Am I Typhoid Mary if I don't use wipes?
July 25, 2018 2:22 AM Subscribe
What is household safe clean and what is put- down- the-lysol you have issues unnecessary?
I'm rethinking cleaning routines with a new house, switching to greener cleaning products etc. Other people's cleaning routines involve so much bleach, especially bleach wipes. Outside of hospitals, I have never used these. To me, nothing beats soap, hot water and a good scrub. My children grew up in very unhygenic conditions and so did I despite relative wealth. You bathed when visibly dirty. Everything was boiled and if it tasted funny, you just needed a stronger stomach.
I live in a country of germaphobes and have learned to be relatively clean, but also protected my kids from being teased for being rough by deliberately being rough as well - fine, we sleep on floors and we can gut the fish at home, that's fun. We just also brush our teeth a bit more now.
But now they're grown and I have a busted immune system and a younger kid who may have inherited that, and I'm wondering if the hypochondriac around me are right and I should be disinfecting doorknobs and bleaching countertops daily and what not.
What is household safe clean and what is put- down- the-lysol you have issues unnecessary?
Now I have 3 cats, 1 dog, and at any point 4-6 people living in a small flat with me. We cook all the time. Housework is mostly shared.
I live in a country of germaphobes and have learned to be relatively clean, but also protected my kids from being teased for being rough by deliberately being rough as well - fine, we sleep on floors and we can gut the fish at home, that's fun. We just also brush our teeth a bit more now.
But now they're grown and I have a busted immune system and a younger kid who may have inherited that, and I'm wondering if the hypochondriac around me are right and I should be disinfecting doorknobs and bleaching countertops daily and what not.
What is household safe clean and what is put- down- the-lysol you have issues unnecessary?
Now I have 3 cats, 1 dog, and at any point 4-6 people living in a small flat with me. We cook all the time. Housework is mostly shared.
Wipe the kitchen daily, clean the bathroom weekly, mop the bathroom and kitchen weekly, hoover weekly. Once a year do a Spring Clean where you take all the books off shelves, wipe shelves, light switches, cabinets, etc.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:58 AM on July 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by DarlingBri at 2:58 AM on July 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Crikey, I've never met anyone in my entire life who used bleach wipes regularly for cleaning... For the environment if nothing else, use a washable sponge. Soap and water are fine - most disinfectants are overrated and "antimicrobial" ones containing ingredients like triclosan are a disaster for the environment, for antibiotic resistance, and for people's personal health.
"Clean" and "Safe" shouldn't really be conflated overmuch. "Safe" involves spoiled foodstuffs, mould spores, and possibly contaminated dust/soil (asbestos, lead etc). Anything else is really just gravy, and unless you have major hoarding/cleanliness issues, you will crack and start tidying up long before "dirty" becomes "unsafe" - because it's gross.
posted by smoke at 3:42 AM on July 25, 2018 [17 favorites]
"Clean" and "Safe" shouldn't really be conflated overmuch. "Safe" involves spoiled foodstuffs, mould spores, and possibly contaminated dust/soil (asbestos, lead etc). Anything else is really just gravy, and unless you have major hoarding/cleanliness issues, you will crack and start tidying up long before "dirty" becomes "unsafe" - because it's gross.
posted by smoke at 3:42 AM on July 25, 2018 [17 favorites]
Response by poster: I know several people immediately who wipe down their counters with diluted bleach after cooking, use the sanitiser setting on their laundry machine, and basically hot-steam their floors daily, dust daily, use air purifiers, hand sanitise before and after meals and snacks and bathroom (as well as hand washing), and are very very insistent on constant cleanliness. They're considered to be on the cleaner side, but in a oh that's to be aimed for way, possibly a bit over the top.
I once let slip that I don't wash my jeans for weeks until I spill something on them, and the person (not a known neat-freak) visibly shuddered.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 3:48 AM on July 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
I once let slip that I don't wash my jeans for weeks until I spill something on them, and the person (not a known neat-freak) visibly shuddered.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 3:48 AM on July 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Hello! I'm like you, and let me tell you - people might shudder or be weird about the not washing your jeans every five seconds thing, or the no need to bleach every drop of something off the kitchen counters thing, but you and me are saving water, saving those crappy wipes from getting flushed or landfilled, and saving electricity with all those washing machine loads, steamers and air purifiers. So we have a little high ground here, lets sit comfortably on it.
Also, " I have a busted immune system and a younger kid who may have inherited that" - for every article about the germs on your doorknobs, there's another suggesting that our extreme disinfectant obsession is weakening our immune systems. So please don't blame this on yourself - if science can't even agree then how are we supposed to figure it out!
posted by greenish at 4:04 AM on July 25, 2018 [39 favorites]
Also, " I have a busted immune system and a younger kid who may have inherited that" - for every article about the germs on your doorknobs, there's another suggesting that our extreme disinfectant obsession is weakening our immune systems. So please don't blame this on yourself - if science can't even agree then how are we supposed to figure it out!
posted by greenish at 4:04 AM on July 25, 2018 [39 favorites]
Your standards are normal and healthy to me.
I might use bleach in the bathroom after a family stomach flu event, but other than that just soap and water with vinegar or Windex for shininess.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 4:05 AM on July 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
I might use bleach in the bathroom after a family stomach flu event, but other than that just soap and water with vinegar or Windex for shininess.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 4:05 AM on July 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
I use cream and liquid bleach when cleaning the bathroom - cream bleach to scrub out tub and grout (mostly because I CANNOT STAND mouldy grout and live in a damp London apartment), liquid bleach on the toilet. I also use antibacterial wipes to clean off the cat litter scoop every time we scoop a poop, and toss the wipe in the bin afterwards. I also soak our kitchen sink in hot water and bleach roughly weekly, just because I get skeeved out by a gross sink. I use dilute oxygen bleach (AKA napisan) to mop the bathroom floors, mostly because that's what works best on your tiles.
This is all personal preference. I'm not sure what you're asking - whether you should use bleach or not. IMHO, it works in the bathroom and is a useful cleaning tool. I'm on the germphobic side, though - I actually have colour coded cutting boards to prevent cross contamination.
posted by nerdfish at 4:06 AM on July 25, 2018
This is all personal preference. I'm not sure what you're asking - whether you should use bleach or not. IMHO, it works in the bathroom and is a useful cleaning tool. I'm on the germphobic side, though - I actually have colour coded cutting boards to prevent cross contamination.
posted by nerdfish at 4:06 AM on July 25, 2018
I'm gonna say your cohort is outside the bell curve...
Hand sanitiser after washing is def overkill. They're meant for when you can't wash your hands and they don't get them clean from dirt anyway. Thus, sanitising after meals and snacks makes no sense. You've already eaten any germs and the sanitiser is not gonna get the cheeto powder off the hands.
Steaming the floor daily also seems extreme unless they are trekking in mud everyday, in which case I'd suggest just taking shoes off in the house? We've stopped wearing shoes in the house for a few months now, I recommend it!
I don't remember when I last washed my jeans. Some premium jeans are not meant to be washed at all.
Just seeing that you have 3 cats. Clean out those litter boxes regularly if you are not doing that already. And what I mean by cleaning out is to completely empty them of litter. Use hot water and soap (I actually use dishwashing liquid) and scrub with a sponge saved only for this purpose. Wear gloves. Dry completely before filling with new litter. I do this every 2 months or less with 1 cat. If your immune system is compromised, do not do this yourself, ask another household member to take this up as their responsibility.
posted by like_neon at 4:11 AM on July 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
Hand sanitiser after washing is def overkill. They're meant for when you can't wash your hands and they don't get them clean from dirt anyway. Thus, sanitising after meals and snacks makes no sense. You've already eaten any germs and the sanitiser is not gonna get the cheeto powder off the hands.
Steaming the floor daily also seems extreme unless they are trekking in mud everyday, in which case I'd suggest just taking shoes off in the house? We've stopped wearing shoes in the house for a few months now, I recommend it!
I don't remember when I last washed my jeans. Some premium jeans are not meant to be washed at all.
Just seeing that you have 3 cats. Clean out those litter boxes regularly if you are not doing that already. And what I mean by cleaning out is to completely empty them of litter. Use hot water and soap (I actually use dishwashing liquid) and scrub with a sponge saved only for this purpose. Wear gloves. Dry completely before filling with new litter. I do this every 2 months or less with 1 cat. If your immune system is compromised, do not do this yourself, ask another household member to take this up as their responsibility.
posted by like_neon at 4:11 AM on July 25, 2018 [8 favorites]
I use bleach-level products to get rid of mould and deal with body fluid issues (humans or pets) but apart from that, soap and hot water, pretty much. I rarely get colds or other transmittable illnesses, haven't had food poisoning in years. I bathe daily (or nearly) and I tend to wash jeans every or second use but mostly because I live in sub-tropics and/or I'm a messy eater.
posted by b33j at 4:15 AM on July 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by b33j at 4:15 AM on July 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
I use vinegar to clean most everything, and wash my hands on the reg. That's pretty much it.
My husband is filthier than I and rarely washes his hands before eating. He's also never had a cold in the years I've known him. Like, never. Correlation does not equal causation, however.
posted by stray at 4:26 AM on July 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
My husband is filthier than I and rarely washes his hands before eating. He's also never had a cold in the years I've known him. Like, never. Correlation does not equal causation, however.
posted by stray at 4:26 AM on July 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
I think about this a lot because I grew up with a total germophobe parent (like used rubbing alcohol on a bathroom faucet to the point where it ate through the metal ...) At this point I rarely use wipes (though I do have some around for easy cleaning from ages ago) - I have a vegetable spray soap that I use in the kitchen. I think it's Meliora brand? I got it from MightyNest. I wash my hands regularly and have plastic cutting boards for raw meat and separate ones for veggies. We have a dishwasher but I only use the sanitize setting occasionally because we have a baby and every few rounds I run the bottles through on high heat. Otherwise it's always standard clean. Basically I think things like bleach have their place but I would never use it on a daily basis.
The habits you describe sound waaaaay overkill unless they have some sort of major immune issue. Also dust is not a sanitation thing at all. I consider myself a messy but not dirty person and I have no problem wearing jeans multiple times as long as they're not stained or smelly.
posted by brilliantine at 5:38 AM on July 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
The habits you describe sound waaaaay overkill unless they have some sort of major immune issue. Also dust is not a sanitation thing at all. I consider myself a messy but not dirty person and I have no problem wearing jeans multiple times as long as they're not stained or smelly.
posted by brilliantine at 5:38 AM on July 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
I clean with very diluted dr. bronner's sal suds that I keep in a spray bottle, and sometimes baking soda and vinegar (also in spray bottle, diluted) on grimy surfaces, agreed that hot water and a good scrub is the best. When I moved in with my boyfriend I was aghast at all of his bleach and chemical cleaners, we used them up and switched to my way of cleaning (which includes proper scrubbies so you don't need heavy duty chemicals to do the work) and he admits it was a waste of money to be buying all of those single use cleaners like floor cleaner and window cleaner etc.
We have one cat, one dog, and the three of us humans (7 year old kiddo) are rarely sick, pets are healthy as well thankfully. We have high standards for leftovers though, meat leftovers tend to go to the dog after a day or two, I try to buy foods fresh and eat them within a few days if I don't freeze or store things like root veggies away. We shower daily or so but that's a personal preference thing, I don't think we'd be sick more often if we didn't.
I think living with many people can make germs spread more easily, and I find a huge impact on my sleep quality and stress levels and how often I get sick. I was sick a lot as a kid though, living with 5 siblings and a bunch of cats and dogs, and I think that's part of why I have a good immune system now if it's any consolation.
posted by lafemma at 6:36 AM on July 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
We have one cat, one dog, and the three of us humans (7 year old kiddo) are rarely sick, pets are healthy as well thankfully. We have high standards for leftovers though, meat leftovers tend to go to the dog after a day or two, I try to buy foods fresh and eat them within a few days if I don't freeze or store things like root veggies away. We shower daily or so but that's a personal preference thing, I don't think we'd be sick more often if we didn't.
I think living with many people can make germs spread more easily, and I find a huge impact on my sleep quality and stress levels and how often I get sick. I was sick a lot as a kid though, living with 5 siblings and a bunch of cats and dogs, and I think that's part of why I have a good immune system now if it's any consolation.
posted by lafemma at 6:36 AM on July 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
I only use the bleach wipes when the kids miss the toilet or if they throw up on a wipe friendly surface. I'll use the wipes to clean the faucets and toilet seats/flush if anyone in the family has a stomach bug, but even then regular handwashing seems to take care of the problem just fine.
My husband is a clean freak and he abuses the windex, but it's his thing and I can't stop him. I don't think it makes much a difference in the level of cleanliness and I hate the smell but it's not the hill I'm willing to die on.
The one thing that makes the biggest difference BY FAR is just not wearing shoes in the house. You can't track in excess dirt/germs if your shoes stay outside. And that means everyone, even guests (they'll live, I promise).
posted by lydhre at 6:38 AM on July 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
My husband is a clean freak and he abuses the windex, but it's his thing and I can't stop him. I don't think it makes much a difference in the level of cleanliness and I hate the smell but it's not the hill I'm willing to die on.
