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KIRO Radio host Andrew Walsh wants to know why you don't wash your hands after going to the bathroom. (AP Photo/file)

Why don't you wash your hands after going to the bathroom?

BY Jamie Skorheim  on January 29, 2013 @ 10:15 am (Updated: 10:52 am - 1/29/13 )

A new study suggesting a quarter of the time men don't wash their hands after going to the bathroom has KIRO Radio host Andrew Walsh asking: why?

"I am curious for those of you out there who do not wash your hands regularly - I'm not talking about just once in a rare while, I mean regularly - is it a conscious thing? There must be people who just don't think it's necessary."

Andrew says he can't believe it's all about forgetfulness. "Don't we all know to wash our hands, and some people just choose not to?"

But the study did also show that a sign posted in the restroom reminding visitors to wash their hands resulted in a greater number of men reporting they did wash up. The number of men that self-reported hand washing after toilet use went up from 75 percent to 87 percent.

With men self-reporting their hand washing habits in this study, Andrew believes the actual number is likely quite a bit higher.

"I think this is the halo effect, when you go up and you ask somebody about their behavior and they don't admit to the bad behavior, obviously your poll is going to be skewed."

Andrew admits he's too intimidated to combat the problem himself, actively reminding people in the restroom.

"I always want to say, 'Come on, you're going out there to touch things that I'm going to touch, just wash your hands.'"

But what else? Can we trust from this study that a sign works? Andrew wants to get to the bottom of why it appears some people make a conscious choice to not wash their hands.

"Maybe there is somebody who just legitimately does not think that you have to do it, and so they're making a choice - I'm not going to wash my hands when I leave the restroom."

Andrew asked listeners to send in an email, that he promised to keep anonymous, with their reasoning for not washing.

"I promise I'm not going to make fun of you, I'm not going to yell at you, because I really want to hear your thoughts on this," says Andrew. "Maybe I am missing something."

Below are a few responses offered by KIRO Radio listeners. If you have a reason, please email the show.

My partner does not wash his hands for the simple reason being that we keep our beer in the fridge on the back porch. It saves drinking time to pee off the back porch while obtaining your next beer. Unfortunately we have no running water on the porch

I wash my hands maybe fifteen times a day and use hand sanitizer before meals. I certainly wash after a number two partly because I hope everyone else is. But often don't wash after I pee and I sometimes wash before i pee. If you shower daily and you are a man your [area] is probably far cleaner than your hands.

Hey I am 15 and I hardly ever wash my hands after using the bathroom, and to be quite honest, even after #2 or picking up dog poop. But this sounds gross, but I haven't gotten sick or missed a day of school in 5 years. So it's not like I'm getting sick all the time. This "lifestyle" works for me.

Jamie Skorheim, MyNorthwest.com Editor
Whether it's floating on Green Lake, eating shrimp tacos at Agua Verde, or taking weekend drives out to the Cascades, she loves to enjoy the Pacific Northwest lifestyle as much as humanly possible.
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Comments (26)


  • Add A Comment

  • HLC wrote...
    If little Andy told me to wash my hands.
    January 29, 2013 10:02 am
    I would wipe them on his face. In fact I would pay money to do it. Put your big boy pants on Andy.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • po_guy wrote...
    Right...
    January 29, 2013 10:47 am
    then be hauled of to jail for assault? I doubt it. I for one, am disgusted at grown men who know better and do not wash after using the men's room. I wash just after going in there, mainly because it just feels dirty in there. Like a clinic or doctors office. More germs, ya know? If I saw a restaurant worker not wash, I guarantee I would report them!!!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ToldYa wrote...
    My mother taught me to wash my hands after using the bathroom
    January 29, 2013 11:03 am
    My mother taught me not to piss all over myself.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Citizen of Krazy Town wrote...
    Well seeing army business is protected by at least two layers of clothing and...
    January 29, 2013 11:19 am
    Urine is sterile, I would ask why don't you wash your hands BEFORE you go to the bathroom....
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Citizen of Krazy Town wrote...
    MY, not ARMY
    January 29, 2013 11:20 am
    Curse you, iPad autocorrect!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Meredith_g wrote...
    ALkjadsf;ljkasdf
    January 29, 2013 11:29 am
    Urine is sterile but your junk isn't! The only way urine remains sterile is if it's removed via a sterile catheter. There's a whole universe of bacteria that live on the penis (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35486), so assuming you make any contact with it, you transfer a gajillion of those little guys to your hands, then to the door handle, then to everything else you touch.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Drool wrote...
    Urine is USUALLY sterile
    January 29, 2013 6:19 pm
    Your dick is not.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • cigarfan wrote...
    Often it depends on your Employer
    January 29, 2013 11:40 am
    We always wash at home, but often employers provide "Honey pots" or similar restrooms and/or soap dispensers are empty -if they exist at all. We are left with the only option of using Hand Sanitizer -that we have brought ourselves. Also if the paper towels are empty, do you really want to soak your hands? Is this not similar to looking (if you remember) to see if there's toilet paper in the stall PRIOR to "taking care of business" ?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Snout wrote...
    Wash them before you use a public restroom.
    January 29, 2013 12:30 pm
    And after.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • DonVigo wrote...
    In the words of a great man...
    January 29, 2013 12:36 pm
    "You know when I wash my hands? When I **** on them!" - George Carlin
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • po_guy wrote...
    George Carlin was definitely NOT
    January 29, 2013 1:19 pm
    A "great" man..a man, yes, but not great. Filthy, yes, but not great.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • messiah101 wrote...
    Hmmm Wash your hands
    January 29, 2013 3:46 pm
    Then contaminate them opening the exit door to the bathroom.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • daveismenotyou wrote...
    That is why you use the towel
    January 29, 2013 6:07 pm
    to open, or go out backwards. We used to teach that.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • manabouttown wrote...
    sometimes I do sometimes I don't.
    January 29, 2013 8:13 pm
    I can manage to get it out, drain it, and put it back in without touching anything. So, why wash up? In a public restroom, I'd only be washing up for appearances.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • po_guy wrote...
    So next time
    February 1, 2013 8:20 am
    you shake someones hand, think about how THEY may not have ben sanitary. If it was a universal courtesy, it would be good, huh? Cleanliness...what a nice word. Diseases have been eradicated by cleanliness...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sawyerc88 wrote...
    Ways to teach people about proper handwashing
    January 30, 2013 9:36 am
    Dr. Will Sawyer and the Henry the Hand Foundation are dedicated to teaching people about the 4 Principles of Hand Awareness, which is proper hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette and cross contamination awareness and have been endorsed by the AMA and AAFP. To learn more website www.henrythehand.com
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Forrest wrote...
    Men wearing suits
    January 31, 2013 6:58 am
    wash the least, in public bathrooms after a potty break.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    Spend a lot of time
    February 3, 2013 9:02 am
    Keeping track of men in suits in bathrooms and their routines do ya Forrest? Yeah, that makes sense about you...,,
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Forrest wrote...
    Yeah fishman!
    February 5, 2013 12:36 pm
    Want to come over and see my closet?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • soo purletiv wrote...
    In reality...
    February 3, 2013 2:19 pm
    all the excuses aside, the only reason certain slobs don't wash their hands after using the restroom, is because they are lazy slobs.

    Hands.... down....

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }