Title is the question.
Because if you don’t, aren’t you putting bacteria all over your plates and silverware?
It seems logical, but I don’t think it’s the norm.
Edit: for anyone wondering, there’s a decent split of people saying yes and no (but only no if they weren’t visibly dirty, or doing something outside/in the bathroom)
Edit 2: this is actually so interesting and apparently polarizing.
Comments
Yes, absolute always, I assumed everyone was doing this.
I do, yes. I’ve just always felt like it was the sensible thing to do.
Personally, I only would if my hands were dirty. For the majority of the time I don’t see the need.
I don’t mean for this to seem negative when I say, I don’t quite understand your logic here.
Surely if you had bacteria on your hands that was enough to cause illness to others when transferred to a plate, shouldn’t you already be ill from it?
It’s also unlikely bacteria could transfer or even survive on your dishes.
It’s a more realistic practise to clean your hands before eating.
Yes
I wash dishes by hand which means my hands are always being washed. If you don’t have a large family(no kids) then you really don’t need a dishwasher. My father felt like having kids ment a dishwasher and landscaping but for free.
No unless my hands are physically and visibly dirty
Yes, I do. I wash my hands frequently.
Yes
Of course!
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Never thought about it
there is literally bacteria everywhere. Washing your hands isn’t going to make or break anything. If you are asking me if you should wash your hands after you use the bathroom yes, otherwise stop being a germaphobe.
Never – he’ll never occurred to me. Also don’t wash my hands before grabbing a plate.
Yes.
Yup
No. I empty it right after eating so they should be clean enough.
This has literally never occurred to me until I just read this question.
Honestly, I don’t worry too much about things like this. I have a great immune system and I think exposure really does help.
Do you was your hands when you grab a clean plate from the cubbard. I fail to see the difference. Never really thought about it though. Obviously im not talking about a restaurant situation.
Do you wash your hands before setting the table??
Absolutely I do.
As does everyone else living in this house.
I’m always washing my hands when I’m doing stuff in the kitchen, so without thinking about it, probably 90% of the time I do.
Unless I just touched garbage or dirt from the garden, no. It’s my own germs. I lick my fingers while eating chicken wings too.
Hygienic behaviors I do have: I wash hands before cooking for others. I try not to share saliva with other people (use serving spoons, don’t drink from other people’s glasses, etc).
Depends on what in handling prior…like doing landscaping, vehicle stuff, outside in general, or bathroom. If none of those things then no, not washing.
Dishes are a dry surface and bacteria is less likely to transfer and survive between dry surfaces.
Of course.
100% yes. And I insist anyone touching anything in my kitchen wash their hands as well.
Absolutely, yes
Always
I shower in bleach before entering my kitchen every time, so ive never thought about it /s
I don’t wash my hands before getting a cup of water either
I always have. I also wash my hands after, it’s just a quirk I have.
I do, man here. Though it’s half for cleanliness, and half because I have dark blue place settings that will show fingerprint streaks if I don’t wash my hands before handling. (So I guess it’s all for cleanliness, just different facets of it.)
Yes, every time. When unloading dishwasher, before eating, after cleaning anything, after the toilet, sometimes before the toilet lol Nothing else is going to keep me from getting ill and I’d really prefer to avoid that.
Yes, and after loading dirty dishes
Yes. Everytime.
But I also do regulatory compliance inspections. One thing I look for is the dish washer handling dirty dishes then clean dishes without washing hands
I wash my hands when I walk into the kitchen, regardless of my planned activity. Habit built working in food service.
Yes, every time. People that don’t should have to wear a scarlet letter. No one in my family does. They also don’t wash their hands before prepping food for others. It’s disgusting and rude.
I do
Yes, but I’m always washing my hands
I wash my hands before unloading the dishwasher.
The biggest ick for me is picking up the forks by their tynes.
I am far from a hygienic person, but yeah… it just makes sense if you are going to be doing things like touching the rim of glasses and the mouth parts of cutlery that you would wash your hands. I’m honestly shocked, I assumed everyone washed their hands first
I also wash my hands after loading the washing machine with dirty laundry… I hope that is also common practice.