The one thing that makes the biggest difference BY FAR is just not wearing shoes in the house. You can't track in excess dirt/germs if your shoes stay outside. And that means everyone, even guests (they'll live, I promise).
posted by lydhre at 6:38 AM on July 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
bleach wipes are for travel and when someone has a seriously communicable disease (don't ask me about norovirus).
we rely on a vinegar spray bottle and a sponge or cloth that can be washed.
posted by noloveforned at 6:49 AM on July 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
we rely on a vinegar spray bottle and a sponge or cloth that can be washed.
posted by noloveforned at 6:49 AM on July 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
I use bleach wipes after cooking chicken or other foods that have know are disease risks when raw. Otherwise, I think that soap and water (or a vinegar mix) are sufficient. I've never known anyone who cleans as much as you describe and I've known some tidy people.
If you have an actual medical condition resulting in a compromised immune system, you should talk to your doctor about what kinds of cleaning routines are important for your protection. What works for everyone else might not work for you.
I will say that people who wear the same clothes for weeks (including jeans) or who don't bathe frequently often don't notice the smell because they've become accustomed to it. There might not be a disease risk there can be social effects.
There is definitely a disease risk in eating spoiled food regardless of boiling.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 7:02 AM on July 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
If you have an actual medical condition resulting in a compromised immune system, you should talk to your doctor about what kinds of cleaning routines are important for your protection. What works for everyone else might not work for you.
I will say that people who wear the same clothes for weeks (including jeans) or who don't bathe frequently often don't notice the smell because they've become accustomed to it. There might not be a disease risk there can be social effects.
There is definitely a disease risk in eating spoiled food regardless of boiling.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 7:02 AM on July 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
Folks. They're not bleach wipes. There's no bleach in them. Read the label. Rub them on your clothes and watch your clothes not get bleached if you don't believe me. The product is essentially 409 on a premoistened towelette.
Your hygiene standards are fine. I use clorox wipes on stuff because I'm lazy and it's a one-and-done situation. If I were less lazy, I'd probably only use them in areas that poop or the idea of poop could conceivably touch, so toilet or bathroom surfaces, or on places where raw meat splatters could hit.
posted by phunniemee at 7:59 AM on July 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
Your hygiene standards are fine. I use clorox wipes on stuff because I'm lazy and it's a one-and-done situation. If I were less lazy, I'd probably only use them in areas that poop or the idea of poop could conceivably touch, so toilet or bathroom surfaces, or on places where raw meat splatters could hit.
posted by phunniemee at 7:59 AM on July 25, 2018 [11 favorites]
There's at least some evidence that wipes are not effective anyway.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 8:44 AM on July 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 8:44 AM on July 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Each of the practices you describe people in your country doing might make sense for specific risks or health issues (with the exception of hand sanitizer after washing hands, that's not sensible in any situation and suggests the person doesn't understand how that product works). For instance, using the "sanitize" setting on your washer to wash your sheets/towels may make sense if you have allergies because it will kill the dust mites that often aggravate symptoms (although it will wear out your linens quicker). Wiping down counters after cooking with dilute bleach would make sense to me if you're handling raw meat (esp. chicken) on the counters and you know some liquid splashed around, because that will prevent cross-contamination. I think skipping any or all of them is fine, though, if you don't have any particular issue or cooking habits that would necessitate them.
I agree that talking with your doctor to get a handle on what sorts of concerns your compromised immune system presents, and what types of "extra" precautions you should take, makes sense. If it's the sort of condition where food poisoning is easier to get and more severe when it occurs, perhaps thinking about more thorough cleaning of the kitchen after each meal prep makes sense, and getting ruthless about throwing out spoiled or marginal foods. Alternatively, if food poisoning is not really an issue but you are likely to catch communicable diseases from other people more easily due to your condition, you may want to think about making sure everyone washes their hands right when they come in to the house, and getting something like a touchless soup dispenser right next to the sink.
Dusting is for the birds, though.
posted by iminurmefi at 8:49 AM on July 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
I agree that talking with your doctor to get a handle on what sorts of concerns your compromised immune system presents, and what types of "extra" precautions you should take, makes sense. If it's the sort of condition where food poisoning is easier to get and more severe when it occurs, perhaps thinking about more thorough cleaning of the kitchen after each meal prep makes sense, and getting ruthless about throwing out spoiled or marginal foods. Alternatively, if food poisoning is not really an issue but you are likely to catch communicable diseases from other people more easily due to your condition, you may want to think about making sure everyone washes their hands right when they come in to the house, and getting something like a touchless soup dispenser right next to the sink.
Dusting is for the birds, though.
posted by iminurmefi at 8:49 AM on July 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
I use bathroom-counter-wipes (which may or may not contain chlorine bleach) once a week or so, and do a real clean with rags and cleaning products more like once a month; the daily cleanup is just sluicing the dust and soap scum off the sink/counter with my wet left hand while I'm brushing my teeth with my right hand. I am clearly not the person to be answering your question, all I can do is provide a data point in the unsanitized end of the bell curve.
posted by aimedwander at 8:53 AM on July 25, 2018
posted by aimedwander at 8:53 AM on July 25, 2018
My cleaning methodology is basically aimedwander's -- I'll clean up with soap or Comet and water when things look grody, but I do my laundry on a cool wash to save energy. I don't use bleach wipes or anything, and, I mean, I have been known to share ice cream with the cat (he just wants a tiny lick!).
I don't have an immune issues, but I also don't get sick -- interestingly, the only winter I did have pretty much a constant cold was when I was a barista, and for that I blame handling money all day. Correlation isn't causation, as everyone is saying, but I don't think you're dooming your household if you don't steam-clean your floors every day. I think there's a happy medium for you to find, that's probably closer to mean than I am, but please don't feel you have to bleach everything around you thrice to ward off germs.
(Something something rituals of protection?)
posted by kalimac at 9:19 AM on July 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
I don't have an immune issues, but I also don't get sick -- interestingly, the only winter I did have pretty much a constant cold was when I was a barista, and for that I blame handling money all day. Correlation isn't causation, as everyone is saying, but I don't think you're dooming your household if you don't steam-clean your floors every day. I think there's a happy medium for you to find, that's probably closer to mean than I am, but please don't feel you have to bleach everything around you thrice to ward off germs.
