In reality its probably fine. I just said it grosses ME out. My point was thar different things gross different people out. Just visit the laundry forum sometime. LOL

You know what totally grosses me out?

Using the public restroom and the hems of my pants dragging all over the floor, so I make it a habit of rolling my pants up before I use the toilet.

One time I forgot to unroll one pant leg, and was walking around in public like that until I looked down and realized one pant leg was a foot shorter than the other.

When you use a public rest room, think about all the things you touch before you can get out of the stall to wash your hands - the flusher, the lock, the handle, the door. Multiple that by everyone who uses the rest room. I bet those things rarely get washed.

"...what so I see but my neighbor's cat on the workshop counter eating my mince pie. That is the gross part. I don't mind my dog's germs."

My cat will lick pancake batter from the bowl. I figure cooking it kills any germs her little tongue leaves behind. It doesn't bother me. But I know my MIL wouldn't eat at my house if she knew that our cat eats of regular plates and then we use them after they are washed (for some reason she thinks the germs are still there even after going through the dishwasher).

I don't mind my cat's germs. I give her kisses on the nose, after all. But I wouldn't do that with my neighbor's cats. Those cats are germy. ;)

The truth is, there is no way to control it all. Last week I caught DH cleaning the kitchen floor with my kitchen sponge. How many times did I clean something (like pots and pans or the counter) after he did that, and I never even knew it? He saw no problem with it, and thought I was nuts for putting it in the microwave to sterilize it after that.

I don't think it's the germs so much as the idea of an animal licking your plate. My mother is the same way. My sister owns about 8 dogs (she lives on 16 acres in Seattle), so they have lots of space for that lot. Mum has a problem with sis washing the doggie's bowls in the kitchen sink, it grosses her out.

On one level, she knows that any germs are washed away with some cleaning, but on another she feels that bowls used for animals should be cleaned in the laundry sink.

Everyone has something that grosses them out.

I hate the idea of being licked by a cat or dog. Especially a dog, because they have that gluey spit that feels all slick when you go to wash it off. My dh used to give his dog (now deceased) the remnants from his cereal bowl. I bought dh his own 2 bowls, separate from the family ones, because after rinsing out cereal bowls a few times and finding that gluey spit on them I couldn't stand the thought of the dog doing it to *my* bowls :) I am not at all worried about germs, but you're right, it's the gross factor involved for me. The dog we have now has never been served from a people bowl so we've put that routine to rest.

aptosca, I have had cats all my life and have never allowed them on the counters. It's very easy to teach them to stay off and I don't like the idea of them walking around where I prep food. I certainly wouldn't let my kids walk around on the counters :) I also don't let the dog up on the furniture. I figure the animals are lucky to get to be in the house at all. Mean, eh?

My SIL lets the dog lick the dirty dishes in the dishwasher as she's loading. Yuck. Not a germ issue, just the ick factor again. I'll have to explore why I find that so disgusting! abfab, any input on that?

Mari,
I enjoyed this post very much. If all we talked about were faucets and sinks I would be very bored. It made me laugh and that's always a good thing. If anyone found it inappropriate then they just have to stop reading it, it's that simple.
Donna

I'm a photographer and over the years, I've documented quite a few "bathrooms" in foreign countries with my cameras. The most most extraordinary one I've ever seen was in Tibet in a very remote Himalayan village. My companions and I were adopted by two teenage Yak herders near the base of Mt. Everest and offered space in their home overnight. Their house was an adobe-like, two-story structure much like a house you'd see in New Mexico.

After greeting the boys parents, we were escorted to space on the roof where we could unroll our sleeping bags and spend the night under the most amazing blanket of stars. The altitude was about 15,000 feet.

