Wiping down the food shopping?!?

[SpringGlade004]

Anyone else out there still (if you have at all) wiping their food shopping down with bleach/disinfectant etc? I am and I’ve got to say it’s driving me insane but I know it would worry me if I didn’t?!

@Meredithgrey1

Nope, never have and never will, didn’t even consider it.

This is how I feel.

Wiping it down will do you no harm. It is a pain in the ass to do, but it does lower the risk. Especially now in regards to the new variant which is a lot more contagious.

I’m hit and miss with it to be honest. Things that are easier to wipe down (tins for example) won’t be used straight away, just it in the cupboard and used a few days or more after buying.

Fresher food, vegs, fruit, bread, the stuff which has most probably been handled by more people, is a lot harder to sanitise. And can’t be left for days before being used.

I’m more careful to make sure I don’t touch my face in the supermarket, on the journey home, and when at home, sanitise my hands before opening cupboards and fridges. It doesn’t eliminate risk, more just minimalises it. But it’s something I suppose.

I’ve not read or heard anything anywhere that convinced me it is in any way necessary.

I never wash any food ever. Not fruit or veg. I'm healthy.

I once looked at the post (at the beginning) like it was an unexploded bomb.

Thought nope can't live like this.

So no not washed shopping
Kids help bring in
Never will.

Bad enough being stuck in
But bring stuck in and paranoid that virus is going to lurk everywhere is a step to far.

We are all at risk of catching it at some point. When that happens, you can just hope it’s a mild dose with mild symptoms.

Washing anything that you bring into your home isn’t being paranoid. It’s simply trying to minimise risk. It’s a pain to do, but it isn’t difficult.

Nothing wrong or paranoid about protecting yourself to the best of your ability.

You wouldn’t step foot into the road without looking both ways.

Not really. We leave our non-refrigerated stuff downstairs for a few days to quarantine it. Frequently handled fridge stuff we sometimes spray with alcohol, but we’re lazy and it’s erratic. Freezer stuff is always wiped down and the virus is preserved at freezing temperatures.

The degree to which surface transmission is a thing still seems to be unknown. The weight of evidence seems to favour it being predominantly airborne. But with this new variant, who knows.

The only shopping I wipe with bleach is the stuff that reeks of nasty perfume from the checkout person's hands. Or maybe the shelf stacker.

I just keep washing my hands when I am in and using 100% alcohol spray when I am out.

I do.

@SlopesOff

The only shopping I wipe with bleach is the stuff that reeks of nasty perfume from the checkout person's hands. Or maybe the shelf stacker.

I just keep washing my hands when I am in and using 100% alcohol spray when I am out.

Why would shop staff have perfume on their hands? I have never experienced this.

Absolutely. We’ve wiped our shopping down from day one and have continued ever since. For the few seconds it costs it’s worth it. We then wash hands. There are so many people who have had covid who don’t know where they have caught it from, who haven’t left their house, that it’s not worth the risk not to wipe down shopping.
Totally each to their own though.

Interesting how people don't, but in schools all children have their own resources so don't have to share, and items that aren't easily cleaned are quarantined. In Early Years many toys have been removed to reduce the risk of sharing too much and being difficult to clean.

I got in the habit of cleaning shopping right at the beginning, and maybe after reading so many school risk assessments, I have carried on!

I do it though people make
Fun. I don’t see how putting it away then washing hands is enough. When 5min later you get milk out to make cup of tea and don’t wash hands. Or get a biscuit or anything else you will touch in next 48h or so. If you wipe everything you are going use straight away job done.
Shielding people have caught it and
Haven’t been out at all. Plus I do bugger all every day so hardly a chore.

@ineedaholidaynow

Interesting how people don't, but in schools all children have their own resources so don't have to share, and items that aren't easily cleaned are quarantined. In Early Years many toys have been removed to reduce the risk of sharing too much and being difficult to clean.

I got in the habit of cleaning shopping right at the beginning, and maybe after reading so many school risk assessments, I have carried on!

I think that's unnecessary too but it's not my call to make. I wouldn't care if my child shared the same resources.

No seems weird to me. I work in a care home we don't wipe down our deliveries. No one has covid. Surely as long as you not sticking your fingers in mouth you won't catch anything.

Only time I did was when delivery driver admitted he had taken the shopping to someone else’s house but once they realised the customer gave it all back. It’s rife around here and hearing it went into someone else’s house made me think I would give it a quick wipe over.

An icu consultant my OH works with recommended doing this with anything that gets chilled or frozen or is covered with plastic. We do it at home, doesn’t take long and I’d rather be safe than sorry.

Not read all the replies.
I haven't ever wiped down shopping, I don't see the point.
Even at the height of the pandemic which was around March/April last year.
DH did get a bit need to wash stuff he'd bought down at one point, but I always thought bit OTT.

That way madness lies
Exactly

That’s the thing if you would do it if it had just been delivered to another house by mistake. But not if 10 people could have touched it at the shop before you. Makes no logically sense.

Not with bleach just hot soapy water, I will forever do this, things like bag of sugar get decanted into jar or put in the ladder on a shelve and by the time I use it enough time has past. If the teens buy a bottle of juice etc from the local shop they know it has to have a soapy sponge ran over it and rinsed under the tap before they drink out of it

@Sparklingbrook

SlopesOff

The only shopping I wipe with bleach is the stuff that reeks of nasty perfume from the checkout person's hands. Or maybe the shelf stacker.

I just keep washing my hands when I am in and using 100% alcohol spray when I am out.

Why would shop staff have perfume on their hands? confused I have never experienced this.

Some of the hand gels are perfumed, maybe home made ones. I have also noticed, when we used to use real money that some of the notes had perfume on. Men put their perfume on, aftershave or whatever by rubbing hands together and then on the face and don't wash it off their hands.

I think in this instance it is the same staff member as it always smells the same, heavy and cloying and sickly.

No. Even if I were considering it, I simply don’t have time. I feel completely the opposite to “if it reduces the risk even by a tiny amount then it’s worth it” - if it’s only reducing the risk by a tiny amount then the level of effort and time involved is definitely not worth it. I have a baby and a toddler and work and housework and I’m not adding to that load voluntarily

I used to but then I had a word with myself and stopped. It wasn’t good for mental health and I’ve been far more relaxed since.

Not even sure why I started in the first place. I’m not particularly worried about getting covid, what will be will be. Maybe I was anxious about the wider situation and projected it on the shopping?

Anyway, I’ve not done it since about July last year and no covid yet.

I don’t see why people have to be so rude and defensive when this topic arises. People who choose to clean items don’t attack others and tell them they must do it, so why do those who choose not to clean items sometimes get so insulting? There are valid reasons for either approach.

Also people keep saying they haven’t had covid yet, they have no way to know that for sure.