How far will you go to clean off the top of your soda can?

[Cagliostro]

I'm so glad I'm not a germaphobe. I guess that makes me part of the problem. Although I did learn at an early age to typically wash my hands after using the bathroom. The less I think about how nasty people are though, the happier I am.

[aTOMiC]

Okay. Just so everyone knows I just pulled a 12oz can of Coke that was packaged in a 24count box. The top had schmutz on it. So much for pre packaged cokes being sterile.

[aliantha]

Well, I never said "sterile"... Urk. Bleah. Now I've gotta start inspecting every can? Time to go back off soda....

[MsMary]

I don't drink canned beverages much, but I do give a wipe to the top of the can before I open it, especially since the pop-top is generally pushed back into the drink, so to speak.

When I open canned foods at home, I always rinse the top of the can, and give a good rub if there is a layer of dust, etc. on top. No telling how long those cans have been sitting on the store shelves.

I prefer to turn off the water with a clean paper towel after using a public restroom, and opening the door with a clean paper towel, as well. Many people are outright slobs when they use public facilities, and this is the way that cold and flu germs are spread. It's partly my training as a nurse, too - it's just become a habit.

[magickmaker17]

okay, when I'm at work, I do use the paper towel I used to dry my hands to open the door. that is all. Everywhere else, I don't really care.
Urine is pretty sterile in and of itself. When you walk out of the bathroom, chances are that you're going to touch something soon enough that has germs on it. There's no avoiding it. Why do people get so hung up over this?

[MsMary]

Cause they don't want to touch other people's urine?

[Sorus]

Exactly. I don't consider myself a germaphobe, but there are limits. Said limits can be found in public restrooms.

[Wyldewode]

Exactly. I don't consider myself a germaphobe, but there are limits. Said limits can be found in public restrooms.

Exactly.

The less I think about how nasty people are though, the happier I am.

Me too.

[magickmaker17]

The less I think about how nasty people are though, the happier I am.

Me too.

Exactly! I just don't think about it!

[Wyldewode]

I could be much, much worse if I focused on it.

[duchess of malfi]

Cause they don't want to touch other people's urine?

Not to mention their poop? (People do a lot more than just use a public restroom to pee. They also poop, change feminine hygeine products, scratch open sores, and do other things that cannot even be discussed in polite company. And often do not wash their hands and touch the door directly afterwards. So when you touch that door handle you might be touching someone else's pee, poop, blood, semen, etc.)

What is even worse than public bathrooms is public drinking fountains. I once saw a guy here in the hospital who had active TB on his way outside for a smoke. He paused by one of the drinking fountains, pulled aside his mask, and spit a big goober into the fountain.

I haven't has a drink from a public water drinking fountain since.

[CovenantJr]

I give the top a cursory wipe with my sleeve. That's about it. And sometimes I forget.

[MsMary]

Duchess, that drinking fountain story is truly gross.

That said, I do drink from drinking fountains.

[aliantha]

I'd just like to observe that all of us -- those of us who sterilize the tops of our pop cans and those who don't; those who use paper towels on the bathroom door handle and those who don't -- are still here, alive, and (relatively) healthy. I am also pretty sure that our moms didn't teach us to rinse off the tops of our pop cans and use paper towels to open the bathroom door, and we've all survived to our current ages....

I can see taking extra precautions in a hospital setting when so many people there are sick by definition. But I think the fear of catching something from other folks is largely overblown.

[CovenantJr]

I am also pretty sure that our moms didn't teach us to rinse off the tops of our pop cans

Mine did. That's where I picked it up from.

Also, I don't open bathroom doors with a paper towel, but I will not touch the flushing handle with a bare hand.

[SoulBiter]

What is even worse than public bathrooms is public drinking fountains. I once saw a guy here in the hospital who had active TB on his way outside for a smoke. He paused by one of the drinking fountains, pulled aside his mask, and spit a big goober into the fountain.

I haven't has a drink from a public water drinking fountain since.

That said, I do drink from drinking fountains.

Until today, I used to drink from drinking water fountains..

[Menolly]

Real Coke (with sugar, not HFCS) out of a glass bottle is the bomb.

*nod*

Hence the Mexican Coke discussion.

You're absolutely right, Cag -- it's the sugar, instead of the high-fructose crap that's going to turn us all into ears of corn directly. There was a thread about this very thing in the Galley awhile back. (What's *wrong* with me?? I'm shilling for the GALLEY now?? )

*bows*

Thank you, milady.

[aliantha]

Took ya long enough to find it, Menolly! (You're welcome!)

[Menolly]

Took ya long enough to find it, Menolly! (You're welcome!)

Yeah...for as much time that I spend on the Watch, I skip a lot of threads. But when I saw this thread had reached three pages, I finally had to stick my head in.

[Auleliel]

I am also pretty sure that our moms didn't teach us to rinse off the tops of our pop cans

Mine did. That's where I picked it up from.

My mom is the only reason I wipe off cans at all. She insists that I wipe off canned food before attacking the cans with the can opener. This led to the selective wiping of soda cans. It may not surprise any of you that my mom is a nurse.