Dandelions

[kphoger]

I would try to look for those water bottle fillers.

What are those, and how would I look for them?

[img]

If not, just a normal water fountain would be better than a sink.

I don't think I've ever seen one of those, nor a water fountain, in a gas station before.

[Roadgeekteen]

I would try to look for those water bottle fillers.

What are those, and how would I look for them?

[img]

If not, just a normal water fountain would be better than a sink.

I don't think I've ever seen one of those, nor a water fountain, in a gas station before.

Not in a gas station, but visitors centers or rest areas will sometimes have them, or at least a water fountain.

[Scott5114]

Water fountains can be kind of gross cause we all knew the kid in school who put his lips right on the nozzle like a weirdo.

[Roadgeekteen]

Water fountains can be kind of gross cause we all knew the kid in school who put his lips right on the nozzle like a weirdo.

I would trust a fountain over a sink.

[Rothman]

I am so pleased by how my little joke turned out and how it exposed someone filling up in gas station bathroom sinks.  Made my day.

[kphoger]

I would trust a fountain over a sink.

Why?  Kids put their mouths directly on the water fountain spigot!  Can't say I've ever seen anyone do that to a bathroom sink faucet.

[kphoger]

I am so pleased by how my little joke turned out and how it exposed someone filling up in gas station bathroom sinks.  Made my day.

I don't.  I only said that it makes sense for car trips.  I personally try to drink as little as possible on car trips, and what I do drink is usually caffeinated.

[Scott5114]

Paying for dandelion greens sounds like paying for bottled water to me. 

I am so pleased by how my little joke turned out and how it exposed someone filling up in gas station bathroom sinks.  Made my day.

For what it's worth (i.e. answering the joke as if it was serious, thus killing the joke, sorry), if you were to decide to eat dandelion greens, would you be able to find enough of them in your yard to make an actual meal out of them? Most of the weeds in my yard aren't actually dandelions. There's also the issue of whether the greens in your yard would be suitable for consumption. I don't pay enough attention to my yard to know whether there's, e.g. chemical runoff from the neighbor's yard that would make eating a dandelion unsafe or bad-tasting. (I doubt I'd enjoy eating a dandelion because I don't care for bitter greens; kale tastes awful to me.) And of course, some people don't have access to a yard that they could eat dandelions out of if they wanted to.

[webny99]

1.  I don't really care who else has used the sink, considering the water would be going straight from the tap into my cup.  All that really matters is how sanitary the water supply is.  And, in that regard, why should I think my own house's water is any better?  Heck, I never test my own household water.

At least at home, I can trust that someone with dirty fingers didn't touch the part of the tap where the water comes out. And if they did, I could figure out who it was and get after them for it! See following discussion.

2.  A lot of places, especially big truck stops, post the cleaning schedule on the door or wall of the bathroom.  So yes, often I know the exact frequency the bathroom has been cleaned with.  And I guarantee they're cleaned more often than my own faucets at home.  In fact, you know what?  I have three kids, and my wife operates a licensed home daycare.  How many snot-nosed, grubby-fingered little ones have used my home sinks?  Besides, I'd wager that the products the bathroom staff uses to clean with are also more effective than what I have at home.

I would never assume that just because someone initialed that they had cleaned the bathroom last night - or two hours ago, or whatever - that that meant the sink was clean. Really, who knows what might have happened in the interim? Gas station bathrooms see a lot more traffic than the bathroom at home.

3.  If you think the water from a gas station bathroom sink is so unsanitary, then why do you wash your hands with it?  I assume that, when you wash your hands in that sink, you consider your hands to be clean enough to eat with.  Or do you always use hand sanitizer after washing your hands at a gas station?

It depends. I don't use gas station bathrooms that much; if I had to guess it's probably about 50/50 whether I use the sink or hand sanitizer. But washing your hands, with soap, and drying them, with that water, is a lot different than taking a big gulp of that water.

But OK, fine.
Bringing your own travel mug jug of water, filled from your kitchen sink, and just filling it up in the gas station bathroom sink your own travel mug as needed makes sense for car trips, too.
Is that better?

