s/o What is your "ick factor" tolerance?

It's pretty high, many of the things mentioned don't bother me.

I am picky about public bathroom door handles. Mostly because when I use one I am generally in a restaurant about to eat.

So far, nothing mentioned on here has made me even ick a tiny bit.  I taught 2nd grade, you can't scare me!  But I was raised as "daddy's girl" and never developed any of the ick factors I guess.  Now DH... he's another story!

Isn't that so often the way! 

I haven't yet read any of the threads referenced in the OP, but just off the top of my head, my 'ick factor' tolerance is pretty high. (unless it's spiders, because I have arachnophobia.)

I am the one who cleans up any cat or dog puke, cleans the litterbox, cleans up any hairballs, etc. in our household.  My boyfriend's ick factor is pretty darn low, so that stuff falls to me.  Part of it is the 'you do what you have to' aspect of it but those things just don't gross me out.  Even blood or injuries; I guess because when you're in the moment, it's a reaction of being cool and calm in a crisis. (my BF is definitely NOT that, at all)

We re-use our towels, I don't do four loads of laundry a day, I don't mind getting dirty out in the yard doing lawn work, we have been known to re-use a plate or glass without washing it, if I drop something on the floor I may brush it off and eat it (depends on what it is and whether there's dog hair on it)... I guess we're 'dirtier than average' too.


ETA: no foot flushers in our house and we even let our dogs kiss us...  they don't sleep in bed with us, but that's purely due to the amount of hair (and the fact that there's three of them).  The cats are free to go pretty much anywhere except on the table or kitchen counters when we're around-- I'm fairly certain they do it when we're not at home.

ETA2:  we don't even own any Purell; I do NOT carry anything like that in my purse.  Quite frankly I personally don't believe in the idea of being germ-free or using hand sanitizer-- unless you work in a health care setting-- because I think it contributes to more illnesses and resistant microbes. I also have no problem with potluck food (depends on the circumstances of course), and the only reason we take our shoes off inside the house is to help keep the floors cleaner from a vacuuming standpoint, NOT because of germs or contamination from outside.

I grew up in a small town where most of the people around were farmers, and my Dad was a taxidermist, so I grew up with farms, gardening, bugs, and animals (both alive and dead).  That's probably where my lack of squeamishness came from, and I'm glad of it.  I honestly don't think I could function if I had to think about the cleanliness of every little thing I touched every minute of every day. 

I guess my tolerance is medium to high.

I do potlucks. I change the sheets every 1-2 weeks. I touch railings and door handles. I carry hand sanitizer but I rarely ever use it. It usually expires before I even get halfway through a tiny bottle. We have indoor dogs and cats. Seeing people's bare feet or seeing them clip their fingernails do not weird me out.

Now, I do foot flush, take a shower at night, and I don't wear shoes in the house. But that is all because of habit and comfort. I hate wearing shoes and I don't like to go bed feeling dirty, especially since I work out at night. I use the toilet seat covers, but if there isn't any I don't hesitate to plop my butt down on the toilet seat.

Things that do ick me out. I hate seeing kids eat things they have picked up off the floor. I also hate seeing people let their kids crawl around on the floor of a store. People coughing when getting food at a potluck or buffet. People wiping the snot away with their bare hands.

Actually, smells ick me out more than visual things.

melanell I am the same way about metal. Can't even stand handling change. Mine goes a bit further as in I don't like metal silverware. I'll use it at a restaurant or other people's homes. But at my house I use plasticware. Just the thought of metal in my mouth makes my teeth itch. Yup. I'm crazy.

I'm going to guess what your question is...and also guess the answer: Sheets are set on fire after any fun time, along with the mattress.

^^^ I believe that question was answered in a different thread and the answer was "a towel is put down first" so as to keep the sheets clean. (I think; my memory isn't really that good...)

I have a very high tolerance for ick. I think when you teach super germy kids for 28 years, raise boys, and were raised with all boys, you might have a higher tolerance than the average person. I also think it has to do with your experiences. The more I worked with sick kids (daily), the more of a tolerance I built up. People who get sick when they around the sick tend to be more cautious. If someone sneezes, I am fine with that. I know sneezes can travel over 30 feet, but there is so much crap in the air already that I just don't think twice. I eat almost anything at a potluck since I haven't experienced a negative effect. Eating a restaurant? I haven't been as lucky, but I am not going to stop eating out. I have never had hand sanitizer. The smell and dry hands is worse for me than the germs. The one thing that is really gross to me is the smell of cigarette smoke. I have to shower and change my clothes. It makes my eyes water and it is all I can smell.

Bahahahaha! This just made me bust a gut! I'm so glad I wasn't also enjoying a beverage while reading that because otherwise I would have had to break out the antibacterial wipes to wash off the spit take it would have left behind on my iPad!   Hilarious. Thank you.

You must spend a lot of time cleaning.  My house is neat (we accessorize with dog hair), but I am just not going to let dirt and germs take up so much time in my life.

  You are good.

We are the strongest of the strong, as evidenced by the fact that the gene pools we belong to have survived for millennia.

I am sickeningly healthy. I don't use hand sanitizer. Consequently, I am, for the most part, icked out by little. I do have my little quirks, mainly related to how I feel, rather than germs. I won't get into bed at night without showering. I change my sheets weekly. I don't rewear clothes. I don't wear my hiking boots or trail shoes in the house, but otherwise shoes are a go, and I would never dream of asking a guest to remove his shoes. I do compulsively clean my countertops before and during preparing food, but I cut mold off hard cheese and do the sniff test. I don't foot flush, but use a tissue to hold the lever like a civilized human being, knowing that the feet of all you savages have been marinating in bathroom floor yuck. 

Lol. I just posted about doing substitute teaching in elementary school.