How do I ask my co-workers to wash their hands after using the bathroom without being rude?

Post a health bulletin about H1N1 on the walls of the bathrooms and lead by example. You are not their mother.

Beyond that there isn’t much you can do. Just be glad you don’t have a woman who shits in the trashcan like my job does and deal with it.

Do it very indirectly. Print out a “Health advisement” regarding hand-washing procedures. Tape it in a few tactical places in the bathroom.

Tell your co-workers that you’re going to tell everyone else in the office/business that they don’t wash their hands!

@asmonet That is horrifying.

I don’t know. I find it completely disgusting. Aren’t there signs up for employees? (or is that only food service places?)

@holden / @casheroo: Yep. It’s happened like six times. Whoever she is, she’s a trash crapper.

Maybe carry sanitizer with you. Request to have a sanitizer dispenser installed in the bathroom as well…. I don’t understand why people don’t wash their hands, but maybe it’s because they don’t want to take the time. So the sanitizer dispenser might help as it is more convenient?

First off are you sure there is no hand sanitizing going on? Now many people prefer to use their personal hand sanitizer vs. washing hands. Of course personally I’d go for both and never skip the hand washing but perhaps they are doing sanitizing.

Second post some Potty Posters

If the Potty Posters don’t work then ask HR to put out a memo.

[Mod Says] Txtspk removed.

@Sarcasm Thanks for that advice. I’m going to try that tomorrow to see if it works.

@RedPowerLady- I understand what you are saying about hand santi, but is it really a great alternative to not washing hands?

Why not just say, “You forgot to wash your hands” or something? Not rude, just direct, and maybe embarrassing. They’ll get over it, and you will be free of their germs.

@Chikipi Personally I wouldn’t choose it as an alternative, no. But for many people they do and it is acceptable, I mean it kills germs.

@asmonet Please tell me the trashcan is in the bathroom, at least. There was a guy on my baseball team who’d crap in the trash in the scorekeeper’s tower. It also happened to be where all the equipment was kept, so anyone going in there had to suffer the stench of a fresh steaming log. I was later told that he had some strange fear of using public toilets; maybe that’s the case with your mystery crappper.

I agree with @Facade—hand-washing is too serious an issue to be worrying about tactfulness. I would call them out on it.

Get one of those “Employees must wash their hands after using the restroom” signs and tape it up in the bathroom? (If you can get a male friend to tape one up on his side, too, it would look more official.)

To be a little snarkier, find a magnified image of germs to tape up. Like the ones here or here. Eww.

I sure hope you don’t work somewhere that requires handling food for the public. Yuck.

@ThePeanutGallery: It’s a single room, shared female bathroom with a plastic foot controlled trashcan. Like the kind you can buy for your kitchen in K Mart. The employees do all the cleaning for the entire office, because we’re a small company we work in teams every few weeks on a rotating schedule, so everyone has to handle this person’s shit at some point. We’re all so sick of it, the owner of the company has started watching security tapes. I only know because I was one of the people hired after it had already started.

@RedPowerLady Thank you for the Potty Poster link; I’ve printed out a few copies for my office, too!!!

I may also make & tape a few copies of:
“If you sprinkle
When you tinkle,
Please be neat
And wipe the seat!”

“Might you be so kind as to keep your feces microbes off the communal office wares. A good day to you.”

You can’t. You can post signs.

@BraveWarrior no problem , laughing at other

Deal with it straight out or go sit at your desk and focus on your work.