Paper towels verses hand dryers


I have a friend who is pathetic! He is a germ phobe from hell. I have learned alot about "germs", or the imagination of germs, and real germ facts from him.

A long time ago I finally could not take it anymore with his compulsive behavior. He admits that he does have a problem, and it is over the top.

I can see where he uses a paper towel to open the bathroom door, or to kick it open with his foot. I can see using your elbow to activate a button on a hand dryer.

I finally hit him right between the eyes! At first he was pissed (thinking that I am making fun of his uncontrollable behavior).

He took me on a world wide tour of my behavior. He waited in time. I did not know that he was using his cellphone to track my behavior.

He sat me down, and showed my some video shots.

We went to a fastfood restaurant. He showed me buying food, paying for the food, stopping at the ice dispensor, and pouring a drink,and sitting down to eat. I thought it odd that he stopped at this restaurant as he usually avoids this place like the plague. Sorry, no pun intended.

The video showed customers that were guilty of not washing their hands before eating their food. These people would be the first to complain if the worker who prepared the food had not washed their hands. Why the double standard he wonders.

He showed me video of the ice dispensor. It had ever so slightly a blackness around the ice chute. He says this is bacteria that is growing.

He showed me video of the soda nozzle that had blackness inside the nozzle.

He showed me video of gummy deposits in the drink station drain from syrup build up.

He showed me video of the floor where a french fry was in the corner. This was during breakfast time, and they do not serve french frys!

He wonders why people make fun of his compulsive behavior, but they do not take food safety serious?
If you think the ice machine nozzle is dirty then what is inside of the bin? Do they ever really stop ice production, and actually clean, and sanitize the ice tub? No he says unless they get a stop production order from the health dept during their inspection.

He says to look at the seam between the ice machine on top of the drink station. Do you see any growth of any kind? If it is on the seam area then it may be in contact with the ice that you pour in to your cup, and drink.

What about the syrup, and soda water that flow from drink nozzle. Do not people care what they drink?

He showed me water dripping from an AC duct, and the ceiling tile was wet.

I asked him about hit, and the AC may need maintenance because the water is coming from the vent, or there may be a drain pipe that is leaking above the vent. Any ways the water was ever so slightly dripping on people as they passed under.

There was a pass through door that was not on its hinge, and needed some serious screws to get it back together. There were ceiling tiles that were missing all together.

There was no soap in the bathroom. They had a hand dryer, but if it was a paper towel dispensor he was sure it would have been empty.

He showed video of a food production employee rubbing his forehead with the cheap plastic gloves on his hands. The employee did not change his gloves.

He showed me video of a person that was washing their hands. They did not dry them, and they just put on gloves. Think about the water dripping out of the glove on to your food as they make it he says!

He did not have video, but he says the three compartment sink in the back would normally be a mess. They are supposed to prerinse the food out of the food bins, and containers. They then should wash it in extremely warm, soapy water, and then they should be placed in to clean water to rinse the soap off the containers, and then they should be put in to a third sink where it shall stay for 60 seconds in a sanitizing solution, and then it should be placed in a manner to allow it to quikly air dry.

He will guaranty that they do not prerinse the dishes, and the first compartment will actually look like some kind of "soup", and the soap will have been dissipated, and the dishes will not be cleaned. The rinse water is now "contaminated with water from the first compartment, and therefore the dishes are not rinsed of soap, but now are being rebathed in lettuce, catsup, and oily residue, or whatever. The sanization compartment may never have received santizer out of lazyness, or it will have dissipated, and is no longer effective. The dishes are probably dipped in to the soup, the dirty rinse water, and dipped in to the sanitization compartment without the effectiveness of time, or effective level of sanitizer, and the food container is most likely refilled with new food while the container is still wet, and then the food product is placed on your food.

Hmmm! Food for thought.

I asked him if he prefers paper towels, or air dryers. He says that he has heard that "germ contaminated air" is blown all over the place, and it will get all over your clothes.

OK! I have heard of that!

He says that paper towels have chopped up rats in them, and why would you dry your hands with rat pieces, and eat food?
Wow! I say! Damn if you do, and Damn if do not dry your hands!

He says that if they have a paper towel dispenser then he is clothes are still "contaminated".

Stop! What? Explain please!

He says that the stalls doors are too small, and that his clothes get rubbed up by the door, or the stall wall. He fears pulling down his pants because they may come in contact with the toilet, or the floor.
He freaks watching people put down attache cases, ipods, or cell phones on the floor. He knows that these are going to be placed on the counter while these people order food!! He says that you are now going to come in contact with the bathroom floor without the aid of any hand washing what so ever! He says go ahead lick the counter where the cash register is! You might be sucking a baby's diaper where a mom set the child while making an order! Is it not a common joke that babys always have full diapers?

If the air is so dirty that you cannot use a hand dryer then you are doomed any ways. If you open the door are you not swirling around the same air, and breathing it in, and getting it all over your clothes? The same happens when you are walking out, and someone is walking in, and you pass each other creating a breeze!

He wants to know what is actually in the tray liner with the cute advertisments, and promos. Is it really sanitary? Should you be eating those frys from the paper liner on your tray?

How is that tray being washed? It is probably just being wiped off by a dirty towel between customers. Maybe if you are lucky it will be washed. Oh! Then again it just might be stuffed in to a dirty sink, stuck in dirty rinse water, and in to a sink with no sanitizer, and the tray liner gets wet while being stack between the trays. Wait! If they did not wash it, then did the tray actually come in contact with the top of a trash can, and the crew only wiped the top of the tray, and stacked it on top of another tray? Is the tray liner contaminated from the dirty bottom of the other tray?

The employee that is wiping the trays, and placing tray liners on them suffering from a cold? They cannot afford to lose a days worth of work, and the boss probably threatened them to show up, or do not show up at all.

Hey! I think they just wiped their nose on their shirt sleeve! I bet they are going to sneeze any moment all over those nicely stacked trays!

OK! I have had enough! I do not care about paper towels verses hand dryers anymore. I am going to go, and barf now!

Take care, guys!

Fact of life there are bacteria, germs and people who are not real clean. I think a lot has to do with your age immune system etc. I worked on a garbage truck for 12 years before the parinoia about blood born pathongens, Other than normal preautions (wore gloves) never sick one day. I am not going to go through life worried about the latest scare. I went to Egypt several years ago the conditons parts of it were really dirty drainage canels full of garbage etc. However it was also the most interesting place I had ever been. ( Did not drink the water except bottled)
If I had been afraid of the germs I would have missed an experience of a lifetime. (My rant sorry)

I just got around to reading this. This is a great story scorpion and I read every word of it and I smiled and grinned because I know a couple of people who are the same darn way.

I drive them nuts when I order a fry at McD and I eat the fries while holding the container to my mouth. I mean I'm driving so I keep one hand on the wheel and the other holding the container. How else to eat them.....put them in the cup holder I guess but I always drop them on the floor as I try to keep my eyes on the road while trying to see where the fries are in the container at the same time LOL!!!!

I do it on purpose all the time and you know they have more colds and allergies than I do.....I could start a whole topic of why I think anti-bacterial products are a bunch of crock.....why don't we just kill our immune system instead of increasing it's resistance.

LOL!!!!I drive them all nuts....Just made me smile when I read this.

I've come to the conclusion that the whole H1N1 hysteria is being driven by Purell.

Well said!