Handwashing after using the loo

Just had a weird experience.

I work in a small office building that has a tiny women's toilet with two stalls and one sink.

I come out of one stall at the same time as another woman comes out of the other stall.  I get to the sink before she does and start washing my hands. Instead of waiting for me to finish, she says "I'll wash my hands in the kitchen," and then leaves.

Now, I know that in some English homes, the room with the toilet bowl doesn't have a sink in it, but the sink is in the next room.  This is an office building and the kitchen - with the sink in which people wash the dishes that they eat off - is down the corridor.

She wouldn't have had to wait that long for me to finish washing my hands. She didn't simply leave without washing; she told me that she was going to wash her hands in the kitchen, so she couldn't have thought that there was anything wrong with it.

Has anyone come across this before?

Yes.  She didn't want to wait.  Or she is OCD about washing her hands in front of other people.  And she said that because she didn't want you to think that she wasn't going to wash her hands at all.

Vicky

Never this but I've come across people who are so impatient that they put their hands under yours under the sink. Which is awkward. They're right in your space and it makes me uncomfortable.

No, but it sounds like something I would do/say.  Some people are just impatient, but don't want other people thinking they aren't going to wash them at all. *shrug*

Doesn't seem unusual to me.

One thing I miss most about the US is paper towels in the toilets, so I don't like washing my hands here at all because the hand dryers don't usually work very well, or sometimes not at all.  I use hand sanitizer like crazy and sometimes just use that instead of washing my hands after using the toilet.  I've heard that in the US they are encouraging hospitals to just use hand sanitizer instead of washing because it kills more germs, so it's really not gross.  But, I'm always worried people will think I'm gross and not washing my hands, so that's probably why she said that.

I think they encourage both handwashing and use of hand sanitizer, particularly in hospitals.  When I started my job in January at a hospital, we were taught proper techniques for both.  We have sanitizer stations throughout the hospital.

So I didn't believe this at first but I was working with an ex-nurse (19 years for her) who said that hand sanitizer strips your fingerprints off.  Then she showed me her fingers and sure enough they were rather smooth.    Perhaps I should google this, just in case she was yanking my chain.

One thing I miss most about the US is paper towels in the toilets, so I don't like washing my hands here at all because the hand dryers don't usually work very well, or sometimes not at all.  I use hand sanitizer like crazy and sometimes just use that instead of washing my hands after using the toilet.  I've heard that in the US they are encouraging hospitals to just use hand sanitizer instead of washing because it kills more germs, so it's really not gross.  But, I'm always worried people will think I'm gross and not washing my hands, so that's probably why she said that.

I'd suggest carrying a small hand towel in your bag.  I used to live in Japan, and I picked up that habit there.  That way, you're always guaranteed a towel, and it's better for the environment than either paper towels or electric dryers. 

Great idea!

I'd suggest carrying a small hand towel in your bag.  I used to live in Japan, and I picked up that habit there.  That way, you're always guaranteed a towel, and it's better for the environment than either paper towels or electric dryers. 

That's very hygenic as well. At least you know who has been touching it.

I come out of one stall at the same time as another woman comes out of the other stall.  I get to the sink before she does and start washing my hands. Instead of waiting for me to finish, she says "I'll wash my hands in the kitchen," and then leaves.

Is it a communal kitchen that you all use for breaks or is it a kitchen that the catering dept. uses?

Is it a communal kitchen that you all use for breaks or is it a kitchen that the catering dept. uses?

It's a communal kitchen.

Wash your hands before leaving the toilet? Then use your hand to open the door to leave. Wash your hands after touching the toilet door? I sometimes open the door with the paper towel and put my foot in the door to prop it open throw the towel away then I haven't touched it.

Surely she got her pee germs on the toilet door when she opened it so anyone who had washed their hands after would have got her germs opening the door?

This is why I use a paper towel to open bathroom doors.  I know it's a bit paranoid but a lot of the time I hear people walk straight out of the bathroom without attempting to wash their hands.

I do it because I have ezecma on my hands, the only place I get it and I am worried about infections since I almost always have little cuts. 

But having ezecma also means that soaps are a no-no, but most studies have shown that brisk hand washing and then careful drying removes the same amount of germs.