After washing your hands in public restroom do you touch door handle

[InRareForm]

I always use the towel to open the door. Never understood why people wash their hands then freeely touch the exit door handle to leave. Don't they know a good number of people don't wash their hands and they touch that same exact door.

#germaphobestories

[mouse]

I usually just lick my hands clean. There are bacteria fighting enzymes in your saliva.

[ChumpDumper]

Kerbey Lane has a metal handle-like outcrop on the door near the floor that fits the toe of one's shoe nicely.

So I open the door with my hand using that.

[resistanze]

Nope. Paper towels.

WTF is up with people who sprinkle water on their hands after pissing without soap? Don't even bother.

[Bender]

there was a thread like this a year or two ago, and timvp chimed in about the loss of manliness in the world today... everybody afraid of some germs.

I don't touch anything in a public restroom, except the door handle on the way out... and then I only use one finger to open it. Sorry timvp.

[boutons_deux]

I never "piss with soap"

[Stringer_Bell]

WTF is up with people who sprinkle water on their hands after pissing without soap? Don't even bother.

Easy brah, don't piss on your hands.

It's just a door handle, I open it as long as it ain't got shit on it. It's bad enough we breathe in lots of fecal matter throughout the day anyway, what is a door or two? There's germs everywhere.

[leemajors]

Easy brah, don't piss on your hands.

It's just a door handle, I open it as long as it ain't got shit on it. It's bad enough we breathe in lots of fecal matter throughout the day anyway, what is a door or two? There's germs everywhere.

this. you're covered in bacteria already.

[Big P]

Nope. Paper towels.

WTF is up with people who sprinkle water on their hands after pissing without soap? Don't even bother.

This.

[resistanze]

Easy brah, don't piss on your hands.

It's just a door handle, I open it as long as it ain't got shit on it. It's bad enough we breathe in lots of fecal matter throughout the day anyway, what is a door or two? There's germs everywhere.

:lol Y'all seen visible shit on door handles? That's terrible.

Seriously, there's no way to know from your naked eye if a door handle has traces of shit or not. And not all germs are created equally, you're more likely to pick up a virus that will give you say, the stomach flu as opposed to your desk. Which is why I always laugh when radio shows tell you that "there's more germ on your desk than on a public toilet seat!"

I'm not really a germophobe, but I've around hospitals and research laboratories long enough to know how easy it is to get sick from touching a handle then grabbing a snack. It's just standard procedure for me to make sure my hands are always clean. I have the same reservations about coughing/sneezing into your hands rather than your sleeve.

[Strike]

I don't bother washing my hands after I piss unless I get piss on my hands. But really, how often does one get piss on their hands without trying? I don't wash my hands 10 times a day, I don't use ass-gaskets (I'll wipe a seat down if I have to), I don't cringe at the sight of a door handle. And guess what? I don't get sick. The last time I was sick with anything other than a hangover was over 5 years ago.

On the other hand, most people I know who bathe in Purell, shower more than once a day and wash their hands anytime they touch anything seem to get sick all the time.

[ShoogarBear]

A better question is, who turns off the water in the (non-automatic) sink with their bare hands?

The two highest concentrations of bacteria in a restroom (outside of the toilet bowls) are on the sink handles and the door handle.

Dry your hands, then use the towel to turn off the water and open the door.

[Borosai]

A better question is, who turns off the water in the (non-automatic) sink with their bare hands?

The two highest concentrations of bacteria in a restroom (outside of the toilet bowls) are on the sink handles and the door handle.

Dry your hands, then use the towel to turn off the water and open the door.

That's what I do. I open the door, hold it open with my foot and toss the paper towel in the trash before walking out. I'm sorry, but I have no interest in walking out of a public bathroom with foreign cock-n-ass residue on my hands.

[The sone]

poo...

[timvpimp]

there was a thread like this a year or two ago, and timvp chimed in about the loss of manliness in the world today... everybody afraid of some germs.

I don't touch anything in a public restroom, except the door handle on the way out... and then I only use one finger to open it. Sorry timvp.
which finger do you usually use?

[SpursNextRomanEmpire]

I just a use the paper towel with which I dry the hands which I have just washed with water and soap after completing the business which I entered the bathroom to attend to.

[caribbean_spur]

A better question is, who turns off the water in the (non-automatic) sink with their bare hands?

The two highest concentrations of bacteria in a restroom (outside of the toilet bowls) are on the sink handles and the door handle.

Dry your hands, then use the towel to turn off the water and open the door.

