3 Underrated Hygiene Practices

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In an odd way, this blog post was inspired by learning about DisguisedToast’s reasoning for not engaging in certain hygienic practices. 😂 This is no shade to him by the way… Okay, maybe a little. (He doesn’t even know me!) But, I thought I’d share some underrated hygiene practices for those of you who don’t see the point in it.

1. Washing Your Hands After Flushing the Toilet

I didn’t realize that this was common, but apparently there are a lot of people who do not wash their hands after using the toilet. The first time I heard someone publicly admitting this was DisguisedToast. And, his reasoning isn’t that great either. Let me explain…

Some people will argue that if you haven’t physically touched those body parts or you haven’t come in contact with urination or feces, that you don’t need to wash your hands. However, most people will come in contact with the flush valve at home. If you’re touching that part of your toilet, especially in a shared space, you don’t know exactly what’s on that handle. It’s easy for that spot to carry germs. So, it’s safe to quickly wash your hands and avoid possible infection.

In public spaces, I usually use the heel of my shoe to flush the toilet (anyone else do this?). But, public bathrooms typically also have doors that you’re coming in contact with. You either enter the bathroom by touching the entrance door, or you leave a stall by touching a door. With that many hands being in contact on the same areas, I think it’s just safer to wash your hands and be sure you didn’t touch anything weird.

It literally takes less than 30 seconds to wash your hands properly and dry them with a towel. So, I don’t know why people don’t do this. Plus, it can feel pretty refreshing. You feel nice and clean. You do a quick mirror check, maybe make sure your hair is all nice and that your teeth don’t have anything weird in them. Even if you were to go to the bathroom 10 times a day, that’s around 5 minutes out of your day to keep your hands clean. Why not?

Also, other good times to wash your hands include:

– Before prepping/cooking or eating food
– After arriving home
– Anytime before touching the face or the mouth
– Before doing makeup
– Before brushing the teeth
– Before applying any topical medication

2. Cleaning Under Your Nails

A lot of people also neglect to clean under the tips of the fingernails. Gunk can easily creep up under there, especially if you love keeping your nails long. So, just take a few extra seconds to pay attention to them when washing your hands. If you’re not sure how to, just look it up on YouTube or Google.

3. Flossing Your Teeth– With a Dental Floss Pick!

I’m not even gonna front. I used to hate flossing. I’ve tried it as a kid, as a teen, as an adult, and I couldn’t consistently keep up with the habit. My teeth were always crowded or just tight on space, so the floss would break into smaller strands when I would get it in between my teeth. Plus, my gums would bleed. I didn’t have any kind of gum diseases or anything. It’s just that the spaces between my teeth were so tight that it was difficult to gently slide the floss back and forth. (The reason the habit didn’t stick? It was unsatisfying, according to what I’ve read by James Clear at least!)

Eventually, I discovered dental floss picks, and that has been a huge lifesaver! No breakage, and simple to use. Can take less than 30 seconds. No more of that awkward angling and positioning of hands with careful precision of pressure. Nope, just use one hand to guide the pick and insert space my space, gently going back and forth to get any weird tidbits out. And, you’re done!

The other cool thing is that you don’t have to throw the pick away immediately. You could quickly rinse it off and use it for the next week or so, until it either breaks off (which it hasn’t for me) or until you think it’s time for a replacement. They also have biodegradable ones that are quite affordable. Here’s one that is biodegradable (organic and vegan) with a toothpick-like end for stubborn food pieces. It’s good for a whole year or so. No more waiting for those 6-month dental visits to keep the in-between spaces nice and clean!

Those are the 3 underrated hygiene practices that I wanted to share. Did you find this obvious, helpful, weird? There’s a lot more hygienic practices, from washing bed sheets and pillowcases to cleaning your makeup or hair brush/combs/tools. Can you think of any hygienic practices that are underrated?