(Something something rituals of protection?)
posted by kalimac at 9:19 AM on July 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
I use vinegar or hydrogen peroxide on counters or anything I want to disinfect. I use bleach maybe once a month, but never often. I wipe everything down and vacuum daily. Everything looks and smells clean. Once a week, dust. Once a month I'll do something extra like baseboards or cabinet fronts or door frames.
Everything looks and smells clean.
Mrs Meyers all purpose cleaner diluted as per directions for floors. See if you can find the geranium scent!
posted by jbenben at 9:31 AM on July 25, 2018
Everything looks and smells clean.
Mrs Meyers all purpose cleaner diluted as per directions for floors. See if you can find the geranium scent!
posted by jbenben at 9:31 AM on July 25, 2018
Best answer: We disinfect our counters with antibacterial spray if they come in contact with raw meat, like if we handle a particularly juicy chicken, but otherwise no, we don't use anything beyond hot water and soap or regular household cleaners.
My understanding is that if you have a compromised immune system, the most important two habits you can develop are (1) wash your hands with soap and hot water on a regular basis (before you cook and eat and after you use the bathroom); and (2) don't touch your face, nose, eyes, or mouth without washing your hands immediately beforehand.
posted by muddgirl at 10:01 AM on July 25, 2018
My understanding is that if you have a compromised immune system, the most important two habits you can develop are (1) wash your hands with soap and hot water on a regular basis (before you cook and eat and after you use the bathroom); and (2) don't touch your face, nose, eyes, or mouth without washing your hands immediately beforehand.
posted by muddgirl at 10:01 AM on July 25, 2018
As others have said, the wipes aren't actually good for sanitization the way most people use them. It's cleaning theatre that may actually make the situation worse by spreading bacteria around to where it wasn't.
If you genuinely need to sterilize things, dilute bleach is your friend. But mostly through use of soap is sufficient.
posted by Candleman at 10:03 AM on July 25, 2018
If you genuinely need to sterilize things, dilute bleach is your friend. But mostly through use of soap is sufficient.
posted by Candleman at 10:03 AM on July 25, 2018
Those two habits are good for everyone! I should not have specified immune-compromised, I am not a doctor and a doctor should be consulted about staying healthy with a compromised immune system.
posted by muddgirl at 10:18 AM on July 25, 2018
posted by muddgirl at 10:18 AM on July 25, 2018
I know way too many people who go overkill on cleaning products. Mostly because they pay attention to advertising. Advertisers want you to buy disposable products because they are hella profitable. Many cleaning products have strong chemicals that aggravate health problems.
I use cleanser with bleach to clean the toilet, and a small amount to clean the sink and faucet. I have recently started using the bubbly product in the shower because the tiles get grotty A+.
When the microwave looks like it needs cleaning, I put the sponges in it, nuke 3 minutes. Microwave is easier to wipe down, sponges are cleaner. There's a lot of stuff about sponges being gross, so when I use them, I rinse them in a lot of clean water.
I wipe down the kitchen counters and stove top often. I should clean the sink with cleanser more often; it would look nicer.
I sweep the kitchen often. I use Pine-sol to wash floors because I like the smell and pine oil is a mild antibacterial.
I use hand sanitizer at work because the bathroom is inaccessible after hours, and I don't always want to go too the one farther away to wash my hands.
I seldom use paper towels; I use dish towels and wash them often, same with cloth napkins, which are so much nicer to use. They go in regular laundry, take seconds to fold.
Food crud on counters or the floor encourages flies, roaches, mice, ants. Wiping gets it clean enough. Thorough wiping, water's fine.
In a food production environment - restaurant, commercial kitchen - bacteria will have the chance to propagate and potentially harm many people. The food has to be okay for the general population as well as people with compromised health.
Wiped clean, *dry* surfaces do not breed germs.
I do not ever eat off the counter, it doesn't have to be sterile.
Food in the microwave is on a plate, , it doesn't have to be sterile.
My butt is free of open wounds, the toilet seat should be clean, but doesn't have to be sterile.
Laundry gets clean in regular wash. There is no need for your clothing to be sterilized. (exceptions: baby diapers because poop, certain illnesses like mono)
Most of the products that give your house an aroma are toxic. Those plug-in things and wax warmers cause asthma; they sure aggravate mine. Burning candles pollutes indoor air (I still do cause it's pretty).
Bleach is made of chlorine. It's toxic to you, toxic downstream; you should use it only where needed. I still use some in laundry and cleaning.
Wipes are stupidly wasteful and do not ever flush them. Buy a stack of cheap washcloths - they'll be really thin, easy to use and toss in the wash.
Anti-bacterial soap is not more effective than plain soap, and it's bad for the environment.
That soap in the soap dish? It gets gross and slimy but does not support germs. Liquid soap is not cleaner.
Wood cutting boards have fewer germs than plastic.
Sunshine and fresh air are mildly antibacterial. That's not just my inner hippie. My towels are on the line right now.
Wash your hands with plain soap, often. Follow food safety guidelines. I have RA, an auto-immune disorder, and when I got severe food poisoning from undercooked beef I was really sick for days, and it took a month for my body to settle down.
wall-o-text, I needed to rant, huh.
posted by theora55 at 10:47 AM on July 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
I use cleanser with bleach to clean the toilet, and a small amount to clean the sink and faucet. I have recently started using the bubbly product in the shower because the tiles get grotty A+.
When the microwave looks like it needs cleaning, I put the sponges in it, nuke 3 minutes. Microwave is easier to wipe down, sponges are cleaner. There's a lot of stuff about sponges being gross, so when I use them, I rinse them in a lot of clean water.
I wipe down the kitchen counters and stove top often. I should clean the sink with cleanser more often; it would look nicer.
I sweep the kitchen often. I use Pine-sol to wash floors because I like the smell and pine oil is a mild antibacterial.
I use hand sanitizer at work because the bathroom is inaccessible after hours, and I don't always want to go too the one farther away to wash my hands.
I seldom use paper towels; I use dish towels and wash them often, same with cloth napkins, which are so much nicer to use. They go in regular laundry, take seconds to fold.
Food crud on counters or the floor encourages flies, roaches, mice, ants. Wiping gets it clean enough. Thorough wiping, water's fine.
In a food production environment - restaurant, commercial kitchen - bacteria will have the chance to propagate and potentially harm many people. The food has to be okay for the general population as well as people with compromised health.
Wiped clean, *dry* surfaces do not breed germs.
I do not ever eat off the counter, it doesn't have to be sterile.
Food in the microwave is on a plate, , it doesn't have to be sterile.
My butt is free of open wounds, the toilet seat should be clean, but doesn't have to be sterile.
