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Post by fredfreddy on Apr 27, 2016 13:56:31 GMT
Between the recent threads about potlucks and empty TP rolls, some get grossed out by items and events that I have never though twice about.
Apparently my family and I have gone through life a whole dirtier than the average. I don't own any Purell and my kids don't wash their hands every time they come inside.
I do wish my teenagers took more showers, but I'll still hug them if I can!
What is your "ick factor" tolerance level? (Thanks for the phrase tincin!)
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Post by Zee on Apr 27, 2016 14:10:51 GMT
I don't know what my level is, but I laughed at your not owning Purell because I have one in every purse and car. I'm not really a germaphobe in my personal life but I can't stand the feeling that my hands are dirty after shopping, especially at the thrift store or grocery store. I can't relax until my hands are clean, even if it's just Purell clean.
I'm a complete germaphobe at work, though. Which I should be anyway (nurse).
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scrappyesq
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by scrappyesq on Apr 27, 2016 14:12:39 GMT
Very low. I don't do buffets unless I know for a fact that I'm the first person to dig in to a dish. I wash my hands and strip my clothes off as soon as I walk in the door. No one is allowed to sit on my bed in clothes they were wearing all day.
ETA: Purell, Wet Ones travel packs. You name it I carry some in every purse I own.
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Post by melanell on Apr 27, 2016 14:13:28 GMT
I think for some, the ick factor is just different, not more or less. I have no issues with potlucks, kids washing their hands in the kitchen, or DS #2 hoarding paper towel rolls to drive his matchbox cars through. However, I am totally icked out by touching different kinds of metal---such as the metal chains on some swings, coins, or even my stainless steel metal sink. I hate the smell of metal on my hands, and I just have a major ick about kitchen sinks for some reason. It's weird and illogical, but there it is. My son loves to count coins, sort coins, etc., and I always make him dump the coins out on a rag or a piece of paper, so they they don't touch anything else. But it's not because I know money is filthy. It's because they're coins. I don't give a crap about the germs. And the really odd thing is that I like coins. I think they're cool. I like looking at collections (in books or little holders), but if I touch coins, I have to wash my hands when I'm done. And I make DS wash his hands, too. And if we play with them for an extended time period, I have to stop and wash my hands part way through. (Same with cardboard. I hate handling cardboard for a long time, too. That has a feel and smell i don't like either.) So there you have it. I'm a freak. (I do own exactly one bottle of Purell. I keep one purse sized bottle in my car at all times, and one bottle lasts me years.) Oh, I'm also icked out by handling raw meat, but I almost never have to do that, thankfully. And I don't like handling anything that will leave a fishy smell on my hands, either. Live fish, raw fish, cooked fish---ick to all it!
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garcia5050
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Post by garcia5050 on Apr 27, 2016 14:16:05 GMT
I'm with you. My kids shower about every third day. Not a big deal to me. We all wear clothes more than once between washings (except undies- maybe that's my icky tolerance).I don't vacuum every day, I don't change/wash my bedding weekly.
I drink milk past the expiration, if it still smells decent. I cut the mold off the cheese and keep on grating. Etcetera.
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Post by myshelly on Apr 27, 2016 14:17:19 GMT
Mine is extremely low.
I'm a foot flusher.
No one wears shoes inside my house.
I don't do potlucks under any circumstances.
If we have been somewhere gross like the hospital we shed our clothes and shoes outside, I take them straight to the washing machine, and everyone goes straight to the shower without touching anything.
I wash towels after every use.
I change kitchen towels multiple times a day.
I am grossed out by cats and dogs and people who keep them inside their house.
Everyone showers everyday. No one touches their sheets without a shower at night.
We wash clothes and pajamas after one wear.
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Post by melanell on Apr 27, 2016 14:19:43 GMT
I do have my kids change as soon as they get home if we've been someplace with pets, because I am allergic. I have no ick factor about animals at all. I like them. But my body doesn't like them.  So if we visit a farm, or grandma's with her 3 cats and 2 dogs, then we change when we get home. But again, not due to anything icky. Just due to everything itchy & sneezy. 
