My roommate only washes up if he poops, never after peeing. Now every time I’m in any of the common areas I have to wash my hands after touching anything I haven’t wiped down. Thus, I wash my hands twice every time I use the bathroom; once as normal and again in the kitchen because I touched the taps, light switch and door handle in the bathroom which likely have groin sweat on them… /rant
You must log in or # to comment.
Every time. It’s about upkeep, not worrying whether I touched anything. Plus, I always blot with toilet paper anyway…
Your roommate is disgusting
Most people are
I wash my hands before I pee so I don’t get germs on my dick–which is otherwise kept in my pants–from my hands that touch everything out in the world.
If I somehow get pee on my hands by accident, then I will wash them again.
True, I try to wash my hands before as well if I’ve recently touched like a public library doorknob or something but sometimes it’s an emergency and I’ll use the sides of knuckles like scissors.
Wash your goddamn hands after you pee. It splashes.
How the hell does it splash onto your hands? Are you holding your hands in the toilet when you pee?
Standing super close to the urinal, pissing with the force of of fire hydrant? I sit to pee. Even if the only toilet available is a urinal.
Why would you sit on a urinal, that’s odd
to go poop ofc
Wash the groin sweat off your hands afterwards
Oh I plan on it.
sucks on fingers
This is how the pros do it
yes, of course. no exceptions. kind of disgusted by all the people in the comments admitting they don’t??? also your roommate reminds me of a roommate i used to have whom i despised and one of the reasons for that being her horrible hygiene. she admitted to pissing in our single private shower, which was shared amongst us (i had 2 roommates, so the 3 of us), and then after that called me germophobic for suggesting the idea that a shower/tub needs to be cleaned weekly??? also kept leaving piss in the toilet and never took out the trash. dont even get me started
Ahhhhhhgggghhh.gheg.h
I’ve also had roommates like that. They never admitted to it but… I could smell it… they also never took out the trash. STRANGE.
Always in public, at home i only do if i touch something which is often.
Yes. Wash my hands:
- after every toilet use
- after I come in from outside
- before I eat
- after I eat
- before I sit down at my desk and touch my mouse and keyboard
- before I start playing a game with my controller(s)
First three always, fourth sometimes, definitely not the last two.
The sexy time edit makes this funnier
something made him remember 🤔
I should’ve probably made it a numbered list, eh
I read this comment when this post was relatively new and just wanted to say that you’ve somehow subconsciously inspired me to wash my hands more often over the past 3 weeks. Specifically when coming in from outside. So thanks 😃
😄 You’re very welcome, friend!
I started washing my hands a lot more after my kids started preschool btw. We kept getting sick by their germs all the time, and they kept getting sick, too. Constantly.
So then we introduced this rule of always washing your hands before meals and after coming in from outside, to reduce bacteria and virus exposure. The frequency by which they got sick dropped dramatically.
And I noticed that my keyboard and mouse got a lot less grimy too, so that’s nice.
It’s crazy how dirty your hands get from being outside. Just touching a door at work or school or holding on to a hand rail or whatever. You come home and the soap water is literally light gray. Disgusting.
Anyway, I’m glad to have reached someone with my being alive. 😁🤝
Wow, the difference being that noticeable is wild. I also work with 5- and 6-year-olds at my job and I have to constantly remind them to wash their hands— with soap! I’ve literally had kids say “yes” to “did you wash your hands?” only to follow it up with “with soap?” and get an eyeroll and sulk back to the sink 🥲
I wash my hands plenty at work, because my hands get grimy and sticky just from being in their vicinity for more than 15 minutes lol, but yeah also washing more at home now!
😆 Classic! We also hit em with the “can I smell your hands?” And they gave us their hands at first but now they just go back to the sink again knowing what’s about to be said, lmao.
Yeah, working with kids I can imagine how dirty hands get. I’m thinking our adult hands get dirty for the same reasons, just a little less so, but still enough to warrant washing, also for the same reasons.
Aren’t your hands extremely dry from all the washing ?
I follow pretty similar standards and keep some coconut based lotion around to keep from drying my hands too much.
They are, and it’s just like I like it.
I strangely don’t need to moisturize, ever. My hands’ skin is curiously soft and smooth all year round, despite harsh and dry winter conditions during those months. Wife and kids need so many lotions and shit and I hate putting it on the kids. I want to wash the lotion off afterwards lol. But it’s good bonding so I do it anyway.
Yes, always.
Yup. Wash your hands with soap four times daily and you reduce your chance of catching a surface-borne disease by 80%
I work in a hospital and one Christmas I brought home gastric 'flu with me… that wasn’t a wonderful Yuletide for anyone.
He really should stop being lazy and wash his hands. While feces is much more dangerous than what’s likely hanging out on his junk, there’s still plenty of transmissible nastiness that he’s leaving everywhere.
But if he’s not going to change his behavior, you can mitigate by turning off the taps and handling the bathroom doorknob with a paper tissue if you use tissues to dry your hands (although I think this is common mostly in public washrooms). The overwashing you’re doing to compensate for his underwashing is not good for your hands.
I was worried about that too but my hands are fine actually. I use lukewarm water and it appears to actually help since I haven’t had any eczema flareups on my hands for a long time.
Public bathrooms yes. At home no.
