[Tesseract]

Tell us how you really feel about germs!<br><br><br><br>
I think I would describe myself as somewhat careful. I don't use toilet seat covers. I wash my hands after using public restrooms, but I'm never patient enough to wait for hot water, so I use cold. I sometimes don't wash at home unless I'm headning into the kitchen to prepare food. I wash most of my laundry in cool or warm water. I usually refrigerate food as soon as feasible, but I have no problem eating leftovers that have been sitting in the fridge for 10 days. I don't mind sharing food/drink with friends as long as they're not obviously ill, but if I'm dining with people I don't know well, I'll try to be more "polite" mainly to avoid offending them in case they're germophobes. If a piece of food falls on the floor and I can easily wipe any lint off, I just eat it. Hell, I live with three cats who use the catbox and then jump on the bed! I can't afford to be paranoid about germs.<br><br><br><br>
On the flip side, I do seem to take longer to wash and dry my hands than most other women I see. I almost always wash my hands well with hot water and soap immediately before handling food. And during cold/flu season, I've been known to walk around with a can of Lysol, disinfecting handles, knobs, telephones, and the like.<br><br><br><br>
Did you read about that study where they concluded some asthma may be triggered by living TOO clean?

 

[Amy SF]

I voted for very careful. I'm not tempted to wear a mask, unless there's somebody at work who obviously has a cold, or if I'm standing in a crowded elevator with somebody who's coughing a lot. I also don't walk around with a can of Lysol, but I do use paper towels to grab doorknobs at work. And I also have cats (2, not 3) who use the litter box and then jump on the bed. So I guess I'm at about the same level of carefulness that you are, Tess.<br><br><br><br>
EXCEPT<br><br><br><br>
I ALWAYS use toilet seat covers. If there aren't any available, I use toilet paper. In some situations, I keep a few seat covers in my purse. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/inquisitive.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":stinkeye:">

 

[bstutzma]

I agree that sometimes you can be TOO clean, but I think that applies more to the daily-clorox-floor-scrub people than the average person. I ALWAYS wash my hands after going to the bathroom, and I don't even sit on public toilets.... I am talented at the "hover" position. And NO, I do NOT splatter, hehe. I also attempt not to touch doorknobs and other frequently touched surfaces - there is a bottle of purell on my work desk, and a mini-bottle in my purse. I work for a large company and germs spread like wildfire, so my precautions are not "excessive", they are pretty commonplace.<br><br><br><br>
I ALWAYS, ALWAYS wash my hands very well before handling food, for myself or others. Its really irresponsible to do otherwise. I throw away food that has been in the fridge more than 3-5 days (luckily I don't throw out much, we try to eat everything fast).<br><br><br><br>
But there are other ways where I am not as strict. I wash most of my laundry in cold water. I keep a *reasonably* clean home, as I only dust a bit about once a week or so. I don't use a lot of cleaning products, the ones I DO use are organic and not very strong. I use a lot of vinegar/baking soda for cleaning. You won't find bleach or harsh chemicals in my home.

 

[Elena99]

I'm pretty casual about it. Germs are a part of life, and while you can minimize your exposure, you can't rule it out complete and still go to work/have hobbies/live.<br><br><br><br>
I wipe up my keyboard/workstation before using it, I wash my hands when I need to (after the restroom, etc), but I don't wipe doorknobs or hover over toilets or anything like that.

 

[IamJen]

I'm pretty casual too. Perhaps spending the past 11 years of my life primarily surrounded by kiddos under age 6 helps a bit. Kids are germy. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=""> Plus, being exposed to germs can be a good thing, too. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/yes.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":yes:">

 

[misq17]

I'm very casual about it all, I have more important things to do than stress over than germs.

 

[karenlovessnow]

I voted for somewhat careful but it really depends on the situation. When I use the restroom at work I roll out the paper towel before I wash so that I don't have to touch the paper towel dispenser handle once my hands are clean then use the paper towel to open the door to leave! I never sit on a toilet sit without using some kind of paper. But when it comes to my kitties I am quite lax. I don't freak out if they jump on the counter or if there is a cat hair in my food. I simply remove it. I am very conscious of people around me if they are sick with a cold. I will wipe down my work area if a co-worker has a cold, especially office equipment that is shared. I won't share food or drink but not so much for the germ aspect, more that I just skeeve other people's spit. It could have something to do with the fact that I have worked at a Health Dept for the last four years. If we celebrate someone's birthday with a cake we use a paper plate to blow out the candles.