Yep! Exactly what I do.

[Sisk]

use the paper towel for sure - and to turn off the water

[Stringer_Bell]

:lol Y'all seen visible shit on door handles? That's terrible.

Let's just say you don't take chances if I see ANY sort of off-color smudge on a door handle. It's rare, but has happened. :p:


Seriously, there's no way to know from your naked eye if a door handle has traces of shit or not. And not all germs are created equally, you're more likely to pick up a virus that will give you say, the stomach flu as opposed to your desk. Which is why I always laugh when radio shows tell you that "there's more germ on your desk than on a public toilet seat!"

I think I saw some TV special that said the water in your Dentist office chair wasn't as clean as the water in the Dentist office bathroom toiler. Just saying...


I'm not really a germophobe, but I've around hospitals and research laboratories long enough to know how easy it is to get sick from touching a handle then grabbing a snack. It's just standard procedure for me to make sure my hands are always clean. I have the same reservations about coughing/sneezing into your hands rather than your sleeve.

I understand your position, but I can't be asked to do all that scrub rinse scrub rinse dry towel open door despose of towel bullshit when I'm up in da club. :downspin:

[ShoogarBear]

I understand your position, but I can't be asked to do all that scrub rinse scrub rinse dry towel open door despose of towel bullshit when I'm up in da club. :downspin:

Hospital workers have the same problem, that's why you see these all over the place now:
http://www.oppictures.com/singleimages/400/GOJ212006_1_2.JPG

[Shaolin-Style]

I always use a paper towel to open the door.

If the bathroom I go to is too stupid not to put the trash can by the door in reach of where i can throw it into the garbage after doing so I'll just throw the paper towel I used to open it on the floor next to the door so they'll learn.

I've seen those dispensers around san antonio college, they're nice though some douchebags pull their hands away and let it drip onto the floor.

[Blake]

A better question is, who turns off the water in the (non-automatic) sink with their bare hands?

The two highest concentrations of bacteria in a restroom (outside of the toilet bowls) are on the sink handles and the door handle.

Dry your hands, then use the towel to turn off the water and open the door.

I try to do that all the time, but there are some that throw you off with the blow dryers.

[redzero]

I really wonder what makes people incapable of flushing the toilet and washing their hands.

[Shaolin-Style]

Haha I actually went to a restroom one day and it was horrible no one would ever flush the urinal so they finally printed out pieces of paper with bold font saying "PLEASE FLUSH, THANK YOU!" and put them on the wall above the urinals.

and the next day someone had ripped them down and it was foul as ever.

[mrsmaalox]

I'm pretty neurotic when it comes to public restrooms and avoid them as much as possible. If I find myself in an emergency and must use one, I try to touch as few things as possible, and I don't wash my hands cuz the sinks/faucets gross me out. I keep wet wipes in my purse and car so I just use those.

[montgod]

Just like many of you, I, and most of my co-workers, can't stand when guys can't wash their hands afterwards especially if we work with them. They get labeled quickly and most avoid them when it comes to any physical contact (i.e. shaking hands, sharing food, etc.).

It's not only the fact that you can drip a little on your hands accidentally (which shouldn't happen very often unless you are just a clutz), but the tiny backspray from the urinal should be enough to wash your hands afterward going to the restroom.

Besides that, if you want to get really technical, you should probably wash your hands before you go to the bathroom so you don't carry whatever is already on your hands to be carried around by your "boys".

In any event, I definitely use the towel to open up the door afterwards and to turn off the water to avoid any possible fecal matter exposure on the door and faucet. I may not be avoiding all the germs, it sure makes me feel better when I find myself accidentally touching my face during the day (i.e leaning on my hand, etc.).

Some other areas you should probably look into keeping clean if you are worried about this are: your keyboard and mouse if you work with computers, phone, door knobs, light switches, etc. It can go on and on...

[Bender]

which finger do you usually use?
the one that I peed on.

[lefty]

I always use the towel to open the door. Never understood why people wash their hands then freeely touch the exit door handle to leave. Don't they know a good number of people don't wash their hands and they touch that same exact door.

#germaphobestories
Fuck, I've never thought of that :(

[Frenzy]

That's what I do. I open the door, hold it open with my foot and toss the paper towel in the trash before walking out. I'm sorry, but I have no interest in walking out of a public bathroom with foreign cock-n-ass residue on my hands.

you been spying my style..