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Post by lovinlife on Apr 27, 2016 14:22:24 GMT
My biggest ick is touching raw meat. I've always had extremely strong and long nails. When I was younger my grandmother had me help her clean out a turkey. It was all stuck under my nails and it grossed me out so bad when I was trying to get it out. Thank goodness dh works in the or...I have endless supply of surgical gloves for when I deal with raw meat.
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Post by fredfreddy on Apr 27, 2016 14:27:56 GMT
I love all the different things that gross us out or not.
I did think of one. Sponges. I hate sponges. They smell nasty and once I touch one I can never get the smell off my fingers. My mom used sponges growing up and she'd wipe down every surface with the same sponge and only replace it every other month probably. And she is a clean freak about everything else.
I use dish towels. I own about 50 and go through them all in about 10 days. But dh insists on a scrubby sponge. Ick!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2016 14:29:01 GMT
BUFFETS...honestly I follow the wait staff and make sure I am the first one to take something from the tray they added to the buffet line.
washing hands before eating...
making sure sink is empty before starting cooking
NEVER touch door handle in bathrooms other than my own
Sponges...ewwww
Using a towel only once ...can't even think about reusing towel...
clean undies everytime I change clothes.
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anniebygaslight
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Post by anniebygaslight on Apr 27, 2016 14:29:25 GMT
I can't use towels twice. I can't abide long toenails or sputum. I don't eat food that I can't trust. Apart from that, I'm pretty easy going. I have no idea what Purell is and can't be arsed to google it.
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Post by gar on Apr 27, 2016 14:33:35 GMT
Apparently it's high
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grammanisi
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Jun 26, 2014 1:37:37 GMT
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Post by grammanisi on Apr 27, 2016 14:35:10 GMT
Dirty feet and dirt under the nails. Totally grosses me out.
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Post by miominmio on Apr 27, 2016 14:36:45 GMT
With the exception of hating to touch egg whites, I would say I'm not easily grossed out. I've been around dogs, cats and horses pretty much all my life, and when you're hungry and it's several hours before you will get anywhere near soap and hot water (only cold water in the stable where I kept my horses), you will eat no matter how dirty your hands are  Or at least I will.
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Post by belgravia on Apr 27, 2016 14:39:20 GMT
Well I guess I'm pretty tolerant of ick. My daughter is an equestrian. I spend a lot of time in the barn, surrounded by dirt and horse shit. It doesn't bother me in the least. I'm not a militant hand washer and I loathe hand sanitizer. My immune system must be super strong, because I rarely get sick. I will eat at the buffet at our club without batting an eye. However, my house is very very clean. Not because I'm a germaphobe, but because I like it that way.
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Gennifer
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Post by Gennifer on Apr 27, 2016 14:43:50 GMT
Apparently mine is fairly high, because a lot of the stuff mentioned up thread wouldn't even be on my radar. 
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Post by pjaye on Apr 27, 2016 14:51:26 GMT
I don't consider myself a germaphobe, but I do have a couple of rules: I will eat pretty much anything my friends cook (apart from foods I don't like which there are very few of) I will eat cake/baked goods from people at work even if they aren't actual friends (i.e. we don't socialise out of work) Luckily "pot lucks" aren't a thing here and at one time they did try to get something like that started at work but only a couple of people were interested so it fizzled out really fast, but I would not eat savoury/hot cold/meat dishes from work colleagues. I also never ate food brought in by patient's relatives if it wasn't packaged/wrapped. The kitchen is only for clean handwashing and food prep (cue Burning Feather to quote this and make her usual comment about cat faeces all over my house  ). All other handwashing or washing of anything else is done in the bathroom. No peeing in the shower, not at all worried about germs here, but there's a toilet right there 2 steps away and I'm a civilised person and I'm not that lazy so I'll use that thank-you. I do all normal daily activities, including using public toilets, sitting on the seat and washing my hands. However if I've been out shopping, walking around touching things (stair rails etc) then I will not eat anything until I have washed my hands or used hand sanitiser. I carry hand sanitiser or wet wipes in my bag, but I only use them if I am about to eat while out or if a public toilet wasn't clean enough for normal handwashing (or tap didn't work etc), but I'm not using the hand sanitiser in the course of a normal day. I do wash my hands pretty much as the first thing I do when I come home from being out. I have one little weird thing, that wherever I work I like to use my own coffee cup. I think that comes from years of working in a hospital and seeing all the nasty stuff that gets on patient's crockery. The thought that someone coughed sputum into a cup before I used it is my personal 'ick' limit...yes even though I know it was washed in an industrial dishwater. Even when I switched to office work, the own cup thing stayed with me. Oddly it doesn't bother me in the slightest at coffee shops or restaurants. Totally illogical I know.