A lot of people wipe their butt, flush the toilet, wqsh their hands, dry them, and leave the toilet.
This means that at least the toilet flushing button is often very dirty with poo germs. Depending on how you two and people visiting you handle the flushing, ut might make sense to always wash hands after flushing the toilet.
Otherwise… Whatever.
No I don’t and somehow I’m still alive.
I do at work though, out of courtesy.
You wash you hands before.
In public yes
At home, I’m wearing sweatpants or basketball shorts. Why do I need to wash if I’m only touching the front of my waist band
Aside from the fact that you’re peeing, you should be washing your hands throughout the day anyway and this is a perfect time to do it. So even if you just peed with no hands, this attitude means ya nasty.
Flushing?
While most people would suggest a direct conversation, I have something far more interesting to propose. Think of it as a social experiment with a touch of behavioral conditioning. Here’s how you can turn this annoyance into an opportunity for growth (in more than one way).
Phase 1: The Setup
You’ll need a sample of a Listeria monocytogenes bacterial culture. You can buy those online. It’s visually harmless and olfactorily intriguing, but it has some special abilities too.
Place your culture in a sealed plastic bag with a nutrient source (bread, rice, mushy banana etc). Add sugar if you’re impatient. Add a small amount of warm water to activate the experiment. Seal the bag with tape. You want it to look official, but tempting to open. Place the bag on a shared surface. The kitchen table works well. Add a handwritten note:
“CAUTION: ACTIVE MICROBIAL CULTURE - DO NOT OPEN OR DISTURB. PART OF AN ONGOING HOUSEHOLD HYGIENE STUDY.”
You could also use a realistic but vague label. Something like “Bio-Experiment #4 - Handle with Care” adds mystery without outright warning him off.
Next, you wait for the enticing fragrance to develop.
The goal here is to exploit human curiosity. Your roommate will notice the bag. He will wonder what’s inside. And if he’s the type who doesn’t wash his hands, he’s exactly the type who will eventually open it, especially if you casually mention how “fascinating” the results have been so far and how important they are to you. You could even mention that the resulting product will have “powerful health effects”.
When your roommate inevitably asks, “Dude, what the hell is that smell?” downplay it. “Oh, it’s just a little experiment for a friend’s research project. Nothing to worry about. Just don’t open it, okay?” The more nonchalant you are, the more irresistible it becomes. If he opens the bag, your part of the experiment ends and you can dispose of the bag and its contents. If not, it’s time to move on to the next phase.
Phase 2: The Reinforcement (A Study in Behavioral Adjustment)
After about a week, casually begin wiping down surfaces in the bathroom and kitchen with disinfectant wipes. Make it obvious, but don’t explain why.
Bonus: Leave a bottle of hand sanitizer on the kitchen counter with a Post-it that says “For everyone’s peace of mind.”
Start washing your hands immediately after touching any shared surface. If your roommate is watching, sigh and mutter something about “cross-contamination” and “unpredictable variables.”
If he asks what you’re doing, shrug and say, “Just being cautious. You never know what’s floating around in here.”
Phase 3: Deployment
After a few more days of letting the experiment marinate (and your roommate marinate in paranoia), suit up. Gloves, mask, the works. Open the bag dramatically in front of him if he’s around. If he’s not, even better. Let him find the open bag later.
Dip a cotton swab into your microbial cocktail and generously apply it to:
The toilet handle.
The flush button.
The faucet handles.
The light switch.
Bonus: If you’re feeling artistic, draw little smiley faces on the toilet seat with it. He’ll never sit the same way again.Avoid the bathroom for 24 hours. Let the magic happen. When you finally clean everything (with 70% ethanol), make sure your roommate sees you doing it. Bonus points if you whistle while you work.
Phase 4: Aftermath
After The Great Cleaning, act normal. Don’t mention the experiment. Just wait and observe.
If your roommate starts washing his hands obsessively, pretend not to notice. If he avoids the bathroom entirely, ask him if he’s okay with fake concern. If he confronts you, just shrug and say:
“Dude, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Maybe you’re imagining things? Stress can do weird things to a person.”
The Alternative (For the Faint of Heart):
Of course, if you’re not interested in exploring the boundaries of human behavior and hygiene psychology, you could always just talk to your roommate. Tell him his lazy habits are disgusting and inconsiderate. Tell him how that makes you feel and how to solve the problem.
Keep the earlier phases hidden somewhere private and then start from phase 3. Everyone who cleans their hands will be fine. Never end the phase until behaviour improves and keep a healthy supply of hand sanitiser in your room.
Ooh, a blind experiment. I like it.
You’ll need a sample of a Listeria monocytogenes
Fucking sent me lmao
*Maybe I’ll do this, but turn up the heating to 37C for ~16 hours during Phase 3 so my artistry can truly be admired.
The best thing about L. monocytogenes is that it’s not particularly picky. Even if the temperature or pH-value are grossly off, you won’t kill your cultivation that easily. You’ll only slow down the growth and metabolism instead of stopping them completely. Technically, you could even carry out the experiment in a refrigerator, but it’s just going to take an absurdly long time to get anywhere. If you want to hit the sweet spot, its somewhere between 30°C and 37°C. Incidentally, that’s also the temperature range where you can very easily get an understanding on what exponential growth really means IRL. This project is just full of educational potential for everyone involved!