[florige]

Fuck, I've never thought of that :(

I hate these restrooms that only have hand dryers verses the option of both because they are too cheap to buy a hand towel despenser. Only having hand dryers are a pain in the ass especially if you are at a mall, or a heavily crowded event. I get it that you care about the enviorment, but at least offer a better explanation than the "less germs" crap.

[ploto]

So glad I am not a germaphobe. Someone cringed the other day when I told them how we drank out of the hose as kids, and I got a lecture on the toxins in the hose. At least we were outside running around- much more important to our health than being smeared all over with Purel. I have never used that stuff and never intend to. I also do not have anti-bacterial soap or anything else. I am clean and my house is clean. Bacteria is a part of life. I truly believe the kids in my famliy rarely got sick, even as adults, because we ran around outside, went barefoot, tasted dirt, and all those other kid things before everyone got obsessed. Many researchers believe that exposure as kids is important to developing immunity.

[ShoogarBear]

Uh, it has nothing to do with being a germaphobe. Nobody said anything about kids playing outdoors in the dirt. We're talking about toilet sanitation. Limitation of diseases spread through fecal-oral transmission is arguably the single most important advance in public health since 1900, and a major reason for the increase in life expectancy. Would you like your food preparers and pediatricians to brag about how they're not "germaphobes"?

[balli]

I'm a straight up germaphobe and I don't give a fuck. People disgust me and if I can let it be known, good.

That said, the post above is 100% correct, keeping your hands free from other people's fecal particulate isn't germaphobia, it's basic cleanliness.

[gameFACE]

I really wonder what makes people incapable of flushing the toilet and washing their hands. No shit! It's annoying going to the gym or a restaurant and finding the toilet full of piss splatter and shredded toilet paper not to mention unflushed logs. And I'm talking about so called "nicer" areas of town. You think the restrooms were all at the dollar theater.

BTW, if there's a handle on the door I try to grab it on the low part where people can't get a grip.

[caribbean_spur]

So glad I am not a germaphobe. Someone cringed the other day when I told them how we drank out of the hose as kids, and I got a lecture on the toxins in the hose. At least we were outside running around- much more important to our health than being smeared all over with Purel. I have never used that stuff and never intend to. I also do not have anti-bacterial soap or anything else. I am clean and my house is clean. Bacteria is a part of life. I truly believe the kids in my famliy rarely got sick, even as adults, because we ran around outside, went barefoot, tasted dirt, and all those other kid things before everyone got obsessed. Many researchers believe that exposure as kids is important to developing immunity.

I did a lot of running around outside barefoot and such , but it has nothing to do with not having other people crap on my hands.

[jack sommerset]

Some peeps don't mind touching piss and/or shit.

[mrsmaalox]

Hmmm. So not wanting to touch strangers' poop in a public restroom makes me a germaphobe?

[englishspursfan]

im a magician an use slight of hand to make people believe i washed them.

[Whisky Dog]

Yeah, I always use a paper towel that I dried my hand with or if that's not avaiable the inside of my shirt tail. As far as the handle to get the paper towel? Sometimes my elbow then wash my elbow

[Stringer_Bell]

Hmmm. So not wanting to touch strangers' poop in a public restroom makes me a germaphobe?

Not at all, the germaphobes are the people afraid to get pee on their hands at all. It's sterile. It's sterile. It's sterile. People drink it in the morning to cleanse themselves. If it was bad for you, then why do so many people drink it huhhhhhhhhhh?

[The Reckoning]

i used to never take baths and roll around in mud and shit when i was little, and now i have one of the strongest immune systems that i know of. the girls who lived below me last year would over-sanitize their rooms (smelt like a dentist's office) and were sick every other week. people seem to forget that the best and most effective way to prevent illnesses is to get a small dosage of them.

and the only way people can get straight up "poop" on the door handle is if they do the ol' aggie way of wiping their ass. if theres one piece of toilet paper left, they stick their index finger through it and use that.

[ploto]

What about at home? Unless you live alone, you could just as easily be exposed from your spouse, kids, or guests unless you refuse to touch faucets, soap dispensers, and door handles at home.

[ploto]

So not wanting to touch strangers' poop in a public restroom makes me a germaphobe?

Equating touching a faucet or door handle to this is what makes you a germaphobe-- as does the following:


I don't wash my hands cuz the sinks/faucets gross me out. I keep wet wipes in my purse and car so I just use those.

[resistanze]

What about at home? Unless you live alone, you could just as easily be exposed from your spouse, kids, or guests unless you refuse to touch faucets, soap dispensers, and door handles at home.

