We live in a culture where people fear shopping cart handles. To be fair, it's not the handles themselves. It's the germs residing on said handles. Germs can make us sick. Being sick is a logical thing to fear. So we wipe the handles with disinfectant and go about our merry way.
Shopping cart handles may be a quirky fear, but that's only the beginning. Some people go to great lengths, and employ considerable superstitious behavior in their quest for a germ-free life.
Sometimes I'm one of those people.
In discussions with others, I've found I'm not alone. We all do weird things (or maybe they are smart things) in the name of cleanliness.
While I don't typically disinfect my shopping cart handle, the first thing I do when returning home from the store is wash my hands. I suppose this behavior is loosely related to the shopping cart phobia. Different disinfectant method, different time.
I usually wash my hands at the kitchen sink, which is another object of my fixation on germ evasion. I read somewhere that the kitchen is typically one of the germiest places in the entire house and the sink is host to hordes of bacteria-laden decaying food particles and other blecky whatnots. As a combatant, I have a spray bottle of rubbing alcohol sitting in a handy location near the kitchen sink. Good riddance, what-nots.
Let's chat about water that comes from a refrigerator door. Anyone besides me avoid it? I'm distrusting of the tubing within the fridge that transports the water to my glass. But I use the refrigerator ice cubes, which probably go through the same tubing system, all the time. In addition, I drink regular water from the regular tap every day. And who knows what the innards of that contain? (I don't even want to go there.)
Before we leave the kitchen, anyone else afraid of sponges? They stay damp and contain thousands of little crevices where all sorts of microscopic bad things can grow. I've read you can sanitize your sponge in the dishwasher, but I stick with washcloths I can launder in bleach on the hot cycle.
Double dipping - now there's a thing (or two) to get the masses chatting. I'm a single dip proponent. In direct conflict with this is drink sharing. I think nothing of sharing my water bottle with my husband or kids. Same goes for chapstick, which when you consider it logically is probably more likely to harbor germs than a carrot stick in ranch dip.
I used to love staying overnight at a hotel. It felt special, not having to make your bed in the morning and all. This changed after I watched a couple of those helpful investigative news stories about the horrors of hotel rooms. Items especially suspect and susceptible are the TV remote and phone. Experts advise bringing your own sanitizing cloths and giving a good wipe down before you change the channel or call down to the front desk for more germ-laden pillows.
A friend of mine has an aversion toward rental carpet cleaners. She thinks the cleaners aren't clean. She might be right. But isn't it possible that a carpet cleaning company could have dirty equipment as well? They deal with some pretty nasty stuff.
My best advice would be to clean your carpet cleaner before you clean your carpet. I'm pretty sure there's an oxymoron in there somewhere.
I've saved the best (or worst) for last: Public restrooms. Ever enter a stall only to find the toilet is covered in droplets? There aren't many things higher on the gross-meter than a wet toilet seat. I also avoid faucet and door handles in public restrooms - and touching anything in public restrooms for that matter.
We live in a crazy, germ-filled world. They are everywhere, and it is not possible (not possible at all) to avoid them completely. Still we try. At least I do. And if we ever meet in person, I want you to know I'm okay with a fist bump and even a hug, but maybe not a handshake. Depending on the day and how I'm feeling and whether you are sneezing and wheezing.
Just trying to keep it honest.
- Jill Pertler's column appears Thursdays in the Times. She can be reached at pertmn@qwest.net.
Shopping cart handles may be a quirky fear, but that's only the beginning. Some people go to great lengths, and employ considerable superstitious behavior in their quest for a germ-free life.
Sometimes I'm one of those people.
In discussions with others, I've found I'm not alone. We all do weird things (or maybe they are smart things) in the name of cleanliness.
While I don't typically disinfect my shopping cart handle, the first thing I do when returning home from the store is wash my hands. I suppose this behavior is loosely related to the shopping cart phobia. Different disinfectant method, different time.
I usually wash my hands at the kitchen sink, which is another object of my fixation on germ evasion. I read somewhere that the kitchen is typically one of the germiest places in the entire house and the sink is host to hordes of bacteria-laden decaying food particles and other blecky whatnots. As a combatant, I have a spray bottle of rubbing alcohol sitting in a handy location near the kitchen sink. Good riddance, what-nots.
Let's chat about water that comes from a refrigerator door. Anyone besides me avoid it? I'm distrusting of the tubing within the fridge that transports the water to my glass. But I use the refrigerator ice cubes, which probably go through the same tubing system, all the time. In addition, I drink regular water from the regular tap every day. And who knows what the innards of that contain? (I don't even want to go there.)
Before we leave the kitchen, anyone else afraid of sponges? They stay damp and contain thousands of little crevices where all sorts of microscopic bad things can grow. I've read you can sanitize your sponge in the dishwasher, but I stick with washcloths I can launder in bleach on the hot cycle.
Double dipping - now there's a thing (or two) to get the masses chatting. I'm a single dip proponent. In direct conflict with this is drink sharing. I think nothing of sharing my water bottle with my husband or kids. Same goes for chapstick, which when you consider it logically is probably more likely to harbor germs than a carrot stick in ranch dip.
I used to love staying overnight at a hotel. It felt special, not having to make your bed in the morning and all. This changed after I watched a couple of those helpful investigative news stories about the horrors of hotel rooms. Items especially suspect and susceptible are the TV remote and phone. Experts advise bringing your own sanitizing cloths and giving a good wipe down before you change the channel or call down to the front desk for more germ-laden pillows.
A friend of mine has an aversion toward rental carpet cleaners. She thinks the cleaners aren't clean. She might be right. But isn't it possible that a carpet cleaning company could have dirty equipment as well? They deal with some pretty nasty stuff.
My best advice would be to clean your carpet cleaner before you clean your carpet. I'm pretty sure there's an oxymoron in there somewhere.
I've saved the best (or worst) for last: Public restrooms. Ever enter a stall only to find the toilet is covered in droplets? There aren't many things higher on the gross-meter than a wet toilet seat. I also avoid faucet and door handles in public restrooms - and touching anything in public restrooms for that matter.
We live in a crazy, germ-filled world. They are everywhere, and it is not possible (not possible at all) to avoid them completely. Still we try. At least I do. And if we ever meet in person, I want you to know I'm okay with a fist bump and even a hug, but maybe not a handshake. Depending on the day and how I'm feeling and whether you are sneezing and wheezing.
Just trying to keep it honest.
- Jill Pertler's column appears Thursdays in the Times. She can be reached at pertmn@qwest.net.