Laundry gets clean in regular wash. There is no need for your clothing to be sterilized. (exceptions: baby diapers because poop, certain illnesses like mono)
Most of the products that give your house an aroma are toxic. Those plug-in things and wax warmers cause asthma; they sure aggravate mine. Burning candles pollutes indoor air (I still do cause it's pretty).
Bleach is made of chlorine. It's toxic to you, toxic downstream; you should use it only where needed. I still use some in laundry and cleaning.
Wipes are stupidly wasteful and do not ever flush them. Buy a stack of cheap washcloths - they'll be really thin, easy to use and toss in the wash.
Anti-bacterial soap is not more effective than plain soap, and it's bad for the environment.
That soap in the soap dish? It gets gross and slimy but does not support germs. Liquid soap is not cleaner.
Wood cutting boards have fewer germs than plastic.
Sunshine and fresh air are mildly antibacterial. That's not just my inner hippie. My towels are on the line right now.
Wash your hands with plain soap, often. Follow food safety guidelines. I have RA, an auto-immune disorder, and when I got severe food poisoning from undercooked beef I was really sick for days, and it took a month for my body to settle down.
wall-o-text, I needed to rant, huh.
posted by theora55 at 10:47 AM on July 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
My ride-or-die household product is Bon Ami, aka feldspar. I do all of my kitchen and bathroom deep cleaning with it.
posted by capricorn at 10:53 AM on July 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by capricorn at 10:53 AM on July 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
I have a compromised immune system and the only thing I can reasonably do for it on my own is keep my environment clean.
I don't own bleach wipes, because that's ridiculous. I use soap and water or vinegar and water like a normal person, I keep the cat box clean, and I don't panic too hard.
posted by bile and syntax at 11:06 AM on July 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
I don't own bleach wipes, because that's ridiculous. I use soap and water or vinegar and water like a normal person, I keep the cat box clean, and I don't panic too hard.
posted by bile and syntax at 11:06 AM on July 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
My husband is a germaphobe but we do not use bleach wipes or really any sort of disposable wipe. So wasteful. We have a huge drawer full of cheap clean flour sack rags that we use for cleaning with a spray cleaner (Mrs Meyers concentrate, diluted with water into a refillable bottle). This is fine for us.
I have a house cleaner who wipes everything down with vinegar. Maybe occasionally he bleaches the shower stalls.
For the most part, the main use of bleach in my house is in the laundry - for keeping white laundry white and for removing musty smells from towels that have sat around too long.
posted by joan_holloway at 11:07 AM on July 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
I have a house cleaner who wipes everything down with vinegar. Maybe occasionally he bleaches the shower stalls.
For the most part, the main use of bleach in my house is in the laundry - for keeping white laundry white and for removing musty smells from towels that have sat around too long.
posted by joan_holloway at 11:07 AM on July 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Mildly germophobic person with enough background in biology to maintain sterile cultures, who is lazy, here:
-I use a 10% bleach solution and wipe all the doorhandles, light switches, etc if someone in the house has come down with an especially gross/debilitating illness (stomach flu, major upper respiratory illness, hand foot and mouth), or if we get a note from kid's school that such a thing is going around. That translates to a couple times per year for in-family stuff, and once a week max during flu season (maybe more like once a month). If anyone's poop ends up outside the toilet/litter box, I wipe that down with bleach spray too. When I had a kid in diapers, I wiped down anything that touched poop with soap and water. When people are sick I try to get as much sun/air into the house as possible too, but that's difficult in the winter here. If I'm surface cleaning, though, it's mostly soap and water, sometimes vinegar and/or baking soda. Aside from that, I'll use bleach on moldy stuff, and that's about it. Oh, and we have a white porcelain sink that I spray with bleach when it gets stained, purely aesthetic.
-We launder clothes when they're soiled (so underpants daily, kid clothes pretty much daily, accidental cat beds when we notice), when they smell (undershirts and socks ~daily; trousers more often than weekly, pajamas every few days), or at least once per season (sweaters, so they don't attract moths, winter gear, blankets). We mostly wash everything but towels and sickbed clothes/sheets in cool water, because the towels get funky otherwise.
-We wash our hands with soap before eating or preparing food, and after we use the bathroom. We use hand sanitizer if we are not within handy reach of soap and water when we'd normally wash hands. I usually bring some if we're traveling and might want to snack on a plane/train/place with minimal facilities, while camping, having a picnic at an outdoor concert, that kind of thing. Once in a great while we'll use it on top of soap and water in other extra-gross situations (I'm thinking of a recent occasion where we needed to handle a dead pet fish to bury it) but that's mostly peace of mind/security theater.
-We are pretty careful with cross-contamination of food; we are a mostly-vegetarian household but when we do cook meat, it gets a separate cutting board and we wash our hands after handling it, along with the counter around it. Same goes for raw eggs. If I wipe up egg/meat juices with a towel, it gets put in the laundry right away, and the cutting board and knife get washed with soap and hot water right away. We microwave or boil or soak in bleach or throw out our sponges once every week or so (they actually get tossed probably once every two months). We check that everything's been cooked to recommended temps. I try to wipe down the counters every night after dinner, and do so most nights-- just water or soap and water, mostly to keep pests away.
-We don't typically have bleach wipes in the house, although we do right now because we got some for free. They don't seem either wet or absorbent enough to be of much use.
-We try to have a once a week all-family cleaning fest where we do some combo of the following for an hour: dust, vacuum, sweep/mop, clean windows, sort paperwork, wash out the cat's litter box, wipe down the bathroom surfaces (soap and water or vinegar, Bon Ami for hard water spots) wipe out the fridge, deal with semi-hidden crud like the burned junk in the toaster.
posted by tchemgrrl at 11:18 AM on July 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
-I use a 10% bleach solution and wipe all the doorhandles, light switches, etc if someone in the house has come down with an especially gross/debilitating illness (stomach flu, major upper respiratory illness, hand foot and mouth), or if we get a note from kid's school that such a thing is going around. That translates to a couple times per year for in-family stuff, and once a week max during flu season (maybe more like once a month). If anyone's poop ends up outside the toilet/litter box, I wipe that down with bleach spray too. When I had a kid in diapers, I wiped down anything that touched poop with soap and water. When people are sick I try to get as much sun/air into the house as possible too, but that's difficult in the winter here. If I'm surface cleaning, though, it's mostly soap and water, sometimes vinegar and/or baking soda. Aside from that, I'll use bleach on moldy stuff, and that's about it. Oh, and we have a white porcelain sink that I spray with bleach when it gets stained, purely aesthetic.
