Handles on Toilets

It seems like all my posts have to do with the bathroom, but obviously this is a huge source of OCD material, so I just can't help myself.

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You know how you can trace back some of your idiosyncrasies to a moment in your childhood? (Or is that just me?) Well anyway, this is one of mine that I can trace back to an episode of 20/20 from way back when. It was a special on germs and the spots where the most germs are found in everyday places. To the best of my recollection, the show involved swabbing multiple areas and testing them to determine what places to avoid. The only thing I remember from the episode is that toilet seats are not that germy, and the handles of toilets are one of the germiest places one encounters on a daily basis. This is for obvious reasons as people usually flush prior to washing their hands, but the information I learned on that Friday night some fifteen years ago has influenced me everyday since.

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Simply put, I just can't bring myself to touch a toilet handle to flush it. I realize I am going to wash my hands seconds later, but I also realize how nasty people can be, and I don't want any of that nasty on me for any length of time. Most often, when it comes time to flush, I will kick the handle down with my shoe, and flush it that way. This is the preferred method.

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Sometimes, though, I will just wash my hands before I flush the toilet, and then use my paper towel hand to flush after I have washed my hands. This method also works, but it comes with its own set of worries. Often times when I do this, I think people think (and I have had two different people comment on this) that I don't wash my hands at all. I can understand this thinking because the natural order of things would be to flush the toilet, then wash my hands, and then by the time the bathroom door is opened, the toilet will have finished flushing. But when I do the paper towel flush, it is not uncommon for the toilet to still be flushing when I leave the restroom, at which point people assume I am gross like them, and don't wash my hands, and then I must defend my honor.

The End.