If you washed your shopping are you still doing so?

[HJ40]

Not looking for a pile on from those who never did because there are plenty of those threads already.

I chose to dunk everything in Milton because back at the start of covid, so much was unknown. I was pregnant and scared. DH & I were able to work from home and our DC1 was at home when nursery was closed. We were perfectly, totally, isolated so it made sense to wash the shopping as our only possible point of exposure.

And then the habit has stuck because it's actually no hassle and better to be on the safe side.

But more than a a year on, DC1 has been back at nursery every day for 14months now and DC2 is about to start. We're going out and about, albeit cautiously, but fairly normally. DH & I are AZ double jabbed but too young for the booster. DH will soon have to return to commuting by train at least two days per week and I will be going back into my office.

I'm wondering if the time has come to stop? Given all our other potential contact points, shopping seems pretty low down the risk list.

Basic food hygiene includes not touching the outside of packets then immediately handling the food, as well as washing fresh food, washing hands after handling raw meat and fish. Boxes and packets have been on warehouse and store floors and shelves, which are rarely cleaned thoroughly.

Washing hands is a much easier way of controlling infection than washing the packets. Honestly, all you need to do is wash your hands.

We wash the fresh stuff and quarantine everything else.

Takes 10 minutes max.

I'd be more worried about eating a load of chemicals from whatever you're washing with

Thanks for all of the replies! I don't think I'm actually particularly anxious about it anymore. Still doing it because as I said, it's not really a bother and has become a habit. If I was, I wouldn't be going to pubs or coffee shops either!

Interesting point about dirty boxes and delivery crates. We get a Sainsbury's delivery each week. The crates are filthy and milk always has black marks on the outside. This week I had to reject a box of something which had stuck to the crate in some congealed sticky mess of God knows what on the bottom. I'm not going to be putting things away that dirty, so perhaps the quick Milton sheep dip dunk might be the quickest way to continue anyway!

But I will ease off other things.

I don’t do it but I never did.
Had I been CEV and completely isolating, perhaps I would have.

As it is, I’m not worried about getting Covid. I’ve already had it once (pre-vaccines) and accept that I will probably get it again at some point.

I really feel for those who are immune compressed and still very much at risk, and who are unable to return to any semblance of a normal life. It sucks. But my understanding is that such people are at risk from all manner of viruses and have to be really careful all the time, as Covid is not the only virus that could make them very unwell.

We wash the fresh stuff and quarantine everything else.

I’m surprised you let it into the house at all nanny

Would a small holding not be the better option?

Yes, we still do. It doesn't take long (soapy water for the veg, wipes for packaging). I know it's not very likely to spread that way unless someone's coughed or sneezed onto it (we don't go out more than necessary, and always use masks still, as the air is more important in spreading), but it's quick to do, and hopefully also just keeps any stray flu or cold germs at bay too.

I never have done but if it makes you feel better it's noone else's business.

We still do but more because it has become a habit now. Everything that is fresh and the dry goods get quarantined. If you are going out and about fairly normally and washing still feels like a chore then I wouldn't if I were you.

The chances of catching covid from packaging is absolutely miniscule. Just because something can be detected on a surface under laboratory conditions, it doesn't mean there will be enough of the virus to infect you - you would have to pretty much lick the packaging for that to happen. And even then, the chance of someone with covid handling it in the first place during the previous 24-48 hours is tiny. Washing your hands after putting your shopping away should be more than enough.

I shop with Ocado and it comes directly from a warehouse though so I've never particularly worried about lots of people handling it. Obviously some of the staff will, but it hasn't sat on a shelf for lots of people to pick up and sneeze onto at least.

I've restarted in recent weeks as we went down with Covid having been basically nowhere?!
I'm not entirely sure this will help but feel the need to do extra things now

I'm CV and I never have.

We did in first lockdown. CEV husband, all shielded and so much was unknown.

Stopped after we were all double vaxxed. Just wash hands carefully now.

I'm still wiping down anything that can't be left for 72 hours using an antiviral spray. Takes me 10 minutes to do the weekly shop and will keep on doing it until infections rates are lower (yes I realise that may be never - in that case I'll keep doing it as it's 10 minutes out of my week and doesn't bother me at all).

If TfL are and have been reporting on the testing of surfaces of their stations found no traces of covid ehatbdoes that tell you...where hundreds of people are going through everyday and they haven't found covid on where they tested and it would of been places like escalators, ticket machines, ticket barriers etc.

I think we did it once, right at the start, it was a ball ache so we didn’t do it again

Those saying it’s a risk, thr virus can live on surfaces, but that’s under lab conditions, the reality is it’s so delicate like a soap bubble that if you touch it you will kill it.

Through my teen years, my best friend had awful consuming OCD with rituals regarding washing, touch points and checking. Cleaning the shopping reminded me far too much of the behaviours that dominated her life, and it must be very difficult for people with OCD tendencies to rationalise whar is reasonable or not in a society that became obsessed with Covid. It very often isn't harmless.

If anything is sticky then it's wiped. I wash my hands after as they do get a general film of dirt. But there is no benefit to making sure that everything is sterile. We're learning more about the immune system, allergies and gut bacteria and wiping out the benign microbes from our biome can be harmful.

Not only that but they have had an increase in serious injuries on escalators through people avoiding touching the handrail.

Still, better safe than sorry, eh?

Sorry, that was meant to be a reply to Dreamstate’s post about TfL monitoring the underground.

I love the “it takes ten minutes” thing

In my circumstances, I could use those ten minutes to do many more things that are better for my health and my family’s wellbeing than washing shopping. And it would take far longer in my house.

Not only that but they have had an increase in serious injuries on escalators through people avoiding touching the handrail

I must admit I laughed reading the article about this^ earlier today. So important to "stay safe" that you chuck yourself down the escalator instead.

I wonder if people are aware of the specifics of the one single known case that is thought to have been fomite transmission.
Someone had sneezed on the lift button then immediately after someone came along, pressed the button and then picked his teeth with a toothpick thus putting his hand in his mouth.
He would probably have been fine if he had just washed his hands before picking his teeth! (Though is it just me who is puzzled about how they can have ruled out aerosol transmission in the confined space of the lift or lobby?)

@Dreamstate

If TfL are and have been reporting on the testing of surfaces of their stations found no traces of covid ehatbdoes that tell you...where hundreds of people are going through everyday and they haven't found covid on where they tested and it would of been places like escalators, ticket machines, ticket barriers etc.

It was in collaboration with Imperial. All the surfaces on the tube network were covid-free. A summary is here content.tfl.gov.uk/imperial-college-covid-sampling-at-tfl-phase-2-june-2021.pdf

I washed all the shopping in Milton, DD then caught COVID from school in July, I really gave up after that!

I've never washed shopping. Anything fresh obviously gets washed before I eat it but that's it. I don't lick the packaging so I don't see the point!

At the beginning I told DH that if he wanted to do it it was down to him, but don't expect any help from me.

My friend and my sister put mountains of Dettol wipes in the bin. The waste really grieves me, over such a pointless exercise.

This. We have to wipe everything down at work but I'm now wrapping my fingers in tissue so I don't have to use wipes all the time.