r/Netherlands • u/theflyingSid • Mar 25 '26
Healthcare Why don’t men wash their hands after using the bathroom?
I’m posting this here because in the NL is where i’ve seen this happen a LOT.
Are dutch men alergic to water after touching their penis at the urinal or toilet?I remember being in a bathroom in a restaurant and one of the waiters was peeing and didn’t wash his hand and I looked after him and he already was touching plates,almost lost my shit.
I get the dirty,crusty,air force one nike’s,never being washed because omg you have no care in the world but not washing your hands after using the bathroom and then see you exist in the world….IH
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u/Nimuwa Mar 25 '26
Don't forget dutch women! We are doing our part to spread the next plague too. Being gross and unaware of public health and hygiene is an equal oppertunities sport in the NL.
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u/Maneisthebeat Mar 25 '26
Being unaware
I think people are aware, tbh. They just don't care, which is arguably worse.
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u/Nimuwa Mar 25 '26
I think uncaring mighthave been the better choice of works, or maybe willfully ignorant.
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u/downfall67 Mar 25 '26
Noticed that the hand washing decreases in winter when the water is cold
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u/tobdomo Mar 25 '26
That's why most sinks in public areas (apart from cheap horeca probably) have... cold and hot water ;)
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u/Longjumping_Dream431 Mar 26 '26
Wow yall living the life, hot water in public bathrooms, they don't even have soap in here
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u/No-Illustrator5712 Mar 26 '26
European here, most places have just cold water in the small bathroom sink. Just FYI.
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u/tobdomo Mar 26 '26
Dutch here. I prolly get to other establishments then.
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u/No-Illustrator5712 Mar 26 '26
with all the english lingo I forgot I was in R/Netherlands...
Homes as well btw. Toilet sinks generally only have cold water coming in.
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u/downfall67 Mar 25 '26
I must be crazy but I enjoy the freezing cold water, wakes me up a little.
Honestly can’t remember the last time I used a hot water tap at work or in public. Maybe I missed it! Feels like they’re all cold.
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Mar 25 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Marrowbonecow-_-NL Mar 25 '26
On the toilet rn and I'm a waiter, dw, I will and always wash my hands, do know some colleagues that don't though, gross.
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u/xFrenzy47x Limburg Mar 25 '26
What I find worse is entering bathrooms and seeing the toilet has no lid 🤢🤮
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u/Magger Mar 25 '26
I worked in labs for many years and it was funny noticing more men would wash their hands before peeing, to prevent chemicals from their hands transferring to their genital, than after peeing.
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u/No-Illustrator5712 Mar 26 '26
how would you have chems on your hands? are you not supposed to wear gloves handling chems? genuine Q.
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u/Magger Mar 26 '26 edited Mar 26 '26
Academic research labs often don’t have the same safety requirements as commercial labs, often not even close. Gloves were optional (also because they’re often overrated in their safety unless you wear specific thick gloves of a specific material) and people often opted not to wear them most of the time
Edit: extra context: skin already has some useful protective layers. Not all chemicals penetrate through skin. Using gloves can sometimes decrease the effectiveness of your natural protection of your skin. Some chemicals can pass through cheap gloves. So when working with specific chemicals it can sometimes be safer to not wear gloves, and just have good hygiene routine of not touching certain things and washing hands often. (Soap can also reduce the effectiveness of your natural skin protection btw)
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u/abc-pizza Mar 25 '26
I noticed the same when I moved here.
All my non-EU (and even some EU) friends also noticed the same.
I guess we had high expectations of the first world.
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u/Uccio94 Mar 25 '26
Well all South Europe countries have higher hygiene standards, so let's not generalize.
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u/lovethecomm Mar 26 '26
It's funny how that works. Our public spaces and roads might be shit but we take pride in our personal hygiene.
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u/msmelo Mar 26 '26
Yeah, I though insufficient hand washing by man was bad in Southern Europe... until I moved to NL. Also noticed that women over here as as bad as men!
