Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless the MIL comes out of the bathroom with brown-stained hands, I don't see the need to bleach the path from the bathroom to the kitchen sink.

You are exposed to particulate fecal matter every day. You touch it all the time and you have no idea when or where. It's in your house, it's on every door handle, it's at the grocery store, it's at the movie theater. Most of the time, we don't get sick because we have strong immune systems to take care of that. Yes, you can get sick from someone who's been sick. The good news is that you can actively assess the health of your mother in law. If only we could do the same for the last guy who touched the 5 dollar bill you just received as change.

OK, here's what. ONE of you "it's OK for her to touch the bathroom door handle and kitchen sink faucet with unwashed hands, as long as there's no visible pee or poop" needs to answer this question:

THEN WHY DOES SHE HAVE TO WASH HER HANDS AT ALL?

If she's going to touch some surfaces with dirty hands, and that's OK, then why not others? So you think it's fine for her to touch the bathroom door handle and the kitchen sink handle with dirty hands. WHY STOP THERE? Why not get a drink of water on her way from the bathroom to the kitchen sink, and touch the cabinets and the fridge to do so? Why not run her hands along the kitchen island to keep her balance? Why not just skip washing and go play trucks with Little Billy?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless the MIL comes out of the bathroom with brown-stained hands, I don't see the need to bleach the path from the bathroom to the kitchen sink.

You are exposed to particulate fecal matter every day. You touch it all the time and you have no idea when or where. It's in your house, it's on every door handle, it's at the grocery store, it's at the movie theater. Most of the time, we don't get sick because we have strong immune systems to take care of that. Yes, you can get sick from someone who's been sick. The good news is that you can actively assess the health of your mother in law. If only we could do the same for the last guy who touched the 5 dollar bill you just received as change.

OK, here's what. ONE of you "it's OK for her to touch the bathroom door handle and kitchen sink faucet with unwashed hands, as long as there's no visible pee or poop" needs to answer this question:

THEN WHY DOES SHE HAVE TO WASH HER HANDS AT ALL?

If she's going to touch some surfaces with dirty hands, and that's OK, then why not others? So you think it's fine for her to touch the bathroom door handle and the kitchen sink handle with dirty hands. WHY STOP THERE? Why not get a drink of water on her way from the bathroom to the kitchen sink, and touch the cabinets and the fridge to do so? Why not run her hands along the kitchen island to keep her balance? Why not just skip washing and go play trucks with Little Billy?

Anonymous wrote:How do all you people who think is is "so gross" even function in normal society? This is pretty far down the list of things that are "so gross" in life.

Anonymous wrote:Unless the MIL comes out of the bathroom with brown-stained hands, I don't see the need to bleach the path from the bathroom to the kitchen sink.

You are exposed to particulate fecal matter every day. You touch it all the time and you have no idea when or where. It's in your house, it's on every door handle, it's at the grocery store, it's at the movie theater. Most of the time, we don't get sick because we have strong immune systems to take care of that. Yes, you can get sick from someone who's been sick. The good news is that you can actively assess the health of your mother in law. If only we could do the same for the last guy who touched the 5 dollar bill you just received as change.

Anonymous wrote:Unless the MIL comes out of the bathroom with brown-stained hands, I don't see the need to bleach the path from the bathroom to the kitchen sink.

You are exposed to particulate fecal matter every day. You touch it all the time and you have no idea when or where. It's in your house, it's on every door handle, it's at the grocery store, it's at the movie theater. Most of the time, we don't get sick because we have strong immune systems to take care of that. Yes, you can get sick from someone who's been sick. The good news is that you can actively assess the health of your mother in law. If only we could do the same for the last guy who touched the 5 dollar bill you just received as change.

Anonymous wrote:For fucks sake.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're the one with the problem, here, not your MIL. What she is doing is not gross. I could certainly understand wanting to bring it up if she didn't wash her hands at all but there's nothing wrong with using a different sink. The germs in your house are ubiquitously uniform. No room is exempt.

FWIW, I also wash my hands in the kitchen sink after using the powder room. I can't stand the tiny pedistal sink we have in there and I prefer the larger kitchen sink that is 15 feet away.

What??? It is completely gross!! She uses the bathroom and then instead of washing her hands immediately after, in said bathroom, she opened the door and walks all the way to the kitchen to do it. THAT is gross. You, PP, have a problem if you think doing that is just fine. The whole point of washing your hands immediately after using the toilet is to avoid spreading pee/poop onto other things.

Yeah, I'm sure OP's kids and their friends ensure there are NEVER germs outside the bathroom in the house.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're the one with the problem, here, not your MIL. What she is doing is not gross. I could certainly understand wanting to bring it up if she didn't wash her hands at all but there's nothing wrong with using a different sink. The germs in your house are ubiquitously uniform. No room is exempt.

FWIW, I also wash my hands in the kitchen sink after using the powder room. I can't stand the tiny pedistal sink we have in there and I prefer the larger kitchen sink that is 15 feet away.

What??? It is completely gross!! She uses the bathroom and then instead of washing her hands immediately after, in said bathroom, she opened the door and walks all the way to the kitchen to do it. THAT is gross. You, PP, have a problem if you think doing that is just fine. The whole point of washing your hands immediately after using the toilet is to avoid spreading pee/poop onto other things.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's truly not OK is that OP has asked her to abide by the rules/customs of the house, and MIL won't do it.

I don't "agree" with some of my MIL's house rules/customs, but I respect and follow them in her home.

LOL. No, you don't need to follow rules from crazy people.

Anonymous wrote:I agree with OP that this is gross, and I'm really not a germaphobe at all. How are people saying that germs are the same everywhere? If one is exposed to fecal matter or blood in the bathroom and then washes it off immediately, it does not get on the door handle, the kitchen sink handle, or anything in between. I disagree that the same germs are everywhere. When someone in my house has a stomach virus, you better believe we bleaching the heck out of the bathroom more than the kitchen sink.

That said, I would be way too awkward to make her change. I would just run a bleach wipe over the door handle occasionally.

Anonymous wrote:You're the one with the problem, here, not your MIL. What she is doing is not gross. I could certainly understand wanting to bring it up if she didn't wash her hands at all but there's nothing wrong with using a different sink. The germs in your house are ubiquitously uniform. No room is exempt.

FWIW, I also wash my hands in the kitchen sink after using the powder room. I can't stand the tiny pedistal sink we have in there and I prefer the larger kitchen sink that is 15 feet away.