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Post by refugeepea on Apr 27, 2016 14:52:53 GMT
The things my son will do is disgusting so it's high. That being said, I do wash everything he wears after one time and go through a lot of kitchen towels. The rest of the family, I don't keep track of what they wear. I also wish my teens were more on top of taking showers without me asking.
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schizo319
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Post by schizo319 on Apr 27, 2016 14:58:58 GMT
My ick tolerance level is pretty high. I will reuse towels and wear clothing more than once, etc. I do carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer, but it's probably over a year old and still 1/2 full - the only time I remember using it is when I've been at the dog park and had to use a porta-potty.
The only thing I can think of that I'm irrationally grossed out about is those hand dryers you see in public restrooms. Yes, let's take super-heated fecal particles and blow them all over our clean hands. BLECH!
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Post by utmr on Apr 27, 2016 14:59:17 GMT
My tolerance is pretty high. I'm a foot flusher in foot-flushing-appropriate situations, and I'd rather not touch the door handle after I wash my hands. Buffets generally don't bother me, although I'm a bit leery of potlucks after all the pea-stories.
I hate hand sanitizer because of the sticky residue it leaves.
But I absolutely hate and am disgusted by toilet plungers left in the bathroom. Right there, next to the toilet in all its germy glory. I don't know why it bothers me so, but it does. Maybe the thought that their toilet is subject to frequent blockages and I would be the one to flush and cause it to over flow. Or the thought of all the germs everywhere from the overflow that obviously just occurred.
Irrational I know, but gross.
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Post by STBC on Apr 27, 2016 15:00:35 GMT
Apparently mine is fairly high, because a lot of the stuff mentioned up thread wouldn't even be on my radar. Same here. I keep myself clean, my house clean, and don't lick anything that shouldn't be licked. ;-) I don't overthink it; just be sensible and not irrational. I couldn't function at the level of "anti-ick" I'm reading - it's inhibits living. I'm guessing that in addition to no potlucks, there's a lot of other activities that fall on the "too icky" list for some - swimming pools, amusement parks, camping.... PS - the reason I don't do buffets very often is because there are so many better-tasting restaurants I would rather eat at...if I'm going out to eat, I want some really good eats!
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oldcrow
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Post by oldcrow on Apr 27, 2016 15:04:27 GMT
Mine is extremely low. I'm a foot flusher. No one wears shoes inside my house.I don't do potlucks under any circumstances. If we have been somewhere gross like the hospital we shed our clothes and shoes outside, I take them straight to the washing machine, and everyone goes straight to the shower without touching anything. I wash towels after every use. I change kitchen towels multiple times a day. I am grossed out by cats and dogs and people who keep them inside their house. Everyone showers everyday. No one touches their sheets without a shower at night. We wash clothes and pajamas after one wear. I am the opposite when it comes to shoes. I know that there is dirt on the bottom of people's shoes and I can handle dirt. What I don't know is what kind of germs they have on the bottom of their feet. The idea that they could be leaving behind fungus or warts or whatever grosses me out way more that a little dirt. So when you come into my house please, please leave your shoes on. You strip outside. Wow. Do you strip naked? And what about your vehicle, you sat in it to get home? If you shower after a trip to an icky place do you still have to shower before touching the sheets? I have another question about your sheets but I don't think I will ask it.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2016 15:08:02 GMT
I don't have many things that truly ick me out but I'm a big hand washer. I can't stand anything sticky or dirty on them, I wash them as soon as I come in usually more than once before I trust that they're clean. I can't stand dirty fingernails on other people. Towels are changed after every shower, I stayed at someone's house once and their towels were slimy Tea towels are changed many times a day. Clothes are worn once and washed.