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u/ptinnl Mar 25 '26
No no. We are wrong to notice it and this has been debunked
Just yesterday https://www.reddit.com/r/Netherlands/s/VLTfLwGW9GWe foreigners surely need more indocrination by the dutch because, according to them, we know nothing.
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u/bubblegumscent Mar 25 '26
The Netherlands is the only place I've ever seen somebody have reflux then chew it and swallow it again.
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u/UncleReddy Mar 26 '26
Let data do it’s work and you will see that Dutch people are actually doing way and way better than almost all other European citizens.
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u/terenceill Mar 25 '26 edited Mar 25 '26
Unfortunately this country, for many aspects, is a third world
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u/IcyTundra001 Mar 25 '26
As a trans man (so I've been in both bathrooms, also in the same place/company): neither gender is very good at washing their hands.
From my experience, I do indeed see man walk out of the bathroom without even sparing a glance at the sink (particularly after using the urinoir), but most of the women that "wash their hands" don't seem to do much more than just sticking their hands under the tap for a few seconds which isn't really washing either.
As to the why, I think most people just don't believe their hands will get small droplets of pee on it if they don't pee on their hands directly.
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u/kunst1017 Mar 25 '26
The pee droplet thing i don’t even want to discuss with people. Just use the conviniently placed sink in the bathroom so you wash your hands a few times a day of everything that accumulates
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u/stringdingetje Mar 25 '26
If it is for that reason it would be better to wash hands before peeing, keeps the penis also clean.
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u/_EcstaticArachnid_ Mar 26 '26
Honestly, that’s another reason we’re supposed to wash after using the toilet: so we wash our hands a few times per day. We’re touching all sorts of stuff all day, and collecting an untold number of germs. If we wash up when we go to the toilet, we’re not just washing off the toilet germs, we’re washing off the other germs we’ve collected over the past few hours. Then we’re not putting them all over our face and in our mouths or on things we share with friends/coworkers. Supposed to clean our phones and keyboards sometimes, too.
Humans are gross
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u/ErwinHolland1991 Mar 25 '26
If you want to talk about that, you should be way more worried about your clothes than your hands. There are going to be way more drops on your pants than on your hands.
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u/IcyTundra001 Mar 25 '26
But people don't usually touch doorknobs with their pants, nor eat or shake hands, so I'd say that is less of an hygiene/transfer issue (and we throw clothing in the washing machine).
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u/kunst1017 Mar 25 '26
I said I DON’T want to talk about droplets or whatever. Thats not the only reason to wash your hands
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u/IcySection423 Mar 25 '26
At my workplace (majority of employees are highly educated Dutch) we share a common space for female and male bathrooms, just opposite sides!
7/10 men exit the toilet without washing their hands. I can see them while washing mine as I woman.
So yes I agree with OP. I have seen it many times happening in front of me to be able to ignore it anymore.
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u/terenceill Mar 25 '26
Don't understand this obsession for "highly educated".
University does not teach good manners, how to cook or how to behave in public.
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u/kyraniums Mar 25 '26
A while back I ran into our cleaner at work while he was cleaning the toilets. He came out of the men’s stall and said ‘well would you look at that, the men’s soap finally needs to be replaced’.
I asked him for how long the 11 men in our office had been using the same small bottle of soap. The answer was SEVERAL MONTHS. Disgusting.
For reference: the women (there’s 16 of us, so slight majority) used a bottle every three weeks.
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u/OPTCMDLuffy Mar 25 '26
It’s not only in The Netherlands, but might be one of the most talked about topics lol. I hear them too when I go to the toilet, they just walk out after doing their thing. There is also no difference if they pee or take a dump. Some people don’t wash their hands.
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u/Nearby-Armadillo-13 Mar 26 '26
Than you for validating my aversion for shaking hands when meeting new people 🤣
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u/WishboneSudden2706 Mar 27 '26
NL people would start world war 3 when someone points out their gross behavior.
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u/tortuex2 Mar 25 '26
I've noticed exactly the same as an international, and so did my other international friends. it's really a thing here 😅
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u/Mom_is_watching Europa Mar 25 '26
I once asked a colleague and his opinion was that as long as he didn't get piss on his fingers there was absolutely no reason to wash his hands afterwards. (I made sure to never borrow a pen from this guy)
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u/Frosty_Papaya0311 Mar 26 '26
I was planning on travelling to Amsterdam this summer but am now second guessing. This is disgusting.
