Icky encounter at the gas station

[Ashaela]

My fiance and I made our annual pilgrimage to Corpus Christi a couple of weeks ago.... Stopped along the way for fuel and a bathroom break.

There was only one restroom in this particular gas station, at the end of a short hallway. Said hallway also had a walk-in cooler door to the side, propped partly open by cases of stock that a vendor was loading into the drink shelves from behind. Someone was already in the restroom, so we both waited in an (admittedly short) line just outside the hallway.

When the person came out, I started down to go into the restroom, when Jerkwad shoved by from behind us and went straight in. My fiance and I were both just a little frustrated.... But we waited.

Luckily, it wasn't too long, less than a full minute, before Jerkwad came back out. I go into the bathroom and discover why it hadn't taken him that long... Jerkwad didn't bother to flush. He probably didn't bother to wash his hands, either, in that short amount of time. I was so squicked at the thought of even touching anything in there....

I would have dearly loved to tell him off, though. Jerkwad had disappeared when I stepped out again.

[LillFilly]

I always find it funny when a perfectly dressed and turned-out woman exits her bathroom stall without flushing, checks herself in the mirror, and walks RIGHT out without washing her hands! Hope you're not putting your make-up on with those hands honey!

[XCashier]

I always find it funny when a perfectly dressed and turned-out woman exits her bathroom stall without flushing, checks herself in the mirror, and walks RIGHT out without washing her hands! Hope you're not putting your make-up on with those hands honey!

Or contact lenses...!

[Fufu487]

i cringe when i see people not wash their hands in the bathroom. ewwwww

[Ashaela]

i cringe when i see people not wash their hands in the bathroom. ewwwww

Me too. I always want to say something about how many germs they're spreading around the store for everyone else to pick up....

I wish that grocery stores and places with public bathrooms would put something like a little bottle of spray sanitizer out to disinfect the sink. For now, though, I just always hope that they have paper towels to turn knobs/handles with instead of a blow dryer alone.

[BlaqueKatt]

i cringe when i see people not wash their hands in the bathroom. ewwwww

I usually don't but then I don't get anything on me-and due to the number of people touching the sinks-I believe there was once a study that showed the sinks/faucets carry more germs than the toilets do. bacteria need warm, wet places to live-the sink is usually the best place for that.

ahhh yes-found it

"You're not going to get germs from your backside. You're going to get them from your hands."

To see if that's true, "20/20" asked Dr. Charles Gerba to check our bathroom with his germ meter.

"Usually, actually the floor is the dirtiest, as you might guess," said Gerba.

The floor test revealed about 2 million bacteria per square inch. Gerba says that's about 200 times higher than a sanitary surface.

"This is pretty bad," said Gerba. "We consider that a fail. So you don't want to walk around barefoot in ABC News toilets."

Not surprisingly, the sanitary napkin disposal unit also failed the test and rated as the spot with the most germs in our ladies' room.

But our sink, an area that is usually a haven for germs, was found to be unexpectedly clean. The biggest surprise was found on the toilet seat.

"This is the cleanest spot so far," said Gerba.

[rerant]

I can't remember where I heard it but I once heard that the bacteria in human feces can penetrate up to 10 layers of standard two-ply toilet paper.
I don't know how true that is but it's enough to make damn sure my hands are properly washed after going to the bathroom.

When I see people leave public washrooms without washing their hands I usually let out a very audible "EW!"
I'm not terribly concerned with them getting offended. You're an adult, wash your damn hands.

[Mamadrae]

I don't always wash my hands sadly when leaving the restroom. To be fair though it's cause I'm chasing my son who doesn't seem to understand yet that just cause HE'S all done doesn't mean we can leave yet.

Thank the maker of diaper wipes. Those things save my life so much at times.

[FredKlein]

Three men were using the urinals in a public restroom.



The first man finished relieving himself, zipped up, strolled to the

sinks and proceeded to wash his hands, using plenty of soap and

water and doing a splendidly thorough job. As he was drying his hands

(with lots of paper towels), he loftily announced to no one in particular,

"At USC I learned to be clean and sanitary." The man then left the

bathroom in a cloud of self-satisfaction.



The second gent zipped up, marched briskly to the sinks,

and scrubbed his hands with much less soap and water than the first man,

doing a splendidly thorough job nonetheless. As he was drying his

hands (with only one paper towel), he severely announced to no one in

particular, "At UCLA, I learned to be clean and sanitary, but I ALSO

learned to be thrifty and environmentally conscious." He then strode

from the bathroom with a purposeful air.



The third man finished relieving himself, zipped up, and

ambled past the sinks to the door, muttering to himself, "At CAL, I

learned not to pee on my hands."http://www.customerssuck.com/board/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[BlaqueKatt]

I can't remember where I heard it but I once heard that the bacteria in human feces can penetrate up to 10 layers of standard two-ply toilet paper.
I don't know how true that is but it's enough to make damn sure my hands are properly washed after going to the bathroom.

not even possible-no bacteria or virus can live on dry surfaces with a humidity of less than 10 percent, as they are like us-mostly water-they die very quickly on tissue.

Look at it this way-dirty hands touch wet faucet to turn on-germs transfer and survive, clean hands touch dirty faucet to turn off, germs transfer back.


College dorm bathroom bacteria study-the bacteria found in lowest numbers were normal intestinal flora-highest concentration of bacteria was the sink and shower, lowest was the toilet. Most common bacteria present was staph-which everyone has on their skin at all times.

[Shamus]

What's the latest numbers - about 1/3 of people don't wash their hands after using the restrooms?

The public restroom is the best place of study for a biologist or anthropologist to get an intimate look at the pre-evolution behavior of human beings.

[rerant]

not even possible-no bacteria or virus can live on dry surfaces with a humidity of less than 10 percent, as they are like us-mostly water-they die very quickly on tissue.

Even the thought of it, regardless of the lifespan of bacteria, is enough to make certain I wash my hands properly after every trip to the can.

[wolfie]

The public restroom is the best place of study for a biologist or anthropologist to get an intimate look at the pre-evolution behavior of human beings.

Just curious, but what do you have against monkeys that makes you want to insult them that badly?

[Andara Bledin]

Look at it this way-dirty hands touch wet faucet to turn on-germs transfer and survive, clean hands touch dirty faucet to turn off, germs transfer back.

And the simple solution to that is to use the towel you dry your hands with to then turn off the sink. And if it's a standard roll dispenser, be sure to roll out the towel before washing, too.

^-.-^

[Ironclad Alibi]

The third man finished relieving himself, zipped up, and ambled past the sinks to the door, muttering to himself, "At CAL, I learned not to pee on my hands.

That reminds of the observation that some men wash their hands after they pee because they think their equipment is dirty. Others wash their hands before they pee because they want to keep their equipment clean. Since urine is chemically sterile, the latter one makes more sense.