 

[Blue Plastic Straw]

I'm careful in certain situations. After having five colds last year, I've become slightly obsessive about washing my hands at work (at the pre-school). I wash my hands or use hand sanitizer at least every half hour, and I scrub like I'm going into surgery before I leave for the day. I also make an effort to practice good food safety when preparing food for other people, as I would hate for someone to get sick from something I made.<br><br><br><br><br><br>
Outside of that I tend to be a little more casual. I make an effort to avoid buying antibacterial products and bleach gets used very sparingly at my house.<br><br><br><br>
ETA: I've also started using hand sanitizer after leaving the computer labs at school. There have been outbreaks of the Norwalk virus locally, so I figure it's better safe than sorry.

 

[tearhsong2]

I wash my hands frequently--after using the bathroom, before and during cooking, after handling germy things, etc.<br><br><br><br>
I clean things around the house mostly with vinegar and baking soda, but I do have some stronger cleaners around for heavy duty disinfecting and cleaning when it's warranted.<br><br><br><br>
I don't like using hand sanitizers and antibacterial soaps anymore. I still have some around the house, but as they are totally used up, I've been replacing them with regular hand soap.<br><br><br><br>
I rarely if ever use bleach and rarely use hot water to wash clothes.

 

[Tesseract]

Computer keyboards/mice and telephones are all things that collect a lot of germs that many people never think about disinfecting or even cleaning.

 

[Sevenseas]

I'm pretty careless about them, I've never thought about them. Once when a broccoli had mold on it, I just cut the mold part off and ate the rest, so I don't seem to be very concerned about getting diseases (or is that food poisoning? well whatever <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/tongue3.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="">)

 

[Ludi]

I voted "totally casual" but realised I do wash my hands frequently (plain water, not soap usually). But I have pretty much a "live and let live" attitude toward germs. I rarely get colds or flu or apparent foodborne illness.

 

[nowoutonvinyl]

i love the germs. darby crash is a great guy....oh sorry wrong thread....

 

[snownose]

I voted "I do what is socially acceptable."<br><br>
Before I eat lunch everyday I use hand sanitizer if I can't get to the bathroom to wash my hands.<br><br>
I can and could never share drinks or food. I don't know why, I just find it gross. Even with family members.<br><br>
I always buy high vit c drinks when some virus is going around school.

 

[GhostUser]

I voted for "very careful." But I'm not a psycho.

 

[raw jess]

I'm pretty lax. I usually rinse my hands after going to the bathroom, sometimes I use soap. I pee too much to use soap every time, my hands just get too dry. I use soap and wash my hands a lot when I prepare my cats' food (raw meat.) I don't use TP seat covers. I don't use lysol or anything like that. All my laundry is washed in cold (and I don't separate colors or anything like that.) I'm the only person in my entire office at work that didn't get the flu last year. I didn't get a flu shot. My mom did and still got the flu twice, too. I haven't been sick in years.

 

[Ludi]

I think exposure to germs makes us healthier.

 

[WonderRandy]

I agree with Ludi.<br><br><br><br>
I take an extremely casual approach. I wash my hands infrequently in my personal life. I don't worry about drinking after someone else. I have never used a toilet seat protector thingie...<br><br><br><br>
at work (food service) I'm the complete opposite. I wash my hands constantly.<br><br><br><br>
But in daily life, I'm a complete slob.

 

[raw jess]

Forgot to add that I don't care about sharing drinks or food.<br><br><br><br>
And my animals lick my mouth & face and eat off my silverware & plate.

 

[Dirty Martini]

I wash my hands after the bathroom and before preparing food, and I shower every morning. That's about as far as I go.<br><br><br><br>
I chew my nails regularly, so I figure if I can do that and rarely get sick, I'm in good shape. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/tongue3.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="">