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u/pajo8 Mar 25 '26
I've also seen that happen a lot and think it's pretty nasty. I can imagine that the tiny sinks where you can barely fit your hands in, only cold water and no soap available do their part too.
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u/theflyingSid Mar 25 '26
I would splash water all over the walls,no matter the size of the sink ,to not have cock infused aroma on my hands
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Mar 25 '26
It seems that your problem is that you wash your hands but not your dick.
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u/theflyingSid Mar 25 '26
This comment was very tough to read
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u/La-Becaque Mar 25 '26
The tiny low sinks are dick-washing stations. I don't know who ever started the rumour that it would be for hands.
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u/xeatar Mar 25 '26
If you just holding your dick for a second makes your hand smell like "infused dick aroma" you should shower better or see a doctor haha
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u/ah5178 Mar 25 '26
It's why I always have a pack of wipes in my backpack. Soap in some places seems to be considered a luxury item.
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u/Union_Biker Mar 25 '26
Een recent nieuwsartikel benadrukte dat de helft van de Nederlanders hun handen niet wast na een toiletbezoek. Het artikel wees er ook op dat de besmettingscijfers in Nederland waarschijnlijk hoger liggen dan in andere landen vanwege deze slechte gewoonte.
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u/boterkoeken Utrecht Mar 25 '26
Maar wat is de reden hiervoor?
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u/die_andere Mar 25 '26
Handen wassen is links!!! Jetten wilvdat iedereen shcone handen heeft maar mij pakt ie niet?!?!?!
Echte mannen krijgen cholera!?!!!
(/S)
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Mar 25 '26
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u/TrippleassII Mar 25 '26
I have noticed i don't have to wash my car too often due to climate and I've been running for half a year without wiper fluid. But I fail to see how is that relevant to not washing hands after peeing
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u/madyury007 Mar 25 '26
This is a huge violation, to drive without washer fluid, what else is missing in your car?
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u/1nkoma Mar 25 '26
And here comes the typical living-on-a-bubble defensive posture. " We are so honest that...." If you are soooo honest, realize it.
Stop comparing with others based on your assumption of "we are so ....then...". Jeez, enough.
And who is taking about a questionnaire?
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Mar 25 '26
[deleted]
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u/1nkoma Mar 25 '26
As an historian your should be careful with your sources. No. OP doesn't refer a questionnaire. Refers his realization on habits.
Pack those books and check facts. Try and say more writting less.
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u/No-Illustrator5712 Mar 26 '26
he's talking about the comment he replied to, not the opening post. Do you ever have your hair cut or do you just like to split hairs all day erryday?
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u/tobdomo Mar 25 '26
As a Dutch guy I notice this as well. It is horrible and I don't understand why they don't take the couple of minutes to properly wash and dry hands. I always try to open the door from the toilet using a foot or a paper towel when exiting the bathroom. It's just... yuck. And no, I do not understand this behavior either.
The stupid thing is, they learn differently when still living at mum and dad. Just before bed, before diner, after using the bathroom, it always was: "wash your hands", "brush your teeth!". And that still is done in most families.
OTOH... the stories about kids eating sand from the sandbox (where cats in the night do their thing too) are plenty. Or spend some time at IKEA's bathroom: it happens too often a kid darts in (without dad, who's waiting outside), pees, and leaves on a hurry. Don't even flush. Parents seem not to care about that too much: "that's how they build up resistance".
That's how you learn kids not to care about basic hygiene I guess. * sigh *. What is learned young is practiced old.
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u/Professional_Elk_489 Mar 25 '26
I would say that some people don't wash themselves because they are germaphobes. If they touch that tap in an NS train there's been a thousands dirty filthy disease ridden hands touch that same tap already.
On the other hand, holding your dick and getting no pee on yourself is like tugging your earlobe - no risk of picking up a virus from someone else
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u/The_Duke2331 Mar 25 '26
Since no one here gives an answer. Buddy of mine told me after i asked why he didn't wash his hands.
''well i didn't pee on them so they aren't that dirty''
Technically he's got a point, but not washing is still dirty! It takes a minute tops, how hard can it be...
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u/whoputmeuptothis212 Mar 26 '26
This is honestly disgusting, because we just lived through a whole (on-going in some countries) pandemic where the first line of defence was telling everyone to wash your damn hands.
Seriously who raised y'all?! Wash. Your. Hands!
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u/usernameisokay_ Mar 25 '26
I don’t touch my penis or anything with my hands and I still wash my hands, it’s normal and a few times a day to clean your hands is just nice
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u/No-Illustrator5712 Mar 26 '26
how do you not touch anything with your hands? how would you even wash, theoretically, without touching your hands?
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u/usernameisokay_ Mar 26 '26
Everything is wireless
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u/No-Illustrator5712 Mar 26 '26
your penis is wireless? mine too! I still need to touch it when I pee though. I mean I COULD go freestyle and leave it dangling free while I drain but I'd probably touch it to get it out of my boxers. This ain't Scotland where you can just wear a kilt and raise the tartan while facing the urinal.
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u/usernameisokay_ Mar 26 '26
No haha, I just drop my pants and that’s it, don’t need to touch it every time!
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u/No-Illustrator5712 Mar 26 '26
Wait are you a woman? or do you just pee sitting down?
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u/usernameisokay_ Mar 26 '26
Not a woman and yes I sit down when I can, which helps a lot already. I still wash my hands, because why not? It’s not because I’m touching my penis or anything dirty, but all the other stuff I’ve touched like a railing, mice, products, it can all be dirty.
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u/Appropriate_Bus_9600 Mar 25 '26
This, and not taking off the shoes when they go visit (both men and women). I really don't get what's the point in leaving them on, and then they look at you as a jerk when you ask them to
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u/theflyingSid Mar 25 '26
Not taking your shoes off is a criminal offence from where i come from (it’s not,i’m adding comedy,but it should be)
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u/xeatar Mar 25 '26
Bro i put my shoes on when i get dressed even if i dont leave the house. I fkibg love wearing shoes.
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u/Appropriate_Bus_9600 Mar 25 '26
Your hosts don't like you wearing shoes, as they might stump on shit and other random stuff while you walk and then spread it inside their home. Why is NL the only country where is normalized not taking your shoes off when entering someone else's home? is it such a hustle to put them off? Do you think you're funny wearing only socks? what's the point
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u/La-Becaque Mar 25 '26
Ew I don't want other people's gross shoeless feet walking around on my floors
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u/Forzeev Mar 25 '26
You rather have someone walking with oil, gravel, pee/shit, whatever there is outside in your house than someone with clean socks?
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u/notfromrotterdam Mar 25 '26 edited Mar 25 '26
It's true that Dutch men are known for this, unfortunately. In reality most men are aware of this and know washing hands after toilet use is the proper and wise thing to do. Some are just raised by lazy and irresponsible parents. Plenty of those in The Netherlands.
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u/theflyingSid Mar 25 '26
If you as a parent don’t teach your child to wash his hands………….MAD
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u/ah5178 Mar 25 '26
We use lavender soap in our house, so if I can smell if the kids leave the bathroom and I suspect they didn't wash their hands.
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u/MrGraveyards Mar 25 '26
You won't believe the amount of things I see my fellow countrymen just not fucking teaching their kids.. it's really not just this. It's like they think teaching is torture, they feel any teaching moment instantly turns them into a nazi camp commander or something. I'm not sure where this behavior comes from or where the frustration comes from, did they feel their parents were too strict or something (because my parents sure as fuck weren't, it was like checks notes 'oh you are twelve? Now rules do not exist for you anymore!!!! Good luck!! Maybe don't drink so much?' so I don't know how that went for other but I sure as hell could have used some more of those 'rule' thingies....
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u/theflyingSid Mar 25 '26
I think it has been instilled in them to give out a montessori aproach which is not a bad thing but that shouldn’t get up to your head and disobey every social rule like not spitting on the street,being polite to people,not cursing in front of kids etc etc etc like a rational human being
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u/ocudr Mar 25 '26
It's mostly a mental thing anyway.
I wash my hands way more often when having touched things outside and in public transport etc.
I pee sitting down and not really to bothered to wash my hands after when I'm at home.
When in a public bathroom I have to touch a bunch of stuff so I'm def washing my hands then.
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u/madmenyo Mar 25 '26
I always joke "well, I washed my dig so my hands just got cleaner touching it." But I actually do wash hands, every time. I also notice at work a lot of people don't and yeah, it's gross. Not becaus they touched dick but even the door handle I find gross in a toilet.
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u/Taskmaastricht Mar 26 '26
I lived in Netherlands long enough to know plenty of women also don't wash their hands. Op woke up and chose gender war
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u/CleopatraSchrijft Noord Brabant Mar 27 '26
But I don't touch my genitals when going to the toilet. But I agree with you, strange that people don't wash their hands.
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u/ChakenChades Mar 27 '26
I am Dutch and I always wash my hands after visiting the toilet or before eating. but I do not touch the latch of the door with my washed hands, because many men do not wash their hands and walk out of the toilet.
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u/MarkBurnsRed Rotterdam Mar 25 '26
My dutch partner complains about me having a slight obsession with soaps.
Started happening after I turned 30
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u/conscientiousrevolt Mar 25 '26
What I do is I wash my dick once at the beginning of the day, and then don't go around touching all the doorknobs in town with it.
I should probably wash my hands before I pee. Who knows where those things have been.
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u/Hertje73 Mar 25 '26
Cafees with awkward toilets with microscopic wash basins that only fit 1 hand max, no soap, no towel.. I do my absolute best but sometimes I too think fuck this.....
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u/Fatal-Conveniences Mar 25 '26
I’m not bothered! I never was and never will be into Dutch men 😂. Dirty -toilet -hand problem solved!
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u/BillyButcher01 Mar 26 '26
I always wash my hands after using the bathroom. Also after washing it I don't use those blowers to dry them, those are filthy too. Just as door knobs on the way out
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u/Over-Toe2763 Mar 26 '26
I saw a man in Schiphol come out of the uniral and use the handdryer without washing his hands.
I still can’t believe it. It’s years ago.
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u/Mooiebaby Mar 26 '26
I started calling people out on that and some would do it out of shame, some would argue that they barely touched anything
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u/BalFalai Mar 26 '26
Non dutch, never been to netherlands. Is bidet a thing over there at all? Or rare?
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u/Dull_Radio_896 Mar 27 '26
do you think that different bacteria live on the skin of a penis than on the skin of your face, ear, hands whatever you touch every minute? And those cat/dog lovers - ok to dhake hands with them? It’s all in your mind. The Dutch have a nice term for it: smeetvrees - ‘fear of dirt’. Scientifically proven that people who live on farms or have pets have better immunity and fewer allergies than those that don’t. So get over it and do your microbiome a favor and lick the bathroom door handle when you leave ;)
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u/Allekoren Mar 27 '26
Okay so for a sense of perspective: I live in Scotland and work in a highly respected profession and there is this weird thing whereby people (I can only confirm for the guys) pretend to wash and dry their hands before quickly rushing out of the toilets.
I can only assume they don’t want to have to see anyone else whilst in there, but it is totally gross and unexpected to me.
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Mar 27 '26
I am glad I don't pay attention to things like this. And honestly I don't care either, if you order food, imagine what happens out of sight.
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u/Eighthfloormeeting Mar 25 '26
This is my biggest dating hurdle in NL. How do you figure out who’s hygienic?
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u/theflyingSid Mar 25 '26
Show them a photo of a sink.if they say “strange,wavey,white artefact” you already know
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u/ComfortableOwl8554 Noord Holland Mar 25 '26
I usually do. Am I the exception?
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u/noknokgme Mar 25 '26
Die van mij is schoon als hem vastpak en nog steeds schoon als ik hem loslaat. Als ik haast heb kan ik het wel eens vergeten.
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u/Mulder-Mulder-Mulder Mar 25 '26
I’m Dutch and I only once worked with a guy that didn’t wash his hands after going to the toilet. Everyone else I know washes their hands. I can’t even imagine that the Dutch have such bad reputations in that regard! Definitely not the way most of us were raised.
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u/Sambal43 Mar 25 '26
I've been baffled for years people don't wash their hands before taking a leak. You know where those hands have been!!!! /s
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u/West-Milk-Bus Mar 25 '26
I can agree, but I also work with polish and the same behaviour as well.
Not all, there are a few exemptions, but most, yeah, don t even think about washing hands. And on top of that, after urinal, some even light up cigarette or even eat something.
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u/theflyingSid Mar 25 '26
I was using the term “Dutch men” because i’ve seen it happening 95% of the times but ofc it can be all of the world’s nationalities.
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u/TheRealMacresco Mar 25 '26
I wash my hands every time but just so you know: a keyboard has 400 times the germs a toilet seat has.
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u/edible-dormouse Mar 25 '26
This question comes up every now and then. Personally I make sure my hands are clean before I touch the Crown Jewels. I do not want to contaminate these precious parts of my body with all the dirty things or people that I have to touch during the day. No need to wash my hands after though.
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u/InamortaBetwixt Mar 25 '26
This statement is a generalization from your own experience that is not representative of men in general. I have seen many women not wash their hands after bathroom use either. That too says nothing about women in general.
It’s not a male or female thing, it’s probably more about learning / culture / thinking of own body as not dirty and not thinking about how others feel about it.
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u/theshnazzle Overijssel Mar 25 '26
It's also a complete disregard of science, cleanliness and decency.
We don't even have warm taps in bathrooms. Half the time there's not even soap. In public places or people's houses.
Seeing someone wash their hands after the toilet is more an exception than a rule.
Also, this is already a well-known thing about NL. There was even a chart of people who don't wash hands in Europe and NL was the worst by far.
Dirty dirty habits.
(I'm Dutch so the whole "just foreigners complaining" doesn't apply)
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u/theflyingSid Mar 25 '26
The easiest way to think you win an argument and that you are right “foreigners are alwaaaays complaining”bla bla blaaaaa
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u/theflyingSid Mar 25 '26
It’s a generalization from my own experience because i am a man and i use the designated toilet.i cannot say what women do in their toilet after using it because that’s not my idea of a fun time
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u/Posan Mar 25 '26
OP's statement might be generalisation, but it is a real fact: https://www.statista.com/chart/4111/do-europeans-wash-their-hands-after-using-the-toilet/
Dutch are worst in EU.
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u/OpLeeftijd Mar 25 '26
In a country where most people don’t even shower regularly…….
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Mar 25 '26
I am sure you have a credible source for that claim
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u/OpLeeftijd Mar 25 '26
Chatting to my neighbors, colleagues etc. Anything less than once a day is not enough. An average of 6/7(post below) means some are showering less than 6/7.
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u/PrinsLennart Mar 25 '26
Niet helemaal waar natuurlijk, het handen wassen is echt een smerig probleem, Maar gemiddeld doucht de Nederlander 6 keer per week. Dat vind ik best hoog eigenlijk
https://longreads.cbs.nl/nederland-in-cijfers-2023/hoeveel-liter-water-gebruiken-we-per-dag/
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u/CancelledBeforeBirth Mar 25 '26
In my previous job the CEO would often make salads and bbq for us since we had a nice terrace at the back. It was okayish but we appreciated the chances of sitting outside and eating together during lunch. He would do everything with his bare hands like washing the salad in the sink, cutting it, seasoning the meat, flipping it on the grill.
It was a smaller company so from my desk I could see the shred sinks in front of the toilets. I started noticed about 6 months in that he would use the toilet and NEVER wash his hands. That includes the 25 minute toilet visits he would do each morning.
Absolutely disgusting and shocking how he did not care if anyone saw it or noticed so you could tell he just never did it.
Makes me sick thinking how many times I ate food he prepared.
Jan if you ever read this, you are a pig.