-We launder clothes when they're soiled (so underpants daily, kid clothes pretty much daily, accidental cat beds when we notice), when they smell (undershirts and socks ~daily; trousers more often than weekly, pajamas every few days), or at least once per season (sweaters, so they don't attract moths, winter gear, blankets). We mostly wash everything but towels and sickbed clothes/sheets in cool water, because the towels get funky otherwise.
-We wash our hands with soap before eating or preparing food, and after we use the bathroom. We use hand sanitizer if we are not within handy reach of soap and water when we'd normally wash hands. I usually bring some if we're traveling and might want to snack on a plane/train/place with minimal facilities, while camping, having a picnic at an outdoor concert, that kind of thing. Once in a great while we'll use it on top of soap and water in other extra-gross situations (I'm thinking of a recent occasion where we needed to handle a dead pet fish to bury it) but that's mostly peace of mind/security theater.
-We are pretty careful with cross-contamination of food; we are a mostly-vegetarian household but when we do cook meat, it gets a separate cutting board and we wash our hands after handling it, along with the counter around it. Same goes for raw eggs. If I wipe up egg/meat juices with a towel, it gets put in the laundry right away, and the cutting board and knife get washed with soap and hot water right away. We microwave or boil or soak in bleach or throw out our sponges once every week or so (they actually get tossed probably once every two months). We check that everything's been cooked to recommended temps. I try to wipe down the counters every night after dinner, and do so most nights-- just water or soap and water, mostly to keep pests away.
-We don't typically have bleach wipes in the house, although we do right now because we got some for free. They don't seem either wet or absorbent enough to be of much use.
-We try to have a once a week all-family cleaning fest where we do some combo of the following for an hour: dust, vacuum, sweep/mop, clean windows, sort paperwork, wash out the cat's litter box, wipe down the bathroom surfaces (soap and water or vinegar, Bon Ami for hard water spots) wipe out the fridge, deal with semi-hidden crud like the burned junk in the toaster.
posted by tchemgrrl at 11:18 AM on July 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Wipe down your phone pretty often.
tchemgrrl has it on door handles and stuff.
Wipe the steering wheel once in a while.
Wipe the keyboard and mouse.
Don't listen to advertisers.
posted by theora55 at 11:57 AM on July 25, 2018
tchemgrrl has it on door handles and stuff.
Wipe the steering wheel once in a while.
Wipe the keyboard and mouse.
Don't listen to advertisers.
posted by theora55 at 11:57 AM on July 25, 2018
I'm probably not who you're asking because only-washing-clothes-when-they-smell is something I've done ever since I didn't have an in-house washing machine.
However, I've noticed that people's sense of smell lessens as they get older and by the time they're in their late 50s, early 60s it's often to a point where that smell check is no longer reliable. I'm not that old yet but because I've seen it so often I've gotten into the habit of washing my jeans after 3 wearings whether they look dirty or not.
posted by small_ruminant at 12:23 PM on July 25, 2018
However, I've noticed that people's sense of smell lessens as they get older and by the time they're in their late 50s, early 60s it's often to a point where that smell check is no longer reliable. I'm not that old yet but because I've seen it so often I've gotten into the habit of washing my jeans after 3 wearings whether they look dirty or not.
posted by small_ruminant at 12:23 PM on July 25, 2018
Hot water and soap on most surfaces (except wood, we use wood polish/cleaner), plus the occasional round of vinegar for descaling or diluted bleach for raw meat spills or mold.
Beyond that, we clean the cat box a few times a week, vacuum and mop the tile weekly (just the basic cleaner, nothing fancy), clean the bathroom monthly, and wash the sheets biweekly.
It's two of us and a cat.
posted by RhysPenbras at 12:33 PM on July 25, 2018
Beyond that, we clean the cat box a few times a week, vacuum and mop the tile weekly (just the basic cleaner, nothing fancy), clean the bathroom monthly, and wash the sheets biweekly.
It's two of us and a cat.
posted by RhysPenbras at 12:33 PM on July 25, 2018
My husband and I are sort of the opposite of clean freaks... our house gets pretty dirty before either one of us is moved to clean. (I am better than he is.... when we were dating, the first time I came to visit him he said he needed to clean his bathroom before I came up because it had been awhile. "How long?" I asked. "Never," he said. He had lived there for a year. It would still be never if I didn't make him do it once in a while.)
Anyway...
I rarely use bleach or bleach wipes because I every time I am in the vicinity of bleach I manage to get it on my clothes. I do often use an all-purpose spray cleaner on my counters before cooking, but that is mainly because it is more convenient than making a sink full of soapy water. I'd feel perfectly fine wiping things down with a hot soapy rag.
I don't think I have EVER cleaned a doorknob and we've lived in our place for nearly 20 years. We don't get sick any more often than anyone else I know. I probably get sick less often, actually, in terms of colds and viruses. I've gone years without catching anything. The past few years I've maybe gotten one cold per year, whereas a few of my coworkers seem to be sick a few times every year.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 1:27 PM on July 25, 2018
Anyway...
I rarely use bleach or bleach wipes because I every time I am in the vicinity of bleach I manage to get it on my clothes. I do often use an all-purpose spray cleaner on my counters before cooking, but that is mainly because it is more convenient than making a sink full of soapy water. I'd feel perfectly fine wiping things down with a hot soapy rag.
I don't think I have EVER cleaned a doorknob and we've lived in our place for nearly 20 years. We don't get sick any more often than anyone else I know. I probably get sick less often, actually, in terms of colds and viruses. I've gone years without catching anything. The past few years I've maybe gotten one cold per year, whereas a few of my coworkers seem to be sick a few times every year.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 1:27 PM on July 25, 2018
Best answer: (Something something rituals of protection?)
Just that. I know someone once who was bafflingly precise on certain (overblown, imo) "cleanliness" practices (some of which were grounded in reality, others which were not.) But would never do things I consider to be a necessity, like scrub down the shower walls. I came to the conclusion that the cleanliness served as superstition, not cleanliness.
posted by Armed Only With Hubris at 3:24 PM on July 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Just that. I know someone once who was bafflingly precise on certain (overblown, imo) "cleanliness" practices (some of which were grounded in reality, others which were not.) But would never do things I consider to be a necessity, like scrub down the shower walls. I came to the conclusion that the cleanliness served as superstition, not cleanliness.
posted by Armed Only With Hubris at 3:24 PM on July 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
"Not only can overuse of disinfectants breed superbugs, inappropriate use may not kill bacteria, exposing your family to harmful chemicals without the germ-destroying benefit"- EWG.