Sure - if you shared your home with thousands of random people, I could see how this would be comparable. But we don't, and your not exposed to the kinds of pathogens from your home washroom (where you are probably cleaning regularly, including door handles) to a public restroom.

[mrsmaalox]

Equating touching a faucet or door handle to this is what makes you a germaphobe-- as does the following:

Well, we all know those are not the DSM-IV criteria for germaphobe (mysophobe), but if it makes you feel better to call me that, fine :toast

But seriously, the thread title makes the distinction public restroom, so I think most of the posters with at least 6th grade reading comprehension skills are addressing just that. No one here has said anything about eating dirt or running around barefoot or our personal homes, just public restrooms. So when it comes to those facilities, I admit I am a bit neurotic. And not because of the people who are using it, but because of the facility itself. I have no reason at all to even wonder about who uses the bathroom in my home because I know exactly when and how it was last cleaned. Nothing more to it than that :)

[Stringer_Bell]

Well, we all know those are not the DSM-IV criteria for germaphobe (mysophobe), but if it makes you feel better to call me that, fine :toast

Oh snap, someone broke out the DSM-IV. Let me get back at you after I consult the DSM-IV-TR in case correspondonding criteria has been revised to fit whatever agenda benefits the APA the best. :downspin:

[mrsmaalox]

Oh snap, someone broke out the DSM-IV. Let me get back at you after I consult the DSM-IV-TR in case correspondonding criteria has been revised to fit whatever agenda benefits the APA the best. :downspin:

Why bother? The only criteria that matters is the Ploto criteria :rolleyes

Meh, just my attempt to be a bitchy know-it-all :lol

[ploto]

...your not exposed to the kinds of pathogens from your home washroom (where you are probably cleaning regularly, including door handles) to a public restroom.

Plenty of single guys clean their bathrooms less than a public restroom does. So, even in a friend's house you can not be so sure who has or has not washed their hands or who else has been in there. And anyone with kids knows their habits are not always the best.



I don't wash my hands cuz the sinks/faucets gross me out. I keep wet wipes in my purse and car so I just use those.
So that makes you the person smearing your unwashed poop hands outside the bathroom until you get to the car- including on any other doors you touch outside the bathroom, like the front door of the establishment.

[mrsmaalox]

So that makes you the person smearing your unwashed poop hands outside the bathroom until you get to the car- including on any other doors you touch outside the bathroom, like the front door of the establishment.

Wrong again!! I don't poop in public restrooms :D

That one, I'm sure meets some DSM-IV criteria :lol

[Mixability]

ok, so your best bet is to just never piss in a public restroom or just piss your pants.

[resistanze]

Plenty of single guys clean their bathrooms less than a public restroom does. So, even in a friend's house you can not be so sure who has or has not washed their hands or who else has been in there. And anyone with kids knows their habits are not always the best.
You seem to be missing the point. The sheer volume of people who use a public washroom increases the chances that some that are carriers of infectious pathogens. It's not simply a case of not wanting to handle things in a public washroom because poo is 'icky.' It's because fecal-oral transmission of pathogens is the primary cause of outbreak for illnesses such as Noroviruses (the #1 cause of stomach flu in the U.S.). Heck, the number of times the common cold on the flu has been transmitted due to contaminated surfaces is probably not even quantifiable.

You can't compare private restrooms to public one because of that reason. There's only so much illnesses you can be exposed when at someone's dwelling any one time, so even your worst-case scenario of the dirty bachelor doesn't compare. Personally, I encounter public washrooms much more than washrooms at a guest's home, but even then I practice good hygiene.

[bus driver]

Easy brah, don't piss on your hands.

It's just a door handle, I open it as long as it ain't got shit on it. It's bad enough we breathe in lots of fecal matter throughout the day anyway, what is a door or two? There's germs everywhere.

+1 i dont piss on my hands or touch the urnials



...what happen the paper release handle (it must have germs) or if it automatic the paper is sure to have germs on it.

[Spurtacus]

After washing my hands I will use a paper towel to open the door. Prop the door open with my foot and tosh the towel in the trash. If no paper towel is available, I will use my pinky finger to open the door.

[Creepn]

After washing my hands I will use a paper towel to open the door. Prop the door open with my foot and tosh the towel in the trash. If no paper towel is available, I will use my pinky finger to open the door.

Haha yup, the pinky. I even use my pinky finger to pump gas in my car.

[mrsmaalox]

Haha yup, the pinky. I even use my pinky finger to pump gas in my car.

:wow You must have a strong pinky!