Cleanest Hands Ever

Okay ladies, this is for us. I tried hard not to allow this to become a topic of my discussion, but I finally resigned to sharing my thoughts on this matter.

The question: Please pray tell, why do we wash our hands in the ladies’ room and then insist on not touching the door to leave? We grab a paper towel to dry our hands, then use that paper towel and possibly a well-placed foot or elbow to open the door and make our exit. I do this as well…most people seem to. But does anyone else see this as odd?? How did this even start??

Well of course I know the obvious answer…..we’re looking to maintain our freshly cleaned hands and avoid the germs of the unclean (though friendly) lady who left before us.

But my side view is this: the exit door handle to the ladies’ room is arguably one of the cleanest things you will touch all day! MOST who touch (or don’t touch) that handle have just scrubbed their hands free of any and all wandering germs. Note, I did say “most” because there’s always THAT person. But that’s not the topic here today….I digress.

Back to this…what about all the other doors we’re about to go through? Do we keep a trusty handkerchief or tissue nearby to be ready for the rest of those questionable door handles? Hmm, I know I don’t.

What doors, you might ask.

Well, if you’re at work, there’s the door leading back to your desk for one, there’s the common fridge, perhaps the elevator buttons and even the door to your boss’s office. At the mall there may be the entry door to the various stores, and oh, the cooler door at your local grocer when grabbing a gallon of milk, to name a few. Wait….do you visit your child’s school or pick her up from daycare? Now there’s an interesting collection of door germs!! Ok, Theresa, point made, right?? Lol

I certainly don’t mean to undermine our attempt at proper cleanliness. The fact that everyone is so aware of the need for clean hands has to have a positive impact on our overall health and well-being, right? I’m sure it does. 🙂 After all, just about every ladies’ room you go into has a convenient little trash can right next to the exit door for just this very purpose. So clearly this is a well-known and well-adopted practice.

And as my Grandmother once told me….”cleanliness is next to Godliness”.

So I’m not buying nor selling, nor am I trying to deter anyone or give the impression that this is not good practice. I’m just sharing my view.

Again, how did this even start?? What say you?