A marked improvement, yes.

[webny99]

I don't.  I only said that it makes sense for car trips.  I personally try to drink as little as possible on car trips, and what I do drink is usually caffeinated.

Wait, so you went to all that bother to defend at great lengths a point that... doesn't even apply to you? 

[Scott5114]

At least at home, I can trust that someone with dirty fingers didn't touch the part of the tap where the water comes out. And if they did, I could figure out who it was and get after them for it! 

How would you know?

[webny99]

At least at home, I can trust that someone with dirty fingers didn't touch the part of the tap where the water comes out. And if they did, I could figure out who it was and get after them for it! 

How would you know?

I wouldn't know with 100% certainty, but I trust everyone that I share the sink with to (a) have clean hands, and (b) not touch that part of the tap.

But really, that was a waste of a sentence, because I don't even drink water from the sink. I get it from the water dispenser in the fridge. I assume that's what most people do; it's always a bit of a surprise to find that people still have fridges without water dispensers.

[kphoger]

I don't.  I only said that it makes sense for car trips.  I personally try to drink as little as possible on car trips, and what I do drink is usually caffeinated.

Wait, so you went to all that bother to defend at great lengths a point that... doesn't even apply to you? 

Yes, because it makes little sense to me to assume gas station bathroom sink water is unsanitary.  I drink tap water all the time–at home, at work, at church, even in Mexico when/where I'm reasonably sure the water is city-treated.  I just don't think I've actually drunk tap water from a gas station bathroom.  But I would.  Hmmmm....  actually, I believe I once brushed my teeth in a gas station bathroom sink, and there are plenty of other people out there who do.  Think about OTR truck drivers, for example.

At least at home, I can trust that someone with dirty fingers didn't touch the part of the tap where the water comes out. And if they did, I could figure out who it was and get after them for it! 

How would you know?

Indeed.

Of course, as I've mentioned, I cannot be reasonably sure in my own house that someone with dirty fingers didn't touch where the water comes out.  On any given day, there are up to five children of varying hygiene levels using our sinks, and it's not like we stand there and watch them use the bathroom.

But even so, how would you know if someone with grubby fingers touched the aerator?



More to the point, though (of this side conversation, not the actual thread topic):  what would it matter if someone with grubby fingers did touch the spigot?  How many germs do you really think would end up in your drink?  I'd say you're taking a far greater risk just getting something to eat or drink at a restaurant:  did the cook wear gloves? did anyone sneeze near your order? et cetera?

I get it from the water dispenser in the fridge. I assume that's what most people do; it's always a bit of a surprise to find that people still have fridges without water dispensers.

I've never lived in a house with an in-fridge water dispenser.  Our current fridge is only a few months old, and it doesn't have one.

Do you drink from other people's in-fridge water dispensers?  If so, do you know how regularly they clean them?  Do you know what the mold situation is like in there?  I've cleaned out the black mold from my employer's commercial-sized ice maker before, so I'm under no illusion that some automatic dispenser is necessarily sanitary.

[Rothman]

Heh.  Now we're brushing teeth in the gas station restroom...just like who-knows just did before you.

[Max Rockatansky]

I drink from my home faucets all the time and I never stopped using drinking founds this past year.  Considering my wife never changes the filter on the water dispenser in the fridge I don't see us as being about on an even playing field. 

[webny99]

Yes, because it makes little sense to me to assume gas station bathroom sink water is unsanitary.

I'm not assuming the water is unsanitary, I'm assuming the sink is unsanitary.

Hmmmm....  actually, I believe I once brushed my teeth in a gas station bathroom sink, and there are plenty of other people out there who do.  Think about OTR truck drivers, for example.

Yeesh. That's exactly why I assume the sink is unsanitary!

I've never lived in a house with an in-fridge water dispenser.  Our current fridge is only a few months old, and it doesn't have one.

Do you drink from other people's in-fridge water dispensers? ...

Sure, I've had water from other people's fridge dispensers. It's a luxury (I guess?) that I kind of take for granted.