When nature called, the host said that they had an indoor bathroom, which was quite unusual in that part of the world. I was taken to this large room on the second floor which was completely empty and spotless except for a 4-inch hole in the middle of the floor boards. I closed the door and peeked through the hole to see, to my absolute astonishment, all the animals owned by the family milling around underneath on the first floor. Wow! Not exactly the most sanitized situation...especially for the animals. Washing your hands...not an option, Viagra or not!

Very nice people, but very primative society!

I thought of something else gross. My brother-in-law stepped in dog poop and washed off his shoe in the kitchen sink.

Now that's gross.

I didn't have anywhere to write about it until now. I feel better.

Kygirl, that's a major gross! OMG, in the kitchen sink? He needs a proper spanking for that one. I'm glad you felt comfortable to let this out. We don't need a pic for that one, trust me :-)

This is certainly an interesting thread on my first visit to this forum.
My DH is one of the "horrible workers" that you all have into your homes on a daily basis. I'm very offended by the comment as should the rest of you. Those men are the backbone of this country and are as talented and skilled in their craft as your favorite plastic surgeon or divorce attorney.
After 35 years in the heating and cooling business (Boston) he's seen it all...including the lady in the Back Bay of Boston living in a $3 million condo who wanted to take the call out in trade LOL (he blushed and backed his way out the door and told her the office would send the bill). He also found that most home bathrooms were dirtier than the ones at the local motorcycle shop.

Just waded through this whole thread, and I found it HIGHLY entertaining and informative. And THANK YOU abfab - for shedding light.

Unfortunately, I can't think of anything gross to contribute : (

(((Hugs))) to anyone who suffered any bruised feelings when the poop was flying through the air. I love this forum!

MsMarion, who said the workers are horrible? I certainly don't look down on the people I hire. They're all invited to come to my kitchen party once this is over.

Please relax and enjoy the forum and don't get upset about this thread. Anyone who comes into my home and uses the bathroom without washing their hands will get an EWWWW from me. I might not say it to them, but I sure will think it.

Welcome :-)

my DH owns one of those local motorcycle shops - and there are more cleaning supplies, soaps, disenfectants, lysol wipes, towels etc. in that bathroom than you would find in most homes. I'd venture to say it's cleaner than our bathrooms at home because we have cat litter boxes in our bathrooms.

That said, there are people in all industries who are slobs and those that are not... We're hearing about all of these "horrible worker" slobs on this thread because this whole board is about home improvement. I bet if it were posted on a board relating to bankers, or brokers, or attorneys etc. you would get an equal proportion of slobs (some of whom bring in million dollar bonuses each year but apparently have no idea what soap is for)

Mariposa...great thread! These topics that cause a 120+ number of responses are cool...fun to see how the conversation swings wildly all over the place.

I agree with the others in here...when you're in the middle of a very expensive redo of your kitchen, freaking out about the smallest details, and worrying about paying for it all, it's fun sometimes to come across a thread like this. Put's it all in perspective, and adds a little humor to a stressful day.

This thread does belong in the kitchen forum.

toomuchtochoosefrom, you are so right! My husband worked at a major car foundry. When he hurt his back and had to go on light duty, the company had him cleaning the executive offices...I heard him telling his buddy how one of the big-wigs liked to spray powder on his feet and walk around the office with no shoes...the same person wouldn't use the toilets because he said there were too many germs from other people...he thought it was ok to pee in the sink though.

Don't get me wrong, because I found this thread informative and amusing, but it amazes me that someone asking help for a legitimate problem might get a couple answers, and a thread on a bathroom topic gets 112 contributions. What is going on here!?

A lot of people on this forum are in the midst of chaos and a light topic like this gives a chance for lively banter that isn't really important as subject matter perhaps, but is a nice mental health break from the stress of remodeling. It allows one to step back away from the problems encountered for a bit. At least that is my perception of "what's going on here".

Sometimes the "legitimate problems" only get an answer or two because once answered there's not much to add. If opinions are asked for, most threads will be longer than if a solution to a common problem that can be answered by one or two posters is requested.

cheryl:

Pee in the SINK?? I haven't laughed this much since pre demolition!