Yes. I may have just finished getting home, in which case I just got done touching door handles and countertops or public screens or buttons. I may have just finished cleaning so I have cleaning stuff on my hands. I may have taken out the garbage or pet one of our pets.
People saying “not unless my hands were dirty” worry me because it probably means only if there’s visible gunk. Whatever you just did, even if you were only touching your phone (that you probably never clean), your hands are dirty 🤗
Yes and you would think this would be common but apparently it is not.
After talking with my wife and interacting with these comments I think an important factor to consider is whether or not your touching dishes meant to be used by other people. Most people seem to be okay not washing their hands assuming theyre getting food for themselves and theres no other people involved, but are more careful to wash their hands if it is for other people.
Either way I typically wash my hands in either case almost always for the smallest thing and it could just be habit/OCD
Of course. But I am a germophobic. I wash my hands 100 times a day.
Yes, but it’s a habit I picked up at work. I work with infants, and I always wash my hands before making a bottle (or food, obviously,) and before I put away bottles.
I just picked the habit up and it makes sense to me.
But I also wash my hands before I use the bathroom as well as after. Hands get dirty. So I wash my hands before I use the bathroom, too.
Yes. What’s the point in washing the dishes if I’m about to immediately make them dirty again with my dirty hands? I treat it the same way I treat dental instruments (minus the gloves), wash my hands after touching the dirty dishes and then use clean hands to operate the dishwasher, and use clean hands to empty the dishwasher. I know it’s not the same as dental instruments but it’s a habit now and the soap/sink are directly above the dishwasher so it’s not really a chore for me to wash my hands.
Yes. Come home=wash hands, use toilet=wash hands, make something to eat=wash hands. Im basically waging my hands whenever possible. I’m not a germaphobe, but I don’t like getting sick and handwashing is the best way to reduce your chances of picking anything up.
Yes but I have OCD
Yes. Other people will be touching them and expect a clean plate. It won’t be clean with my gross germs all over them
Yes, because i don’t want grubby hands on my clean dishes. Same thing applies to my clean laundry lol
I do, but I literally have clinical ocd
Yes.
Yes. I wash my hands before anything kitchen-related and also when coming into the house. I work in a school. I feel germy always.
Yes I do
Yes, I wash my hands first thing when I enter my kitchen.
I do.
Nope, they get washed after I use the bathroom or touch anything that would make them dirty. The small amount of germs from my couch or wherever are already in my house so a couple fingers touching the bottom of a plate and thumb on the edge isn’t going to do much. Been fine my whole adult life, believe it or not.
Uh yes. I would hope people unloading silverware they are touching with their hands would be washing them.
sometimes but not always
tbh it’s a good habit to be in i’m just lazy
Yes, every time, but contamination OCD runs in my family. So it’s just out of habit because not doing so will freak people out around here.
Yes, for the very reason you mentioned. Don’t want to transfer germs to clean dishes.
I wash my hands after loading the dishwasher, washing dishes by hand, and before unloading the dishwasher.
After COVID, I wash my hands before doing nearly anything, possibly too often. It was disgusting during COVID to discover how many people didn’t wash their hands regularly, not even after using the bathroom.
I wash my hands after I get home from grocery shopping before putting my food away. I know it might not help much since I touched the shopping cart before putting my items in it and the cashiers and baggers touched my items. It just makes me feel better. I don’t have a dishwasher. I let my dishes dry on the rack, but I wash my hands before putting them away.
Yes I wash before
I wash my hands before and after touching…well… pretty much anything.
I wear gloves, wasteful sure, but I hate how some stuff feels straight out the washer. I also load the washer immediately after and it helps to not touch the gross dirty ones
if i’ve done something recently that could cause my hands to be dirty, yeah absolutely. if i’m decently sure my hands are clean besides natural bacteria, no. there’s bacteria everywhere, trying to fight them 24/7 is a losing battle
Lol no
Of course
This thread reaffirms my stance on never going to a potluck.