As for how sanitary they are, at least it's just dispensing drinking water, unlike a sink, which has who knows how many other functions, almost all of which are less sanitary than dispensing drinking water.

[Roadgeekteen]

Heh.  Now we're brushing teeth in the gas station restroom...just like who-knows just did before you.

Brushing teeth is different, you aren't drinking the water.

[Scott5114]

We have a fridge with an in-fridge water dispenser, but it doesn't actually work. The fridge belonged to my wife before we were married, and it was in storage for a few years because she was living in places that came with their own fridge, so she didn't need it. Unfortunately, while it was in storage, one of the water lines got kinked and, because it was being stored in a hot place in Oklahoma, got brittle and broke. We could get the line replaced, but it's not really worth the hassle, since we wouldn't use it much anyway (it probably wouldn't fix the taste of the city water). I'm not even sure how we'd get it hooked up to the water to begin with, since the house was built in 1976, and fridges you needed to hook up to water lines weren't as common back then, so there's no water line there.

[Scott5114]

Hmmmm....  actually, I believe I once brushed my teeth in a gas station bathroom sink, and there are plenty of other people out there who do.  Think about OTR truck drivers, for example.

Yeesh. That's exactly why I assume the sink is unsanitary!

You think the sink is unsanitary because...people brush their teeth in it? How does that affect the water coming out of the tap? People don't spit on the aerator.

If anything, a bathroom sink is unsanitary because of aerosolized poo from the toilet landing on the aerator. Doesn't stop most people from brushing their teeth there.

This whole discussion reminds me of that episode of Seinfeld where Jerry's girlfriend gets mad at him for dropping her toothbrush in the toilet, so she tells him that she put something of his in the toilet, but she won't tell him what. After spending days sanitizing everything he owns, he finally breaks down and pleads with her to tell him what it was. She reveals it was the toilet brush. His reply? "Alright, I can replace that."

[webny99]

Hmmmm....  actually, I believe I once brushed my teeth in a gas station bathroom sink, and there are plenty of other people out there who do.  Think about OTR truck drivers, for example.

Yeesh. That's exactly why I assume the sink is unsanitary!

You think the sink is unsanitary because...people brush their teeth in it? How does that affect the water coming out of the tap? People don't spit on the aerator.

An unknown number of strangers brushing their teeth, and that's just one of many things the sink is used for. In short, I have no idea exactly what goes on in a public bathroom sink, so I assume it's unsanitary. Not a bold assumption by any stretch.

[Scott5114]

How does anything that's going on affect the water quality, though?

[Rothman]

Heh.  Now we're brushing teeth in the gas station restroom...just like who-knows just did before you.

Brushing teeth is different, you aren't drinking the water.

Takes two hands to untwist the toothpaste tube.

[Max Rockatansky]

How does anything that's going on affect the water quality, though?

It doesn't, it's an artificial taint.

[vdeane]

Hmmmm....  actually, I believe I once brushed my teeth in a gas station bathroom sink, and there are plenty of other people out there who do.  Think about OTR truck drivers, for example.

Yeesh. That's exactly why I assume the sink is unsanitary!

You think the sink is unsanitary because...people brush their teeth in it? How does that affect the water coming out of the tap? People don't spit on the aerator.

If anything, a bathroom sink is unsanitary because of aerosolized poo from the toilet landing on the aerator. Doesn't stop most people from brushing their teeth there.

This whole discussion reminds me of that episode of Seinfeld where Jerry's girlfriend gets mad at him for dropping her toothbrush in the toilet, so she tells him that she put something of his in the toilet, but she won't tell him what. After spending days sanitizing everything he owns, he finally breaks down and pleads with her to tell him what it was. She reveals it was the toilet brush. His reply? "Alright, I can replace that."

I've actually gotten most of my drinking water from the bathroom sink as of late.  Ever since maintenance fixed the dripping in my kitchen sink, the water from it has tasted funny.

[webny99]

How does anything that's going on affect the water quality, though?

It doesn't, it's an artificial taint.

I wasn't saying there's anything wrong with the water quality. Just that the general environment of a gas station bathroom sink seems like an unsanitary place to be getting your drinking water from.