Hand washing before eating?

[Ninetwenty]

I know, it's something we should do, I always made DC do it when they were young.

But AIBU to think that, IRL it doesn't actually happen?

I eat out frequently, with everyone from business contacts, colleagues, friends and family. People from all sorts of cultures. Not once has anyone excused themselves to wash their hands before eating.

Colleagues will eat lunch at their desks. No one goes to wash their hands first.

When I have people to eat at mine, no one goes to wash their hands when invited to the table.

Wedding or party buffets, no one is going off to wash their hands once the buffet opens.

Etc etc.

I will once in a blue moon wash my hands before eating if I feel like it but 1) i'm going to be cutlery, 2) if i'm handling food, it's going to be cooked anyway.and kill the germs.

I do the same as you and I noticed the same thing!

I have thought this! It's actually really hard when you are out and about and want to grab a sandwich. I've been on a grubby Tube and would like to wash hands. But there's nowhere to do it, short of hunting out the rare public loo. In a restaurant I may have gone to the loo pre eating, so that's hand washing covered. But not always. I have to admit I wouldn't be bothered if I'm just at home or have been in the car.

I think the washing (sometimes face as well as hands) before sitting at the table goes back to when people did more manual, dirty jobs and housework.

I always wash my hands immediately after getting them dirty, so i don't see why i need to wash them again right before eating.

Actually, thinking about it, mum used to make us wash handsbefore dinner, but kids back then used to all play in the garden/streets getting pretty grubby.

Wash hands before cooking, after touching raw meat, and after touching strong ingredients like chilli or garlic, but not before I eat as they've been washed recently

I've worked in hospitality and can confirm no one does. What matters far more is washing hands post loo, particularly poo. I do that psychotically.

Very rarely at home, if I'm out and about shopping then yes I'll wash my hands before eating.

I think I keep in mind the last time I washed my hands and whether they have become germ-infested in the intervening period.

So arriving at work having travelled on public transport and touched handrails, I wash my hands straight away. Then I only really touch my own items so it would feel safe to touch and eat food. By the time I eat lunch I would have gone to the toilet and washed my hands then.

At home, when I come in from shopping or whatever, I wash my hands. Preparing breakfast I'd have already washed my hands after going to the toilet. Preparing other meals I'll have washed my hands before/during.

And if I go to a restaurant having touched handrails on public transport, yes I would go and wash my hands.

I always wash my hands before eating and carry antibacterial gel in my bag if I am out and there are no washing facilities.

If people visit me and we are eating I always say something like feel free to use the bathroom to wash your hands.

I agree that a lot of people generally don't wash their hands though.

You could keep some of those little packet wet wipes, do KFC still do them? I often have tea tree facial wipes with me when out for the day in case the public loos have no paper.

Depends on the situation. Definitely if I’m in the office as we hot desk as I’m not picking up my sandwich after using a keyboard and mouse that loads of other people have. At home, I’d do it more if I’ve got a cold and definitely if I’ve been doing something like gardening. If it’s just a general day, using utensils, i wouldn’t unless visibly dirty.

As previous poster, I wash hands after doing something which leaves them dirty. I don't see any point in doing it again before eating. What are we trying to achieve here? If it is to avoid germs, I can only say that I have never had food poisoning and the last time I was ill with a virus was in 2023 so my approach seems to work just fine.

I do wash mine before handling food when I am at home but it's much more difficult when out and about so there are times when I'm in a café and it doesn't happen, especially if the place is very busy. I don't worry about it to be honest.

On the tube, there's absolutely nowhere to do it so no, but I would not be eating anything other than a quick snack like a small bar of chocolate there anyway. It isn't exactly comfortable.

Everybody washes hands before eating at my workplace, there's always a queue for the sink in the breakroom, but I work in a factory where perhaps the importance of washing hands is more obvious.

The only people I know who always do this are my Indian friends and they find it beyond gross that other people don't. I definitely would after the tube, not so much if I'm just at home.

This is exactly why I am first in line for the buffet and don't go back for seconds. If I can't wash my hands before I eat, I use liberal amounts of hand sanitiser and wipe it off with a paper napkin. Always clean hands before I eat. DH didn't when we were on holiday, though I offered him hand wipes and sanitiser, and on return to the UK had to be hospitalised with a very nasty strain of e.coli.

We carry hand gel or anti-bac wet wipes to "wash" our hands before eating if we're out and about, and more frequently if we've been touching public transport buttons/handles, or touch screens or handling cash, etc. At home, we'll definitely go and wash our hands before preparing meals and again before eating. Always have done as long as we can remember, certainly long before covid.

I always wash my hands immediately when I get home from work, shopping or just being out of the house. I carry anti-bacterial spray/gel in my handbag to use if I’m out and about and need to clean my hands before eating but don’t have access to a sink.

Only if I can see actual dirt on my hands or I've been doing a gross chore. Obvs I wash hands after using the bathroom, before/after cooking.

But 95% of the time, I don't wash my hands before eating. I never ever get sick 🤷‍♀️

Good lord…so you actually shame your guests into washing their hands before eating at your house?? 🤯 This is beyond rude!

At home, I always wash my hands before eating but notice that guests rarely do. I carry hand sanitiser with me everywhere, partly due to being a teacher and having to touch germ-y things all day! So if I’m out for a meal/at a wedding or somewhere where it’s nots practical to rush off and wash hands, I always use hand sanitizer at the table and offer it to anyone I’m with.

I admit I’m very hygiene conscious and am disgusted when I see people on the tube eating crisps, sandwiches, etc, with what are definitely dirty hands 🤮

I do sometimes but not very often. DH is better at doing this than me probably due to the nature of his job. My DDs now grown up always do but that's probably because of all the years I nagged them to wash their hands when they were little.
Generally though I don't think people do.

I always wash my hands before I eat. If I am out and about somewhere with no bathroom I always have hand wipes in my pocket to give my hands a wipe. Too many bugs and germs kicking about everywhere you touch. Even at home I wash my hands before I have my dinner. I guess it’s something that was just instilled with me when I was young (now 50).

I have never washed hands before eating, and have never taught my children to do it. It's literally not even something that enters my head.
I almost never get sick. No sick days in my current place of work (15 years), and my kids age 11, 8 and 3 have had a couple sick days each in their whole lives.

When I’m at work if I pop out to grab a sandwich I always wash my hands before I eat it back at my office. Same I always wash my hands when I get in from shopping . I have been in a lot of houses and seen how filthy some people are.