Settle a GERM DISPUTE!

[jen276here]

I can't speak for all stores but I used to work for K Mart and our shopping carts were washed with a power nozzle and hose at least weekly. Yes, I know it is cold water and there is no cleaner being used. But it's better than nothing.

It is better than nothing - but even a week's worth of ick build up from hundreds of customers - ick! I won't even start about those carts that have the kid's car in front. There is so much grime on those!!! I've seen cleaner outdoor playgrounds!

[JulieDB]

It is better than nothing - but even a week's worth of ick build up from hundreds of customers - ick! I won't even start about those carts that have the kid's car in front. There is so much grime on those!!! I've seen cleaner outdoor playgrounds!

I HATE those carts. I was sooo glad when my daughter outgrew them. They were horribly hard to steer. And then she kept wanting to get in and out of the cart. And then she discovered if she stuck her foot out, she could clear a shelf. But the worst day was when we were in a narrow checkout line. I had put the seatbelt on her. And she decided she wanted out. Seatbelt or no there was no way she could have gotten out. There was the checkstand on one side and a lane divider on the other and the cart barely fit in that space. Once she realized she was seatbelted in and couldn't figure out how to undo the seatbelt she went into a tizzy. Kicking and screaming and punching at anything she could reach. Everybody was staring at me. That was the last time I allowed her to sit in one of those.

[jen276here]

I HATE those carts. I was sooo glad when my daughter outgrew them. They were horribly hard to steer. And then she kept wanting to get in and out of the cart. And then she discovered if she stuck her foot out, she could clear a shelf. But the worst day was when we were in a narrow checkout line. I had put the seatbelt on her. And she decided she wanted out. Seatbelt or no there was no way she could have gotten out. There was the checkstand on one side and a lane divider on the other and the cart barely fit in that space. Once she realized she was seatbelted in and couldn't figure out how to undo the seatbelt she went into a tizzy. Kicking and screaming and punching at anything she could reach. Everybody was staring at me. That was the last time I allowed her to sit in one of those.

She gave a new definition to shelf-clearer!!!

I made the mistake one time of putting my son in one. I did spend several minutes w/ those wipes at the door scrubbing what I could first. Once he was in all was fine, until the checkout - where I stood for quite a while even though I was next. When it was my turn that is when the cashier told me the cart won't fit and when using those carts I need to use lane 3 only (only lane big enough).... um.... like someone couldn't post that note next to the 'DO NOT TAKE OUT OF STORE' not plaster atop of it?? I told her to ring my groceries, I'll walk around and pay. I was not standing in line again..

[Gertie2u]

I think you're sort of mixing metaphors here. What I mean is, you've kinda got two issues going on.

First, will you likely sicken and die because of what the dentist did? Well, if you've lived this long, likely not. Recalling back before aids, dentists did not used to routinely wear gloves. The gloves are probably more worn to protect the dentist than you. Why? Because there isn't much out there dirtier than a human mouth. That said, your dentist should not be picking things up from the floor and shuffling papers. My dentist has an assistant to replace anything dropped with a fresh, clean, new one and to do any sort of ruffling through papers. Normally, nothing like that happens anyways. He looks over the paperwork and x-rays before starting and doesn't drop much.

As far as dropping things on the floor goes, I saw one myth busters on it. They took some object and coated it with the type of broth used to grow bacteria in a Petri dish. I think it was on a floor tile. Then they dropped some dry items on it and some wet items. They incubated for a period and compared. The tiles that had had a wet item dropped on them had much more bacteria. No matter whether the item was picked up before 5 seconds or not, there was still bacteria.

Then they swabbed a bunch of areas of their workspace and compared how much bacteria incubated. Interestingly, the bathroom showed the least. They said this was because it was cleaned very regularly with cleaners that kill bacteria and the rest of their space was not.

Amusingly enough, my grandmother and great-grandmother always said kids need to eat a pound of dirt to be healthy. They pointed out the kids who had parents that did not allow them to play in the dirt or ever get dirty were always the sickest kids around. Today we have all these antibacterial products. People seem afraid their kid will look a germ in the eye, and now I read reports of kids coming down deathly ill with resistant strains because of all the antibacterial products. Besides that, a new study has come out saying the water in the natural aquifers is starting to show rising concentrations of the active ingredients in antibacterial products and they fear the damage this will do in the environment by creating more resistant strains.

I think bottom like sure we should keep things as clean as we can, but if your kid grabs a gumball up off the floor after they've dropped it and eats it, well. No big deal.

[CouponQueen23]

I think you're sort of mixing metaphors here. What I mean is, you've kinda got two issues going on.