Yes
Of course.
Yes
This thread is why you can’t eat at everyone’s house
I wash my hands after using the washroom or if they are dirty. Outside of that, no. And some bacteria exposure is good for you. How do you think any species has adapted?
And look at a baby that crawls on the ground and puts random stuff in its mouth. I’m not too worried.
No. Are you washing your hands every time you touch anything? There’s bacteria everywhere.
ALWAYS
Yes. Anything food related, I wash my hands first.
Yes ever since covid.
Absolutely!
It’s my 16 year olds chore. He washes hands and then sanitizes.
Yes, 100% of the time
i guess i dont? not specifically for that purpose. i was my hands after coming home, after yard work, after using the bathroom, touching dirty laundry, touching dirty dishes, food waste, meat products,… probably other things as well. i wouldnt handle the clean dishes with dirty hands, but my hands should already have been recently washed.
Lol wait till you find out how many unwashed hands touched your plates when eating out
(Clean hands, hopefully, but defs not washed)
Yes
I mean if I know my hands are dirty I.e I just touched something sticky or it’s been a couple hours since I washed them, yeah but as a general rule no.
Washing your hands does not remove 100% of bacteria and neither does the dishwasher. Both will remove “most” bacteria but nothing you can do will leave anything sterile for more than a couple minutes at most. There’s dirt and bacteria and all kinds of things literally floating in the air. There’s microorganisms that live on every inch of your body and you actually want them there a lot of the time.
Being “sterile” is just not feasible outside of surgical/research sterile hood situations. It takes a lot of work to keep all microorganisms off of you and the things you touch.
The biggest issue is whether or not these organisms are pathogenic and 99% of the time, they aren’t. Many diseases need a human carrier to survive in the outside environment for extended periods of time.
I wash my hands before unloading the dishwasher. I’d hate to grab a utensil with unwashed hands, even if they were washed within the last hour. I could’ve touched countless of unsanitary items. Besides, it’s the right thing to do, especially when living in a household with others. There are some waiters and food staff who will give you the straw in its wrapper or leave it unwrapped at the top so their fingers don’t touch where the mouth goes.
If you’re not washing your hands before unloading the dishwasher, I think it’s unsanitary.
If you handle something clean you should try and keep it clean..if you handle something dirty, try and make it cleaner (if worthwhile). Basic logic.
yes. every time.
Yes. I have dogs, they’re not entirely sanitary, and I pet them often so I wash my hands before handling dishes and food.
I only do if I’m emptying the dishwasher at work 😅
Yes. But …. I have an immune system and so does everyone who lives with me. Thinking too much about microbes scan really make a person cuckoo
I’ve lived with an immuno-compromised person and washing hands before unloading the dishwasher were not one of the recommend precautions for her.
Yes
ALWAYS. and I tell my teen to wash before putting them away
I do.
Yes I scrub my hands with liquid soap several times each day like a surgeon. Not antibacterial.
And of course before I unload the dishwasher
Yes I wash my hands??? Hello
I do yes. We are going to eat off or with those dishes and I want them clean.
Yes, absolutely. There’s no point in putting away clean dishes without clean hands.
Yup
I’m ready for my down votes… I’d say more than half of y’all have OCD. Of course I wash my hands but this is extreme. Maybe cuz I’m a boomer and there was no such thing as hand sanitizer. I would never have thought to wash my hands before putting dishes away. And no, I’m not sick all the time. Haven’t had a cold in more than a decade and no flu longer than that. I haven’t had covid either, but I digress.
Down vote away but don’t bother with comments cuz I won’t respond to any of them.
Honestly the thought never crossed my mind. I do make sure I’m not touching fork prongs or the rim of cups tho.
Yes, of course. I’m not a beast. If you don’t wash your hands before unloading the dishwasher, you are an unsanitary cretin. I’m not a germaphobe or anything, it just makes sense, so that you aren’t making dishes unsanitary.
