to use chamber pots.

Disgust is important to help us avoid diseases…

So perhaps those of us who are more easily disgusted are more evolutionarily advanced….

Er… do you throw away your underwear after each use? Or God forbid have you had a baby / child that’s puked, dribbled, poohed, themselves??

No just don't like the thought of snot in my washing machine. Yeah I've had kids and grandchild do all you mentioned.
Hankies are germ laden rags.
You can "God forbid" all you want that's just my opinion you can chuck your snot rags in with your clothes if you want.

Paper hankies are usually made from recyclable material and tbh I think are much more hygienic. Cotton hankies need to be washed at high temperatures and using water in machines and soap powder in sewage. But - I do kinda miss those paper hankies that came in pretty colours, my mum always took the pink ones. She also bought loo rolls in different shades, peach for the downstairs loo and yellow for upstairs.

My hubby uses them every day. I even iron them! Primark are cheaper than M&S or Next

So many people don't seem to possess ANYTHING for blowing their noses out and about that it would be a dream for it to be commonplace again! As it is, I carry a pack of pocket tissues. Much more sensible option to offer a fellow public transport passenger who is a constant sniffer than give away billions of handkerchiefs. [Yes I may be a cow but it REALLY winds me up]

But… you wouldn’t put them in with your clothes, would you? (Even though your clothes are absolutely “contaminated” with feacal matter and various bodily excretion anyway.) Hankies go in with towels on a hot wash you’re doing anyway.

I know some —gross— people wash all their clothes and towels together on twenty degrees, but they presumably don’t mind bacteria anyway.

I use a fresh one every day as It too have a constantly dripping nose most of the year and I would never leave home without one. I find some tissue users (my daughter is one of them) drop them allover the house - down the side of the bed, in armchairs ect.

I sometimes use cloth hankies but never to blow or wipe my nose when I have a cold. I use them rather like you would a washcloth, carry a few in my handbag when I go to the park or for icecream with my grandchildren. A bit of water from our waterbottles on a cotton hankie makes a perfect wipe - only reusable ánd absolutely non-allergic. I think the pandemic has shown us right enough how nót to spread germs. When I see someone with a hankie dripping with snot propped in a sleeve I always think that person hasn't understood anything.

My husband has always used hankies for dabbing/wiping his nose not blowing. We got the last ones from Bon Marche. He uses them for a day or two then they go out for the wash. Don’t see what the issue is.

You’re not one for cloth nappies then? 🤣

I love a cotton handkerchief, but not for a snotty nose.
I'm menopausal and carry them about for random hot flushes.
Mine are Liberty Lawn :)

Never stopped using handkerchiefs. A good wash kills any germs and they have to be more environmentally friendly than tissues. Nappies were soaked in something — Napisan, I think - to sanitise them before they went in the washer; it is reckoned that it takes 500 years for a disposable nappy to degrade in landfill, emitting greenhouse gasses as it does.

Can you tell then?😂
Never liked hankies, never will end of.
The only people I've ever seen use them are the very elderly and I'm saying that as a 62yr old.

I know sniffing is annoying - really annoying - but on a train I'd actually prefer to listen to a bit of sniffing than watch someone constantly blow their nose then touch every available handle and pole as they get off.

They are hard to come by now too. I managed to buy mum some nice ones just before Christmas, but it was a while before they were in stock.

personally I would rather people use hankies than hoicking (sp?) deep snort back and spitting it out.

I couldn’t bring myself to use them! Tana lawn must be very gentle on the nose, though, almost sateen.

Tana Lawn is so soft, and the designs are gorgeous 😍

I’ve been collecting their lawn hot water bottle covers. They make illness so much more elegant. 😁