First, will you likely sicken and die because of what the dentist did? Well, if you've lived this long, likely not. Recalling back before aids, dentists did not used to routinely wear gloves. The gloves are probably more worn to protect the dentist than you. Why? Because there isn't much out there dirtier than a human mouth. That said, your dentist should not be picking things up from the floor and shuffling papers. My dentist has an assistant to replace anything dropped with a fresh, clean, new one and to do any sort of ruffling through papers. Normally, nothing like that happens anyways. He looks over the paperwork and x-rays before starting and doesn't drop much.

As far as dropping things on the floor goes, I saw one myth busters on it. They took some object and coated it with the type of broth used to grow bacteria in a Petri dish. I think it was on a floor tile. Then they dropped some dry items on it and some wet items. They incubated for a period and compared. The tiles that had had a wet item dropped on them had much more bacteria. No matter whether the item was picked up before 5 seconds or not, there was still bacteria.

Then they swabbed a bunch of areas of their workspace and compared how much bacteria incubated. Interestingly, the bathroom showed the least. They said this was because it was cleaned very regularly with cleaners that kill bacteria and the rest of their space was not.

Amusingly enough, my grandmother and great-grandmother always said kids need to eat a pound of dirt to be healthy. They pointed out the kids who had parents that did not allow them to play in the dirt or ever get dirty were always the sickest kids around. Today we have all these antibacterial products. People seem afraid their kid will look a germ in the eye, and now I read reports of kids coming down deathly ill with resistant strains because of all the antibacterial products. Besides that, a new study has come out saying the water in the natural aquifers is starting to show rising concentrations of the active ingredients in antibacterial products and they fear the damage this will do in the environment by creating more resistant strains.

I think bottom like sure we should keep things as clean as we can, but if your kid grabs a gumball up off the floor after they've dropped it and eats it, well. No big deal.

I totally agree the push to use all anti-bactrial soap is overrated. I found that my kids were sick much more when I was using all this stuff trying to keep them in a bubble and safe. Finally I figured maybe they will be better off getting immune and I started putting baby soap and body washes in our soap pumps *KNOCK ON WOOD* they have not been sick in almost 5 months. We had a little sore throat on all three of the boys within the last couple of weeks which was nothing more than allergy related. I think our grandparents could teach us a lot of stuff. A whole another topic but I wouldn't mind being able to process much of my own food to eliminate the middle man handlers there too.

[cintinative]

I think the answer is both. There was a Mythbusters about the "five second rule" and if it was true. Here's the video: Mythbusters: Five-Second Rule MiniMyth : Video : Discovery Channel

[CW&M Mom]

I totally agree the push to use all anti-bactrial soap is overrated. I found that my kids were sick much more when I was using all this stuff trying to keep them in a bubble and safe. Finally I figured maybe they will be better off getting immune and I started putting baby soap and body washes in our soap pumps *KNOCK ON WOOD* they have not been sick in almost 5 months. We had a little sore throat on all three of the boys within the last couple of weeks which was nothing more than allergy related. I think our grandparents could teach us a lot of stuff. A whole another topic but I wouldn't mind being able to process much of my own food to eliminate the middle man handlers there too.

On the other hand..when you got a sore throat back in our grandma's day..aka strep throat...you got scarlet fever..or rheumatic fever or worse..it just killed ya.

so honestly......The death rate back in our grandma's days was much worse. People died younger back then.

We die older now.

most liquid soap is not antibacterial now...if you read the ingredients....unless you actively grab the bottle that says antibacterial..it's just handsoap.


How I have kept my kids healthy..never put them in the gross grocery carts....

[Doglover8180]

I think the answer is both. There was a Mythbusters about the "five second rule" and if it was true. Here's the video: Mythbusters: Five-Second Rule MiniMyth : Video : Discovery Channel

You have just made Tink's day!

[Smee]

I am nowhere near germophobic, but grabbing cack off the floor-- glove or no glove-- and sticking that hand back into my mouth would be unacceptable to me unless I would be comfortable licking that floor. Aside from any grossness whether real or perceived, it's just freaking uncool and unprofessional. I would expect a health care professional to take a few minutes and wash their hands as a gesture of courtesy and professionalism.

[Smee]

Hey, I'll bet there probably aren't more germies on the dentist's pants than on the floor. How many people would be ok with seeing him pick at his butt crack or rearrange his junk and then reach back into their mouths? It probably wouldn't hurt you, but don't you expect a bit more professionalism? That's kind of where I am on the whole business of floor reaching and then immediately mouth digging. Uncool!