02-08-2025
Popular Habits That Are Actually Extremely Unhygienic
We all like to think we have good hygiene habits, but even the most hygiene-conscious person has a few eating, cooking, cleaning, and social habits that have become so normalized it's easy to forget how unhygienic they probably are.
Specialist-Rise4952 on Reddit asked, "What is extremely unhygienic but everyone seems to do it anyway?"
And some of these would make a germaphobic person absolutely CRINGE. Here are some of the responses:
"Wearing nitrile gloves to prepare food then touching everything else including money."
—Waste-Entry850
"Eating finger food while bowling."
—_Keys2theWest_
"Using makeup testers in the store like lipstick or mascara without using a disposable wand or using the available hygiene spray to spray off the product first."
—BleghYeeHaw
"Public bathroom door handles. Many people don't wash their hands. But after you washed your hands, the very next thing you have to do is grab the filthy handle."
—baden27
"Licking fingers at places where you serve yourself food. I worked for a buffet restaurant, and the number of people who lick their fingers and then grab the serving utensils right after is disgusting."
—Thunbbreaker4
"Putting your whole mouth over the water fountain."
—DinkandDrunk
"Not sure if this is universal, but I've noticed friends/family with babies don't wash their hands after changing their diapers. I definitely silently judge them for it!"
—vellen890
"Licking your fingers, then counting money."
—otterlytatts
"Beer pong."
—Potential_Speed_7048
"The open-mouth cough. We learned nothing."
—chrismasto
"Toilet keys kept behind the counter in cafes and handed to you by staff who don't wash their hands after handing you the key!!"
—No-Age4007
"As someone who's Asian, I'm disgusted seeing people wear shoes in their houses (not the house slipper kind). I know it's not my house, and those are not my feet, but damn, that's disgusting."
—SmithDoesGaming
"Blowing multiple candles off a birthday cake!!!"
—nebbish79
"Drinking from cans without wiping the tops first."
—sporesatemygoldfish
"Not sanitizing their phone and taking it everywhere with them, including to bed. Your phone is incredibly dirty!"
—yuujinnie
"Chopping vegetables on a chicken-contaminated chopping board."
—Ayilari
"People in restaurants, at the end of the meal, blowing their nose into the serviette then leaving it on their plate for the server to pick up. It's so gross, and so many people do it."
—SheetsTinks
"Leaving the toilet seat up. Poo particles everywhere now."
—llamallama92
"The pharmacy credit card machine, where every last person is required to touch the same stylus to sign their names for receipt."
—EthanDMatthews
"Shaking hands."
—Prize_Proof5332
"Swimming in natural waters. If you take the time to slow down and look, there are hundreds of little critters and bugs everywhere that are all over you. Not to mention the animal excrement, anything people throw off boats, or anything that gets dumped. Regardless, very fun and I'll never stop, lol."
—Timely_Thing2829
"The five-second rule."
—StrangeCosmolian
"Kissing pets. Letting them lick you and not washing the area after."
—absurdlycurious
"People with water bottles who use refill stations and touch the mouth of their bottle to the spout."
—Weary_Ocelot_3456
"Air hand dryers. Millions of pee and poop-particles blowing everywhere. Ew."
—Porch-Lettuce
"Wearing clothes from the store without washing them. I work in retail at one of those discount stores and I process all lot of clothes. They've been dropped on the floor a lot and many hands probably touched that same article of clothing in one given day."
—axia_1214
"Not actually washing your feet when you shower. 'Water will get it' doesn't work, people!"
—Jlx_27
"Touching elevator buttons!"
—Prestigious_War7354
"Eating candy from the containers where you help yourself to what you want."
—kormakarma95
"Not masking up when you're sick."
—HowAboutThatUsername
"Acrylic nails. They're very rarely 100% sealed to your actual nail at the bottom. The amount of filth I've seen under them."
—itisme_cc
"What is it called, Apple bobbing? You're literally dunking your head into a barrel of kids' sweat and spit-filled back-washed water for a chance to fish a possibly nibbled and sickly apple."
—CuriousWebz
"Passing a joint around."
—red_langford
And lastly, "Ball pits."
—Princess_Cake22
Have you done any of these? Are there things that should be added to this list? Let us know in the comments!