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Post by gar on Apr 27, 2016 15:09:34 GMT
Apparently mine is fairly high, because a lot of the stuff mentioned up thread wouldn't even be on my radar. Same here. I keep myself clean, my house clean, and don't lick anything that shouldn't be licked. ;-) I don't overthink it; just be sensible and not irrational. I couldn't function at the level of "anti-ick" I'm reading - it's inhibits living. I'm guessing that in addition to no potlucks, there's a lot of other activities that fall on the "too icky" list for some - swimming pools, amusement parks, camping....PS - the reason I don't do buffets very often is because there are so many better-tasting restaurants I would rather eat at...if I'm going out to eat, I want some really good eats! That's something that always puzzles me a bit. People say they won't touch toilet door handles but seemingly don't mind all other door handles, handrails, window furniture, elevator buttons, money and the million and one other things we can't avoid touching all day. I guess it's the illogicality of it that gets me. There was a recent thread about weeing in the shower. Logically it's actually the cleanest place to do it since your instantly immersed in warm soapy water and you're cleaner than if you just sat on the loo, and the wee is more than properly flushed away but for some that seemed to be irrelevant - it was almost as if the principle was actually worse than the facts.
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Post by refugeepea on Apr 27, 2016 15:10:46 GMT
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Post by melanell on Apr 27, 2016 15:13:51 GMT
Hey, I figure as long as we're aware and willing to admit that we're being illogical, it's all good. 
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Post by Merge on Apr 27, 2016 15:15:39 GMT
Wow, some of you would never set foot in my house! Towels are used at least a few days before they are washed - often a week if it's not too humid (and they don't get stinky). Sheets washed once a week. We don't wear shoes in the house, but that's a comfort thing for us, not a cleanliness thing. If you want to keep your shoes on at my house, feel free. Kitchen towels are changed every day, but I do use a sponge for washing dishes (that's the only thing it's used for - not for wiping the counters) and it goes in the dishwasher every time we run it. We have cats AND dogs and their hair is everywhere most of the time. Super gross: one of my dogs had diarrhea in her crate during the day, and when I got home, she was covered in it. The crate was also covered inside, and somehow she'd gotten it out on the floor, too. I had to wash the dog twice, sanitize the crate, sanitize the floor and then wash all my clothes and the towel I'd used to dry her. I flatter myself that a lesser woman would have taken a look at the poop-covered dog and crate and just set the house on fire instead of dealing with it. 
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keithurbanlovinpea
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Post by keithurbanlovinpea on Apr 27, 2016 15:17:13 GMT
I'm with you. My kids shower about every third day. Not a big deal to me. We all wear clothes more than once between washings (except undies- maybe that's my icky tolerance).I don't vacuum every day, I don't change/wash my bedding weekly. I drink milk past the expiration, if it still smells decent. I cut the mold off the cheese and keep on grating. Etcetera. My sista from another mother! I have a very, very high ick factor. I am not squicked out by much. I agree that undies should be changed daily. Lice. I have a low tolerance for lice. But is that an ick? Not really. I just associate it with what a pain in the ass it is to get rid of.
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Post by melanell on Apr 27, 2016 15:18:28 GMT
Same here. I keep myself clean, my house clean, and don't lick anything that shouldn't be licked. ;-) I don't overthink it; just be sensible and not irrational. I couldn't function at the level of "anti-ick" I'm reading - it's inhibits living. I'm guessing that in addition to no potlucks, there's a lot of other activities that fall on the "too icky" list for some - swimming pools, amusement parks, camping....PS - the reason I don't do buffets very often is because there are so many better-tasting restaurants I would rather eat at...if I'm going out to eat, I want some really good eats! That's something that always puzzles me a bit. People say they won't touch toilet door handles but seemingly don't mind all other door handles, handrails, window furniture, elevator buttons, money and the million and one other things we can't avoid touching all day. I guess it's the illogicality of it that gets me. That's why I admit when my personal quirks are illogical, because otherwise illogical things like that get to me, too. But when someone flat out says "Yep, I'm illogical and I own it", then I'm all good with it. You know, just in case anyone is dying for me to be okay with you!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2016 15:18:51 GMT
I think my ick factor is pretty high- especially compared to DH. When we ride the Metro and we're standing, I don't really think twice about holding onto the pole for stability. DH on the other hand calls them "herpes poles" and will only touch them with a covered hand or hook his arm around them.
I haven't been sick for over a year. DH on the other hand...
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