Doesn’t everybody?
yes
Does anyone else feel like they have a good sense of whether their hands are clean? I feel like I can feel if my hands are dirty.
I don’t touch things like door handles or most restaurant table tops, I wash my hands every single time I use the restroom, so I feel like I generally keep my hands clean at all times.
So the same way I don’t wash my hands before I make coffee or fold laundry or type on my computer (places I also wouldn’t want to have dirty hands before proceeding) I don’t feel the need to wash my hands before I empty the dishwasher because my hands should already be clean…
There’s only so much time since the last time I washed my hands, so it’s not something I need to do before I empty the dishwasher, I only need to wash my hands after something, otherwise I assume my hands are staying generally clean enough to do things.
Always.
No, I have to pee all the time so my hands stay pretty clean, I also hate feeling like anything’s on them so wash them if I touch something weird
Yes
I wash my hands really often, so I don’t do it specifically to unload.
I do. I like washing my hands and I tend to do it between most tasks anyway.
Yes
If you wash your hand, especially because you are storing your clean dishes in the cabinets.
That’s a very thin line before crossing it, having some serious ocd problems.
I wash my hands after using the restroom 🚻, and sometimes during the day, when they are visible dirty.
And I work in a clinical setting.
YES!
I worked as a dishwasher for my first job, and was taught to wash hands before unloading the clean dishes. I also wash my hands a lot in general.
Yes. Dirty dishes are dirty.
Always. Nothing like whatever is on my hands going onto the dishes I eat from. I am sure houseguests appreciate not eating my hand germs.
Yes. Of course.
Seriously peeps you don’t already have enough things to worry about? Like food safety isn’t enough for you, what that is actually in our food… You worry that the CLEAN dishes you eat industrialized food-like products off of might be unsanitary because they were put in a cupboard by unsterilized hands?
Get your priorities straight, numbnuts.
Yes
So do you want to start a discussion about the bacteria IN your body? You must have watched CSI when they go into a locked up house and find a dead body converted in flies and maggots. Where do you think those bugs come from? Not from outside.
I use gloves
Unfortunately I am the dishwasher
Yes of course. I don’t want to fingerprints on my clean glasses and generally i feel like it doesn’t make sense to clean dishes just to touch them with dirty hands. Not that my hands are very dirty but i do have a dog and keyboards/remotes are not really sterile.
I wash my hands after I’m done loading the dishwasher and cleaning the filter
Don’t see the need to do so. The bacteria from my hands won’t flourish on clean plates and when I use the plates I only come in contact with my own bacteria, and if someone else is using my plates chances are we came in contact through things other than the plates already.
Yes, I’m a bartender and I wash my hands before emptiying and wiping down the rack of clean glasses, mostly because I’ve often brought back dirty glasses full of saliva from lots of people at the counter just before. Got the habit at home.
Yes. I also use a clean dish towel to remove cutlery from the holder where the fork tines and spoon bowls are the only place to grasp.
I let the warmth of the plates burn my skin straight off, so no need to spill water on washing my hands before.
Yes. Otherwise I would be spreading bacteria all over the clean dishes.
I don’t have a dishwasher.
This sounds like OCD.
I don’t, because I already have a fear of bacteria, and wash my hands if they touch a surface that I deem to be unclean (I’ve got some automatically unsafe spots, like the underside of the windowsill, blinds, floor, and behind appliances). If a surface in the kitchen feels or looks dirty at all, I’ll wash my hands. Same goes for any dusty surfaces around the house.
I don’t want to get into the habit of washing my hands before putting dishes away too. I’m trying to soften my outlook on bacteria, not add to it. But I can see where you’re coming from, for sure.
I wash my hands constantly and definitely before unloading dishes and anyone helping has to do the same. I also haven’t touched a pubic door handle or gas pump with my bare hands in over 10 years.
“Put away your dishes?” Ooo, Mr Fancypants over here is putting away dishes. La dee dah.