Library books and germs

minimoneysaver

I suppose you could wipe over the cover with an anti bacterial wipe.

Beachview_2

minimoneysaver wrote: »

I suppose you could wipe over the cover with an anti bacterial wipe.

Oh, but the pages are probably infected too, and fumes of germs radiating out of the pages

pukkamum

My friends husband is the same, won't have library books in the house because of germs, won't touch loo door handles etc.
He has the rest of the family becoming obsessed too.
The best thing is he's a postman, I often feel like pointing out how many germs would be on a letter he posted!

Yorkie1

Don't germs require moisture and warmth to persist? Library books are dry and not necessarily warm. I can't see any germs surviving in a hostile environment ...

Hermia

barbarawright wrote: »

For heavens sake. I've worked public libraries for 25 years.

Same here! I've worked in libraries for years and I'm still alive. In fact, libraries have been around for a long time and the population hasn't yet been killed off by librarybookitis.

eleanora_

Hermia wrote: »

Same here! I've worked in libraries for years and I'm still alive. In fact, libraries have been around for a long time and the population hasn't yet been killed off by librarybookitis.

Librarybookitis! :rotfl: Symptoms include (but are not limited to) a broadened mind, book-induced insomnia, and a love of the written word :rotfl:

Georgiegirl256

I would say the relative is right though, the books probably are covered in god knows what :eek: But the fact is is wether or not it bothers you or not. Most people couldn't care less or don't even give it a second thought, but for some people, it's a big deal, especially if they suffer from OCD. It's none of her business though about what your Mam does, and she shouldn't have lectured your Mam.

My Mam absolutely hates charity shops (I love them!), and won't have anything in her house from them if she can help it (I have bought my Dad a couple of things though!), and she was just saying again today, that she doesn't like not knowing where something has come from or where its been, so I could imagine she'd be the same with library books?

I always remember getting a book out on a serial killer (when I was a goth art student!) and being abit funny about touching it as I wondered who'd had it before me! :eek:

Beachview_2

Georgiegirl256 wrote: »

I would say the relative is right though, the books probably are covered in god knows what :eek: But the fact is is wether or not it bothers you or not. Most people couldn't care less or don't even give it a second thought, but for some people, it's a big deal, especially if they suffer from OCD. It's none of her business though about what your Mam does, and she shouldn't have lectured your Mam.

My Mum would actually agree about the books having germs on them, because you don't know who's been touching them before, but her way round this is to keep them in a bag so they're not touching the furniture, then to wash her hands after reading them.

Georgiegirl256 wrote: »

My Mam absolutely hates charity shops (I love them!), and won't have anything in her house from them if she can help it (I have bought my Dad a couple of things though!), and she was just saying again today, that she doesn't like not knowing where something has come from or where its been, so I could imagine she'd be the same with library books?

We'd be like your Mam in not wanting anything from the charity shops. Though we'd never give someone a lecture about it

Georgiegirl256

It's strange, even though I love charity shops for the cool bargains you can find, in a lot of aspects, I am totally germ phobic, and am always washing my hands, using antibacterial gel etc....I'm a total contridiction! :rotfl:

I do tend to just go or things which look as if they're new/hardly used, and even then give them a wipe down with an antibacterial wipe!

Gingernutty

It's not just library books, though.

Door handles, money, handrails, groceries on shelves - any communally used/handled items can harbour and transfer germs and we even take some of them home.

As long as one had good personal hygiene (washes hands before preparing food, after the toilet etc) then one won't come to harm.

I can't help thinking this might be some sort of snob thing.

"Oh you borrow books...we buy."