We have new construction so we have a porta potty. For reasons I will never understand my six year old (boy) is obsessed with going in it. Every time we go to the house he decides he needs to go. Its to the point now that when we drive up to the house my 2 year old says "Liam potty!". Just another icky boy thing I guess.

On the Eww factor of contractors- a good friend accidentally burned down the better part of her house. During reconstruction she went to check on things and found the painter and his girlfriend christening her son's playroom floor. Blech!

My aunt and uncle met in France back in the early 60's at a unisex bathroom. The stalls were only a few feet high. They ended up sitting next to each other (so the story goes). They were both from Canada...I can't imagine what their conversation must have been. I've never asked them. They got married within a year.

What I find really interesting is that there hasn't been much discussion about the "voyeuristic" aspect of this story. The drywall guy didn't know that he was going to be heard when he asked to use the rest room. You could almost say he got pranked.

I would be mortified if someone could hear me through the bathroom door doing anything. I certainly wouldn't stand around listening to anyone's bathroom activity. If I went to a dinner party and someone tinkled and I could hear it, I would never, ever use that bathroom again (and possibly never return to that person's house unless there was an alternative bathroom I could use).

I guess what I am saying is that, if I knew you could hear through the bathroom door, I would steer people to a different bathroom so that they can have the most privacy possible. Common decency dictates it.

This thread is like a train wreck. It's just awful to look but I can't help but peek.

We have porta-potties ALWAYS during construction. Our GC insists upon it.

Favorite porta-potty story- SIL and I are at our local Arts Fair with small children. We take turns watching each others kids while we use the porta-potties. They are very clean, odorless and well-maintained. SIL exits and comments about their convenience. Mentions there is even a place to place her bag. Uh, no- it's the urinal. We still laugh about it.

Break out the tin foil hats & containment suits, kids. I work in the office of a warehouse and one of the men's rooms in right across from us. The majority of the time that door opens immediately after the flush. Those unwashed hands then go out to pack books into boxes and ship those germs RIGHT INTO YOUR HOME!

Seriously, if you think about these things too much they will make you crazy. During 6 months of construction I honestly never gave it a thought if any of the workers were washing their hands or not (fwiw we went through a lot of liquid soap in the bathroom during that time so my guess is yes). For God's sake, we ate the majority of our meals outside in full view of the neighborhood and when we finally DID have an inside to eat at it consisted of upturned sheetrock buckets as chairs & a rolling office cart as table. The workers did the same.

If anyone peed outside my dog made sure to mark over it. Honestly none of this stuff ever phased me.

So today, after a two month hiatus the workers are back in my house installing the pantries and all I can think about is if they're washing their hands or not. Thanks a lot, Mariposa ;-).

What really grosses me out (and I fully expect to be slammed for this) is rolling dough out on kitchen counters. This just gives me the heebie jeebies no matter how well you clean them first. I guess I suffer from the same affliction as the people that are grossed out by a dog eating off of a people plate prior to the plate being run through the dishwasher (FWIW dog spit doesn't bother me).

We all have our own foibles.

Nina

This got me to thinking, my sister won't even wash her hands in the kitchen sink after going to the bathroom or changing a diaper. She thinks bathroom hands should only be washed in the bathroom. Me, I wash my hands wherever I'm closest to, and with four young kids, a dog, and lots of cooking, I'm washing my hands constantly.

What is grosser to me than a lot of other things is raw poultry juice in the sink. Talk about germs.

this thread is giving me good jollies every time I open it. from peeing in the sink to dogs marking their turf when workers pee outside to the urinal/purse holder to meeting the love of your life over a short toilet stall to people getting pissy over having to read about such things...this thread has it all and it's really a funny read and a great slice of life.

