The other day I was having a chat with some folks and we ended up talking about gym work. One of them made the comment dispelased about “people that do not disinfect after themselves. Don’t you just hate that?”
My answer was a big fat no.
The person was shocked and ranted about the possibility of transmitting X, Y, or Z diseases including the evil COVID. Why on earth would I not give a care about people cleaning the equipment? My answer was simply “because I will clean the damned things before using them.”
Why do people assume their safety is part and parcel of somebody else’s life? Take control of your safety strategy and do not let other people dictate either by action or inaction.
I am noticing that some business are being less dutifully about the cleaning offerings at the entrances and I believe they will eventually be abandoned. I particularly like having quick access to bleach pads or alcohol-based lotions as I come in, but if they do without them, I will add a small bottle of hand cleaner to my EDC because I have yet to catch the Chink Flu, but I believe I caught E Coli or some other stomach bug twice in the last 2 years. One already rests in the center console of my vehicle.
Several years ago, I got in the habit of carrying a few alcohol-soaked towelettes when out and about, kind of on general principles but mostly because the latrines at my usual hiking spots tended not to have running water. (No, the used towelettes don’t go in the latrine. They go in the trash receptacle if one is provided, or in a pack-it-out trash receptacle, such as a back pocket.)
Now there’s an additional reason for having them handy.
(Carrying a little squeeze bottle of alky or green napalm (gelled biofuel – sticks to little children and is carbon neutral!) would be more efficient and not generate so much trash, but my usual attire doesn’t really have a good place for carrying such a bottle without it getting sat upon. Also, I dislike the residue from the gelled stuff.)
This concept also applies to self-defense. I think I first saw it in Heinlein’s ‘Glory Road’ where they talk about how a ruler that can fight like an angry buzzsaw will generally have a better chance of survival.
We make up our own hand sanitizer. Three parts 191 proof ethanol (Everclear,) and one part distilled water.) Or use 151 Everclear straight out of the bottle. Food safe, and leaves no residue on phones, etc.
Two years back, I started buying 99% isopropyl alcohol by the case. Dilute to 80%-ish for no-residue, not-too-toxic disinfectant; use full strength for water-sensitive (e.g., rustable) items and for removing uncured photopolymer resin from 3D prints, flux from PC boards, etc.
It’s not officially food-safe, but it’s not all that much worse than ethanol and it does evaporate quickly – and delivery isn’t subject to likker laws. (Hm. I suspect having an open bottle of ethanol-based, un-denatured hand sanitizer in your car is illegal in most states, so for carrying-around purposes alternatives to ethanol might be a good idea, just in case.)
I think the other person’s point wasn’t that you should depend on someone else for anything. I read that as people should clean up their damn messes. I would still take care of me regardless, but it makes for a nicer world when people don’t behave like friggin slobs and leave their shit for others to cleanup. Pretty much a daily conversation in my house with 2 teens.
I get what you’re saying, and in most contexts I would agree, but not this one. I believe in being considerate of other people’s spaces, and leaving things in the same or better condition than how I found them.
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The last person probably wiped it down, but whether they did or not, if the gym is providing the spray and cleaning cloths (as mine does), it literally costs me nothing but 10 seconds to do the same.
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Extrapolating your opinion, when you rented a VHS from Blockbuster (kids, ask your parents), did you “be kind, rewind” before you returned it?
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If so, why? Isn’t it the next person’s responsibility to “[rewind] the damned things before using them”?