I don't think regularly using disinfectant wipes is a good idea, and overusing hand sanitizer is also a bad idea because it kills beneficial bacteria and contributes to antibiotic resistance. What seems important to me: washing your hands well, especially before eating, microwaving your sponge to kill germs, cleaning surfaces like cutting boards with vinegar or bleach, wearing disposable gloves if you have to touch something really dirty (maybe if you're cleaning cat litter), and not using a sponge to spread germs around a countertop. I remember seeing a study that people who cleaned the most often actually had more germs in their kitchens.
posted by pinochiette at 8:08 PM on July 25, 2018
I don't think regularly using disinfectant wipes is a good idea, and overusing hand sanitizer is also a bad idea because it kills beneficial bacteria and contributes to antibiotic resistance. What seems important to me: washing your hands well, especially before eating, microwaving your sponge to kill germs, cleaning surfaces like cutting boards with vinegar or bleach, wearing disposable gloves if you have to touch something really dirty (maybe if you're cleaning cat litter), and not using a sponge to spread germs around a countertop. I remember seeing a study that people who cleaned the most often actually had more germs in their kitchens.
posted by pinochiette at 8:08 PM on July 25, 2018
Best answer: Avoiding chemicals will do more to protect your health than using them, under most ordinary circumstances. If you contract ebola, yeah, some chemical products may be useful, but otherwise you want to get as clean as you can with ordinary substances with no added polysyllabics.
The first thing you want for cleaning is a solvent, something that will dislodge dirt and germs. The solvent with the least polysyllabic name is water. Use water. Various things can be added to the water like vinegar, or lemon juice, or elbow grease. None of these will poison you or damage your immune system. To increase the power of these things, use hot water, or even steam.
Take a look at the ingredients on your cleaning products. If it includes anything with the word paraban in the name don't buy it or use it. Parabans are carcinogenic. If it contains phthalates, don't buy it or use it. Phthalates are endocrine disruptors. If it contains triclosan don't buy it or use it, another endocrine disrupter. Also avoid sodium lauryl sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate as they form carcinogens when combined with many environmental products and are bad for the lungs even when they don't. Severely limit your use of chlorine anything or ammonia: they both are bad for the lungs. If you clean your bathroom with either of them and with the door closed you will probably exceed the amount that you are permitted under workplace safety standards. If you do use them make sure it is in a room with open windows or ventilation fans running and avoid using so much that you can smell it - if you can smell it you are breathing it and it is mildly damaging your lungs and increasing your chances of emphysema and asthma.
Basically, if there are a whole list of ingredients on your product it's a good idea to look for something simpler. Baking soda is good. So is table salt. if you need to scrub things. The salt is coarser, for more sturdy materials, the baking soda is finer, for polishing, or more delicate materials.
Apparently using hand sanitizer is no use if your hand is germy to begin with. However if you start by washing with soap and water using hand sanitizer can prevent the germs on your hand from increasing. So if you walk into the hospital with clean hands, a squirt of sanitizer on your way past the dispenser is not a bad thing. Or if you are in a bathroom with no paper towels and clearly messy, not recently mopped counters and taps, you are better off with hand sanitizer than skipping the hand washing all together, or handling the door handle and the taps and the counter.
Be aware that you can make your own wipes using the sort of paper towel which is quite sturdy and does not fall apart when wet. I used to make baby wipes this way. I'd cut the roll in half down the middle making two shorter rolls, crush it until I could take the cardboard out and then put it into a round dispenser. I then added some water with a little baby body wash in it. If you want to make something like this with a cleaning product you like to use and feel good with, such as your own body wash or a little dish detergent of the brand you trust and prefer, you can inform people coolly that you use "sanitizing wipes" and you will be telling the truth absolutely but you will not be using something that contains harmful chemicals. These go in the garbage after you are done, not get flushed.
I knew someone who did not consider the bathroom or kitchen clean unless when she inhaled she felt a chilly sensation in her lungs from the cleaning product. However, if there was dirt or mould visible she felt it was clean, since some cleaning product had apparently been sprayed or wiped over the dried food or blood or feces. This created problems as she was the one who got to choose the office cleaning supplies and two or three people at the company could not use the bathroom without using an inhaler, and a few others had coughing fits after or when they went in there.
There are also people who consider things to be unclean if they do not smell air freshener - which does not kill germs or clean anything - or do not consider them clean if someone else has used it. There are people who will lift the seat in a public washroom and then wind toilet paper around and around it, before they will sit down on the seat, having ensure that if there are any fecal coliforms they have already transferred them to their hands... And then there are other people who are convinced that other people who might use public bathrooms are dirty and therefore refuse to sit down on the seat but instead unstably semi-sit in midair and end up peeing on the seat and proving that they themselves are the kind of people they don't want to share a bathroom with.
My point here is that people are very irrational when it comes to cleaning - cleanliness is a magic ritual and hugely culturally derived. If you eat with a fork that has a bit of cooked egg in between the tines, you will not get sick, and you have done so dozens of times, but if you do happen to spot that bit of egg that got missed in cleaning, you will probably put the fork in the ready-to-wash pile because it is defined as not clean. Similarly if there is a bit of dark peel on the carrot you will take it off, despite the fact that the carrot is going in the soup and that bit of dark peel will not effect the flavour or poison you. But it is defined as "not food" or "nasty" so off it comes.
Rather than meeting other people's cultural standards, meet your own and give them the impression that you are meeting theirs without lying. There will always be a germiphobe who has stripped the skin off their hands from cleaning who will consider you filthy, or someone who thinks that two showers in a single day is no where near sufficient. Or they will consider bare feet filthy and any floor walked on in bare feet to be dangerously germy, or they will consider any floor walked on by shoes or socks or slippers to be dangerously germy. You are not going to live up to the most exacting excruciating standards because someone with obsessive compulsive disorder will move the bar higher, and two different people will have opposing standards.
posted by Jane the Brown at 8:08 PM on July 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
The first thing you want for cleaning is a solvent, something that will dislodge dirt and germs. The solvent with the least polysyllabic name is water. Use water. Various things can be added to the water like vinegar, or lemon juice, or elbow grease. None of these will poison you or damage your immune system. To increase the power of these things, use hot water, or even steam.
Take a look at the ingredients on your cleaning products. If it includes anything with the word paraban in the name don't buy it or use it. Parabans are carcinogenic. If it contains phthalates, don't buy it or use it. Phthalates are endocrine disruptors. If it contains triclosan don't buy it or use it, another endocrine disrupter. Also avoid sodium lauryl sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate as they form carcinogens when combined with many environmental products and are bad for the lungs even when they don't. Severely limit your use of chlorine anything or ammonia: they both are bad for the lungs. If you clean your bathroom with either of them and with the door closed you will probably exceed the amount that you are permitted under workplace safety standards. If you do use them make sure it is in a room with open windows or ventilation fans running and avoid using so much that you can smell it - if you can smell it you are breathing it and it is mildly damaging your lungs and increasing your chances of emphysema and asthma.
Basically, if there are a whole list of ingredients on your product it's a good idea to look for something simpler. Baking soda is good. So is table salt. if you need to scrub things. The salt is coarser, for more sturdy materials, the baking soda is finer, for polishing, or more delicate materials.
Apparently using hand sanitizer is no use if your hand is germy to begin with. However if you start by washing with soap and water using hand sanitizer can prevent the germs on your hand from increasing. So if you walk into the hospital with clean hands, a squirt of sanitizer on your way past the dispenser is not a bad thing. Or if you are in a bathroom with no paper towels and clearly messy, not recently mopped counters and taps, you are better off with hand sanitizer than skipping the hand washing all together, or handling the door handle and the taps and the counter.
Be aware that you can make your own wipes using the sort of paper towel which is quite sturdy and does not fall apart when wet. I used to make baby wipes this way. I'd cut the roll in half down the middle making two shorter rolls, crush it until I could take the cardboard out and then put it into a round dispenser. I then added some water with a little baby body wash in it. If you want to make something like this with a cleaning product you like to use and feel good with, such as your own body wash or a little dish detergent of the brand you trust and prefer, you can inform people coolly that you use "sanitizing wipes" and you will be telling the truth absolutely but you will not be using something that contains harmful chemicals. These go in the garbage after you are done, not get flushed.
I knew someone who did not consider the bathroom or kitchen clean unless when she inhaled she felt a chilly sensation in her lungs from the cleaning product. However, if there was dirt or mould visible she felt it was clean, since some cleaning product had apparently been sprayed or wiped over the dried food or blood or feces. This created problems as she was the one who got to choose the office cleaning supplies and two or three people at the company could not use the bathroom without using an inhaler, and a few others had coughing fits after or when they went in there.
There are also people who consider things to be unclean if they do not smell air freshener - which does not kill germs or clean anything - or do not consider them clean if someone else has used it. There are people who will lift the seat in a public washroom and then wind toilet paper around and around it, before they will sit down on the seat, having ensure that if there are any fecal coliforms they have already transferred them to their hands... And then there are other people who are convinced that other people who might use public bathrooms are dirty and therefore refuse to sit down on the seat but instead unstably semi-sit in midair and end up peeing on the seat and proving that they themselves are the kind of people they don't want to share a bathroom with.
My point here is that people are very irrational when it comes to cleaning - cleanliness is a magic ritual and hugely culturally derived. If you eat with a fork that has a bit of cooked egg in between the tines, you will not get sick, and you have done so dozens of times, but if you do happen to spot that bit of egg that got missed in cleaning, you will probably put the fork in the ready-to-wash pile because it is defined as not clean. Similarly if there is a bit of dark peel on the carrot you will take it off, despite the fact that the carrot is going in the soup and that bit of dark peel will not effect the flavour or poison you. But it is defined as "not food" or "nasty" so off it comes.
Rather than meeting other people's cultural standards, meet your own and give them the impression that you are meeting theirs without lying. There will always be a germiphobe who has stripped the skin off their hands from cleaning who will consider you filthy, or someone who thinks that two showers in a single day is no where near sufficient. Or they will consider bare feet filthy and any floor walked on in bare feet to be dangerously germy, or they will consider any floor walked on by shoes or socks or slippers to be dangerously germy. You are not going to live up to the most exacting excruciating standards because someone with obsessive compulsive disorder will move the bar higher, and two different people will have opposing standards.
posted by Jane the Brown at 8:08 PM on July 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
So much of cleaning is specific to a given household. My home contains a cancer patient undergoing Chemo (compromised immune system) a young adult who is allergic to almost anything and has asthma, 2 in high school, 2 in middle school.
I do use wipes, mostly because the younger ones clean the bathroom counters and railings and handles with them.
I use Vinegar for some cleaning, Bleach for others. All children do their own laundry. The male teen, maybe washes his clothes every two weeks(could be longer, he's dodgy) and I doubt he uses hot water. The young adult uses non dye, non perfume detergent and uses hot water because of dust mites and allergies.
I could go on but it's specific to us, to our household, our routines are designed to meet our needs. The house is clean enough for company but not overly clean and in general, I don't care what other people think..they don't live here.
posted by ReiFlinx at 3:52 AM on July 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
I do use wipes, mostly because the younger ones clean the bathroom counters and railings and handles with them.
I use Vinegar for some cleaning, Bleach for others. All children do their own laundry. The male teen, maybe washes his clothes every two weeks(could be longer, he's dodgy) and I doubt he uses hot water. The young adult uses non dye, non perfume detergent and uses hot water because of dust mites and allergies.
I could go on but it's specific to us, to our household, our routines are designed to meet our needs. The house is clean enough for company but not overly clean and in general, I don't care what other people think..they don't live here.
posted by ReiFlinx at 3:52 AM on July 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thank you for sharing how feeeelthy you all are, and reassuring me that I am cleaner than about 95% of you. A friend who is at a reasonably grimy local level as me went through the thread and we agreed that it is definitely a cultural ritual brought on by cheap domestic labor, patriarchy and social pressure tied to rapid modernisation linked to overt consumerism. And that Americans are really really weird about vinegar.
Seriously, thank you. You guys can come over anytime. But take your damn shoes off first!
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 1:37 AM on July 29, 2018 [3 favorites]
Seriously, thank you. You guys can come over anytime. But take your damn shoes off first!
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 1:37 AM on July 29, 2018 [3 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
We do wipe down kitchen countertops every evening after cooking. Sometimes I clean them before cooking, depending if they look dirty. But for this job you can just use a non-toxic cleaner and shammy cloth. Rinse it in some hot water and hang to dry to use again next time.
And wash your hands before and after cooking. I just bought an automatic soap dispenser (the kind where you just wave your hand under) and it's been brilliant! I hated how I'd have to touch the taps after handling something like chicken, so this solves that.
Don't bother with doorknobs. In high school biology class we had an experiment where people were sent with petri dishes around the school and touch various surfaces with it. My team thought we were being clever and we touched doorknobs with it. Disappointingly, we had one of the smallest bacterial growth. The team with the most disgusting petri dish? They just left it sitting in the boys' bathroom for like 20 minutes. I now always flush after putting the toilet lid down and I clean that room weekly (but still no wipes).
posted by like_neon at 2:39 AM on July 25, 2018 [4 favorites]