I'll play again. I was vacationing in Alaska several years ago and took a day cruise to visit the glaciers around Sitka. The cruise director warned us several times to be VERY careful to make sure the bathroom doors were locked because many times people thought they were, and they weren't. So of course I was very careful when I was in the bathroom. But that didn't help a bit when I walked to the bathroom and opened the door on someone who hadn't been so careful. The poor guy was peeing and had looked away from the door so I slammed it shut and ran away before he could turn his head to see who had walked in on him.

Good times.

We have a fan in the powder room (noisy one), and everyone who comes to visit always turns it on.

Pecan, My neighbour said he had a Port-A-Potty when he was remodelling his previous home. It was ordered by his GC as well. He's ordering one and we're going pay half the cost.

Both bathrooms are due to be torn out soon which would leave us with MB only.

I'm so happy that some have enjoyed this thread. You have a sense of humour and it shows :-).

OK - as silly as I think this topic is - I'll jump in with a story. Different people have different public bathroom etiquette. At a company I used to work at, one of the women told me that although the ladies' room had three stalls, there was an unwritten rule that if one stall was already occupied, no one would be rude enough to take a dump in one of the other stalls. I found this really weird and silly and asked another femaile employee if this was true - she had never heard of this and said that if she needed to take a dump, then she's take a dump regardless of how many other people were in the ladies' room.

jerzeegirl, my opinions probably mostly coincide with yours. I don't really think of myself as a prude but I think I must have victorian sensibilities. In pretty much all situations if someone does something embarrassing I tend to look (or listen) the other way. I hope I will be extended that courtesy when (not if) I do something that fits that category. I sometimes tell stories on myself (the purse / urinal story is funny) but seldom on someone else, including my children. If that worker is a good guy and it seems he probably is, I hope he never knows about or finds this thread, but then I am easily mortified and always think others will be too.

So when did JR become the KF gestapo? Seems like most of these bodily odor/germ concerns are appropriate to a kitchen-related forum. Who said this forum was exclusively for kitchen design/reno topics? Since there are no paid dues here (unlike several years ago), either choose to engage in a topic, or don't -- JR, you can opt-out if the topic doesn't suit your tastes.

I enjoy this forum for ALL it has to offer, not just kitchen design/reno's (although please be kind/helpful to me when I post floorplans/ideas soon!)

OK. Here is one for you. This is a true story.

Back in college I worked summers for some electrical contactors. One of the electricians was caught by the homeowner washing his hands IN THE TOILET. And, on top of that he was using a bar of soap he grabbbed from their shower stall.

The woman called the office and was hysterical. I don't blame her.

The boss confronted the accused electrician and he admitted it in a very nochelant way. He defended his behavior by saying if he had used th sink and gotten it black and dirty the homeowner would have complained about that! He used the soap bar from the shower stall because he thought the little guest soaps were to pretty for him to use and he didn't want to wreck them! He said he ALWAYS washed up in the toilet when he was out on a job to keep the bathroom sink clean.

Geesh.

Gardeners know, outside it is soil, inside it is dirt. I could spend hours playing in that outside "dirt," but always use a piece of tp to flush, open the stall door and turn on faucets! We have all become more and more germaphobic and more physically isolated from each other.
This thread has been an interesting read-I even saved the page about the castle toilets. Thanks, Mari

Paulines: ... "And behavior that is acceptable in the bathroom, or in the bedroom, is unthinkable in the livingroom or dining room."

I think that depends on whether the children are home or not (grin).

That's it Pauline. Next time I come to your house, I'm bringing my own chairs ;-). Make sure you knock & blare your horns, people, when you go a-callin' on the Paulines'. ;-)

Proudmama, I feel I'm like your sister. The kitchen sink is for washing "clean gunk" whereas the bathroom is for washing "intermediately mucky muck". The real sordid, ripe stuff - well, that's what the basement sink is for. ;-) See, there is a proper hierarchy for muck.

