Friday, July 16

E coli makes me squeamish - or - Why I don't wash my hands when I use public restrooms



I'm a little bit of a germ-a-phobe.  Just a little. Not enough to keep my house sanitized on a regular basis, but enough to keep my kids off the play equipment in doctors' offices, wipe down every inch of my shopping carts, and yes...avoid washing my hands in public restrooms.  If that sounds disgusting to you, keep reading; I'll tell you all about disgusting.  You walk to the sink with germy hands, right?  You touch the faucet with germy hands.  You infect the faucet as you wash your hands clean.  Next step? You grab the infectious faucet.  Ewww.  


Now, IF there is a paper towel handy (not a frequent find thanks to the prevalent use of air dryers,) I will grab a paper towel to turn off the faucet.  I will use another paper towel to grab the door handle to exit the restroom.  I LOVE that businesses are beginning to put foot-openers in restrooms now.  I'm already using my foot to flush, why not open the door? 


When there are no paper towels available, the alternative is germing my hands up even more at the sink and at the door handle OR exiting the restroom without washing my hands and then using the sanitizer in my purse.  I opt for the sanitizer.  See? Perfectly rational.  I might go a bit overboard by lingering long enough to have someone else open the door so I don't have to touch it, but that's between my kids and their therapy jar.


Purely Products recently sent me an interesting gadget to review and it is perfect for bathroom dilemnas such as these, as well as a million other things.  This new gizmo is called the Pocket Purifier and it uses UV light to kill 99.9% of the nasty germs.  Completely chemical free, all you have to do is wave this little handheld germ eliminating light for 10-15 seconds over the surface you wish to sanitize.  Sadly, you can't use it to sanitize your hands.  It is recommended you avoid use on skin or near eyes to avoid burning.


Small and convenient, the pocket purifier can kill germs on the bottom of your purse after you put it on the floor at the movie theatre, the germs on the toilet seats at your campground outhouse, and even the germs on your shopping cart.  Hotels, shoes, airplanes....the list is endless.  The bulb in the Pocket Purifier lasts for 9,000 hours of use. Replacement bulbs are available from Purely Products.  It is available in pink or black and also has a small flashlight.  It is small enough to slip in my purse and it isn't remotely heavy.  It is just made of plastic and runs off of 4 AA batteries.  Pocket Purifier is usually $29.95, but MamaBuzz readers are being offered a sale of 25% off until August 5th.  The discount applies to other items on their website you might find interesting.


Purely Products sent out one more goodie:  The Sunmate.  This little device fits in the palm of your hand and measures the intensity of ultraviolet rays using a scale of 1-5.  In all honesty, I thought this was a little silly at first.  How hard is it to judge how much sun is shining?  Why would I need a device?  Well, it's not necessarily a need, but it did prove me wrong.  I checked many times and was surprised to see cloudy days show up as a 3.  Super sunny days surprised me occasionally by showing as a 2!  My only complaint with this device is that the indicator light is red/orange.  When you are outside on a bright day, red/orange doesn't show up very well.  


Giveaway!
Purely Products has been generous enough to offer one of my readers a free Sunmate.  Leave a comment below to be entered.  It's that easy!  Contest is open until July 26th.  


* A percentage of every Purely Products sale supports diaperLove, a non-profit providing diapers to children in need. For more info, go to www.diaperLove.org

11 comments:

Christy said...

I want one, I want one!!

I am right there with you on the public restrooms. However, I also have stranger phobia and hate that they think I am simply not a handwasher and therefore germy so I tend to announce loudly to my children that we are going to use hand sanitizer. Pathetic, really.

Christy said...

Oh I so need a sunmate!

Why can't you wash your hands and use your sanitizer after you leave the restroom, lol...I am a hand washer but now most restrooms have faucets that you don't have to touch and I have always flushed with my foot, it really is something we must teach our children.

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

If a towel is not available, I'll pull out a disinfectant wet one (travel size to fit in my teeny tiny purse) to turn on faucets and open doors with. Ya'll know how twisted and obsessive I am about clean.

I'm lovin' the foot doors I've been seeing around recently.

Have a great day hon! :o)

Jessica said...

i'm with you on the public restrooms--i flush with my foot and use hand sanitizer.

T.J. said...

SO curious about these gadgets! I envision myself "shooting" all the door handles and faucets to disinfect them!!

wedogmomma said...

This is SO me! I have SUCH a germaphobe rep...though I don't feel like a fanatic! I've rationalized every shirt-covered handle grab I've made.
You would've been as proud as I was to hear my 4yo daughter shout, "Mom I flushed with my foot!" across the MLB bathroom the other night :)
makes a germ-hatin' momma proud!
And I'd LOVE to try out the UV germ killer!

Andrea said...

Jenn, you'll love this one... I was actually in a restaurant once... I think Wendy's - and they had one of those handy-dandy foot thingies. The problem? The door had a handle that you actually had to TURN to open the door! What a waste!

As a sun lover and frequent sunscreen user, I'd love a sunmate... that is, if I haven't already missed out on the contest!

loudlyfound said...

Ok...I'm gonna gross all of you out, but I'm one of those that might only wash, sanitize, or whatever only about half the time...funny thing...I'm NEVER sick! Neither are my kids. I bet I can count on both hands how many times my entire family of five as ever been on antibiotics...Go Germs! Go Germs! LOL!

Unknown said...

So if UV rays are killin all the germs go wash your hands with the "dirty" sink and then go stand in the sunshine and wave your hands in the air :) Ya know Im beginning to think your a little Kooky.

Jane with an L said...

I leave the faucet on in the bathroom if there are no paper towels. I'm a horrible person.

Jenn said...

LOL, Jane! You're safe here. Let it all out. :D

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