"I Cannot Tell You The Number Of People I've Met Who Have Never Considered This": People Are Revealing The One Basic Hygiene Thing That Most People Overlook
Let's be honest: we all have gross hygiene habits. While mental health concerns, like depression, can make staying on top of personal cleanliness feel like a chore, sometimes we don't wash certain areas of our bodies because we either don't know, don't remember, or have become lazy. So when Reddit user SafeBet5 asked: "What's one basic hygiene that you see people overlooking the most?" people did not hold back with their opinions. Here's what they said below:
1."How to floss properly and effectively. You have to go in deep and around the tooth."
"It took me a long time to learn that the point of flossing is not simply to remove food that is stuck but rather to break up the bacteria that would end up creating plaque."
"And if you have a hard time flossing regularly because it’s boring and/or you’re a bit lazy with it (no judgment), commit to flossing just ONE tooth a day.
This strategy can create better results than for people who try to commit to flossing fully every day (I’m talking only about people who have a hard time making a habit of it) because quite often, you will end up either doing your whole set since you’ve got the floss out anyway, or you’ll do even just a few more than one tooth.
Even if you do just stick to the one tooth a day, it’s better than nothing, and it establishes the habit more easily because it’s so ridiculously easy."
2."My girlfriend used to work at a concert hall/art exhibit. She said the men’s soap dispensary needed to be changed once a week as opposed to the women’s, which was needed daily. Wash your hands, lads."
"I am a guy and went to use the men's room at my gym the other week, and the soap was all out. I proceeded to tell the front desk on my way out.
I came the next day, and the soap dispenser was still empty.
So, literally, any guy who used that washroom for 24 hours did not wash his hands.
I complained again, stating that it had been empty since yesterday, and they finally replaced it."
3."Clean your belly button!"
"LOL, a coworker confided that she was smelling something bad the entire day until she realized it was her own belly button."
4."Wash your ass crack. It doesn’t affect me on a daily basis if someone doesn’t do this, but I know you’re a filthy fucking animal when you tell me you don’t."
5."Closing the toilet lid BEFORE flushing the toilet. I can’t for the life of me understand why people don’t do this."
"Oh my god, I have friends over sometimes, and afterward, our toilet lid is always up! It's pretty much the only thing I judge them for, but it is gremlin behavior, IMO."
6."Not sure if this counts, but people who pee on the seat and don't clean it, especially men. They'll swear up and down that they can aim, but it wasn't them, instead of simply wiping it up. Nasty."
7."Not washing behind the ears. :( Stinky."
"Ha, I had a coworker one time say to a group of us, ‘Do you ever rub your fingers behind your ears just to smell how stinky it is?’ All of us were like 🤨."
"And for people with earrings, you need to take them out and clean the piercings too... they stink."
8."The middle of the back has the magic ability to wash itself."
"I STRESS over this in the shower every time."
9."Y’all need to clean underneath your fingernails. That includes those of you with long artificial nails where dirt and bacteria accumulate easily. It’s gross."
"I guarantee that most people with fake nails are better than the average person at washing their nails."
10."Wash your bedding every week! Especially if you sleep with another person, and especially, especially if you aren’t a ‘shower in the evening’ type of person."
"I cannot tell you the number of people I've met who have never considered this, and it makes me judge you heavily when I figure out that you don't wash your bedsheets regularly.
I was talking to a friend recently, and I said something along the lines of, 'I have to wash my bedsheets separately because the drier doesn't get them all the way dry if I don't,' and they were extremely confused because they washed their bedsheets maybe once a month.
I'm sorry, that's just appalling. Wash your damn bedsheets, your skin will thank you!"
11."Okay, strange one, but do people here wash their legs and feet in the shower? I do, but I have a friend who says he doesn’t bother actively washing his legs and feet because the soap washes down over them, whereas I think it’s important to at least lather soap over legs and feet, particularly in between toes so that it gets rid of loose skin, which might not be agitated by the flow of water alone."
12."Proper taintenance."
13."People taking their phones into the restroom; not disinfecting their phones in general."
14."Wear a mask when you're sick."
"1000000% yes. Thank you!"
15."Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds when using the bathroom, ESPECIALLY a public bathroom."
16."Stop touching your face. Stop licking your fingers. Absolutely gross to be licking your fingers."
"People who lick their fingers whilst eating their meal on a plane and haven't washed nor sanitized their hands get a real long stare from me."
17."Clean your headphones/earphones. They look gross when covered in wax."
"Yup — and they can also make your ears irritated if you are unlucky and don't clean them!"
18."Keeping their glasses clean! I work as an optician and frequently clean people’s grimy lenses that have a build-up of oil and fingerprint smudges on them. Another common thing I see is dead skin trapped between the frame and lenses. Keep your glasses clean by spraying your lenses regularly with lens cleaner or using a mild dish detergent with cold water. Also, if you wear nose pads on your glasses and notice they’re going a bit green, go and get them replaced!"
"I used to work in jewelry, and honestly, I didn't mind if there was a bit of green/grime somewhere that was hard to reach. I mean, I don't want the client to break or scratch something expensive (or impossible) to fix. But bringing something that's crusty and dusty EVERYWHERE (including easy-to-clean parts)? I'm judging hard. The biggest offenders were elegant, middle-aged ladies with very expensive items. I outright refused service in some cases."
19."Using the dryers in public bathrooms. I saw a lot of comments saying handwashing, but we are cleaner off using our own clothing than any air that shuffles poo particles around."
"As a person who worked at multiple gas stations, a few would have us wipe down the wall under the hand dryer and the amount of gross shit on that wall. I will always use paper to dry my hands, knowing all the nasty residue on that wall."
20."Not scrubbing the bottom of their feet/in-between their toes in the shower. It is not enough to just let the water run down to your feet; you need to scrub the bottom of your feet and in between your toes, too."
21."Coughing into open air or hands. I watched a lady at Costco's food area cough into her hands, then proceed to touch the metal counter all over and try to grab someone else's food. Please, don't do this. If you're coughing, please wear a mask or cough into your shirt. I don't care if it's just allergies; it's still bad."
Is there a basic hygiene that you see people overlooking the most? Tell us what it is in the comments below.
