Interesting link, thanks. A while ago I decided I liked liquid soap, and that by the time you've got all lathered up with it, and then rinsed it all off again, you've had a pretty good wash. I've also moved to using permanent glass soap dispensers for it, rather than the plastic ones the product comes in, because they are nicer, and hadn't been aware of the issue of germs living on in the soap bottle. It seems to me that the answer here is to wash the bottle carefully before refilling, rather than to go back to plastic.

I was aware of the fingernail issue. Given its importance, I'm surprised how hard it is to find fingernail brushes at all.

As for washing after going to the loo, I think people are often too worried about urine. The article hardly mentions it. Where-as it does make a big deal about poo. That reflects my prior understanding and priorities.

It's nice to find an all-automatic "hands-free" restroom: self-flushing urinal, automatic soap and water dispensing, motion-activated paper towel dispenser — and a door that swings out as one exits. Now here's a self-flushing urinal — itself a tourist attraction – at the Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo, CA.



This is worth noting: "according to researchers...who tested all kinds of public surfaces...shopping carts were loaded with more saliva, bacteria and even fecal matter than escalators, public telephones, and even public bathrooms." My Safeway provides disinfectant wipes next to the shopping carts.

Or this: "...the average desk has 100 times more bacteria than a kitchen table and 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet...bacteria on an ATM machine would represent a public health threat"