I think that this string is appropriate on this forum because the forum isn't just about kitchens themselves, it's about the process of undergoing a kitchen remodel. Problems with workers are part of that (as are compliments for workers, which I've posted a lot more than complaints). A post like this can lead to helpful suggestions for how to deal with such problems.

I also liked the digressions into dirt vs. mess, sterile urine vs. germy money/poultry, whether we are overdoing antiseptic measures, etc. Really made me think.

Leave it to you Mindstorm for picking up on that, lol (and you DID bring your own chairs...remember?)

I haven't followed this thread, but it's an important topic. I wanted to say that I went into my local Curves the other day and on the front counter, right next to the scanner that reads our bar-coded ID cards, there was an enormous bottle of anti-bacterial hand cleaner with a note taped to it that said "Due to the rapid spread of infectious germs at this time of year, please sanitize your hands before and after your workout." I was actually impressed. I'd always used the hand sanitizer after my workout (the bottle is ordinarily at the back of the workout room, near the "lockers"), but I guess they want to kill the bad germs before people touch the equipment. Good for Curves. I love that place. So maybe we homeowners just need to have bottles of hand sanitizer with notes taped on the bottle all over the place to get the message across to our workers.

I'm just visiting from the Buying and Selling Homes forum and had such a good time reading this thread!! It really brightened my day--so funny and informative. Thanks!

Here we go again.....

At our Curves they ask everyone to wash their hands before and after workouts. Hand sanitizers only kill bacteria, not viruses.

Only washing gets rid of most germs and viruses. It is a physical effect soap and water loosen them from your hands and rinse them down the sink. All you need is regular soap, running water and a 15-30 seconds of lathering.

I have really laughed at some of your stories! Years ago my brother said when he had to go to a bathroom he always flushed several times while doing #2. This way it cut down on the odor---not a bad idea. Also I have been guilty of turning the water on to hide the tinkle sound if I thought others might be near by.

LOL Pauline.

When my now 22 year-old son was potty training, he had 3 older sisters and one bathroom. Since we lived in the country, his dad taught him to "water" a tree. He was a very energetic kid and I never knew what to expect from him.

We lived on 2 fairly busy highways and one day I noticed cars slowing down and honking their horns. Well, DS figured if you could go #1 outside, then you could go #2 so he did. Little bare butt hanging out for all the world to see!

About 25 years ago, my ex and I came up here to Maine for about 8 months to help out her family. While we were up here, we stayed with her sister and her family. At the time, the only indoor plumbing was the kitchen sink. They had an outhouse, and our 2 year old son was told it was fine to go out to the back porch and pee off the deck, being that we were WAY back in the sticks (over 20 minutes ride to even the nearest SMALL town, and the closest neighbor was about a mile away). Well, when we moved back down to Connecticut, we stayed with MY sister while we looked for a new house, and my sister, who, with her husband, were the epitome of the term "yuppie couple", was absolutely mortified to see this little boy standing on her front porch, in a young, very upscale neighborhood in Milford, Ct., peeing off the front porch like he had a right!! It was absolutely priceless. Neither my ex nor I even thought to say something to him! We'd gotten so used to it up north that it was just one of those things-- part of life! Talk about culture shock!! LMAO

Here goes: my mother washed our faces with the same stank old kitchen sponge she used on the dishes, counter, pots & pans, refrigerator...I still shudder to think of it.

Well, well, well...

Who would of thought, huh? LOL

Glad you all enjoyed some of the stories.

Mari

I have loved reading this thread. I'm glad this was brought back a year later. I would have never seen it.

I've realized that while I constantaly have to wash my hands at home and at the office, it really doesn't bother when I can't wash my hands, let's say after using the restroom and there's no running water. But if there is running water, it is a need - I cannot go without washing. Go figure.

BTW, I love animals so much, that if someone has a cute puppy, doesn't matter who's it is, I usually give it kisses!

I kiss those doggies, too!

I thought of this thread the other day when a Cox Cable truck backed out of my neighbor's driveway, pulled THROUGH my circle drive, and the tech SPIT out his open window onto my front porch!!!!

I call that trespass and beyond disgusting. Cox Cable's customer service department was nonplussed, and did not even offer an apology. I even have his technician number. (sweet neighbor called and got it for me)

I don't remember when I've been that hopping mad.

Just had to vent about something GROSS.

My husband told me that 80% of the men he sees in restrooms do not wash there hands after they do either 1 or 2. He is more grossed about this than I am, since he OCD about keeping his hands clean. So next time you take your mans hand and kiss it, beware! ;-)

Hey abfab, mariposa and so many others -- I too find this thread "utterly stimulating", in abfab's words. Thanks for it all. I can't take the time to read more than 10% of it but when I'm in procrastination-mode I'll be back.

I don't know whether anyone else is comforted by the maxim: 'if it doesn't kill you, it'll make you stronger'; it does me. Germs are just foreign entities that your body has evolved mechanisms for clearing away remarkably efficiently. Most of the time you do so very successfully. Biologically, if you don't succumb to the event it was probably healthy for you in the long term.

As has been pointed out, socially, we decide what is gross and what isn't; it's a political choice. Issues of class and home-sacrosanctity and all the rest are completely germane (pun intended). You have a lot of control over what decides to set you off here; it's very subjective. You happen to know about this particular incident, but what of the thousands, millions you do not? Life, is "gross", eh?

I just heard a story on "This American Life" where a security guard at a mall described watching someone wipe boogers onto a stall's counter. This is gross, sure, but what I thought really interesting was the store clerk's reaction when told. Evidently he *threw up*. Really? If he hadn't known about it it wouldn't have been gross, knowing so was so revolting he had to produce orders of magnitude more bodily fluid? Our mind certainly governs matter....

Ha ha. Three years later, reviving this thread again. I searched THS for well water smelling like sulphur and this thread brings back memories of much worse smells.

Around the time this thread started (wish I'd seen this then!) we were re-doing our master bathroom. One of the guys would arrive in the morning and do a #2 in the other upstairs bathroom which was the only one with a shower at the time. We HAD to use it to get ready for work! He NEVER used the fan. It smelled HORRIBLE. He knew we had a powder room downstairs.

The thing is, my husband and I kept complaining to each other, but we didn't say anything to this guy. We counted the days until he'd be gone, and we made sure someone was already in that bathroom when he got to our house, so he couldn't use it. I know it's hard to talk about these things with people. But we gotta say something to these people. That's really the solution.

And contractors should think about their customer service in all aspects. Our "business" always smells worse to others than to ourselves, you know! So many years later I think of this contractor and I immediately think of his poop. I'm sure that's not the impression he wanted to leave?

I admit I never noticed anything about their handwashing. Our bodies have how many trillions of bacteria already in us and on us? I know we might like to think of our bodies as sanitized temples, but I'm not sure there's anything else in my house that's grosser than what's in my own body, to be honest. Well, uh the litterbox ... speaking of smells I need motion-activated fan for that!

Workmen will be at my place soon and I shudder at how to handle the new bathrooms. I do not like people peeing all over my toilet and floor! This time they are new. One guy a few months back was also talking lightheartedly with his work mate about his newly acquired STD's while he was here! Then I'm supposed to wipe up after them. Gross!

When my downstairs bathroom was being ripped apart, the toilet still stood. I said we still needed the toilet there for them to use. He got this look like he was being treated like an animal or something to have to do his business in such a place. Well, don't pee all over someone's house and you won't be "treated" like that! lol.

I have read where contractors get offended when they are not allowed to use the bathroom and it is a courtesy we should extend. Well. .... what do they expect when they are slobs. Can they really be that clueless?

What type of people do these things. Worse yet expect someone else to clean it up.

I do not want them staining and grossing up my new grout!