- Date posted
- 6y
- Date posted
- 6y
I have the same issue. I have to wash my hands between each step to avoid spreading the germs and contamination. So simply throwing in the laundry is 15 minutes when it used to take 3 min.
- Date posted
- 6y
That’s cool to know that I’m not alone with feeling that our dirty laundry is dirty. Most people seem to not wash their hands after doing laundry it doesn’t make sense to me lol
- Date posted
- 6y
Once my water heater broke when I was staying at my bfs place for a couple weeks and when I got back and noticed it there was mold in the walls! That sent me into a spiral cuz that stuff could actually kill you if inhaled I was worried I contaminated almost everything in my house I just wanted to leave all my stuff there and move and start over I did move and ended up throwing a lot away but not everything I kept that stuff I needed in a separate area and moved it a few times ( i move a lot) I finally just got rid of it after my last move I just have two storage containers now of dirty stuff I’ll eventually disinfect.
- Date posted
- 6y
I know it's hard for you but keep doing your laundry.
- Date posted
- 6y
Do you use gloves? That’s what I do. What is your contamination issue with laundry?
- Date posted
- 6y
This is so relatable - I often have to put things through the machine five times or more before I can take them out again, and takes me ages to get them in there in the first place. I think it helps to put things on hot washes because that'll kill a lot of things which would contaminate clothes etc. Most things will hold up better than you'd expect in a hot wash. Personally I put everything in a bag I know will survive the machine and then I just chuck the bag in so I can avoid touching the items individually where possible. Then after the first wash I can separate them out a bit. Whatever happens, you do need to force yourself to do it - you'll thank yourself in the long run.
- Date posted
- 6y
Agree with you Shana though one way to probably fight the compulsion is knowing that most people don’t do what we do yet they are still perfectly fine. Hard to do but just a thought
- Date posted
- 6y
Y’a thats true but then again I feel like I touch all dirty things together that maybe others don’t. Like I’ll touch dishes trash dog poo etc and laundry therefore spreading germs to everywhere I feel is dirty but yeah you’re right it should still be fine although maybe I shouldn’t touch trash and laundry with the same hands or gloves ha
- Date posted
- 6y
It’s like I’m confused how much germs will actually harm me and how much of an amount will and whether or not those germs die after a couple days or once dried etc
Related posts
- Date posted
- 25w
Does anyone have any tips that helped them? Mine is due to a specific person and I work with them so it’s been really difficult. I’ve started ERP which has been reaaalllllly challenging and I would love to hear from anyone else that has gone through any type of contamination ocd and how they have overcome or are fighting their way through it. Thank you!l
- Date posted
- 24w
This is a long one lol but basically, a couple of weeks ago I went to the toilet (#2, sorry for the tmi). Let's just say it was messy. I remember that a speck of.. #2.. Fell off the piece of toilet paper. This was probably the worst thing that could ever happen. I can't remember clearly but I'm pretty sure my jeans were on the floor underneath near where the speck could have fallen. There was also a towel. I don't know exactly where it fell as it was so small, but I made sure both the towel and the jeans went in the laundry basket and I cleaned the floor near there. Fast forward to like the next day. My mum does most of the laundry, so she will have picked up all the towels and clothes from the laundry basket and taken them to the wash. The problem is the speck. I don't know where it went but if it was on the towel and she picked it up.... Thus, contaminated mum. And she also puts clothes away that are dry. I remember that day she put my hoodie in my wardrobe, and I haven't worn it since because I feel it is contaminated. I haven't worn the clothes that have touched the hoodie. This leaves me with not a lot of clothes. And today I finally snapped and picked up a sweatshirt that had maybe touched the hoodie. And now I'm just sat here spiralling, wearing it. What if it touched the speck? What if the speck touched my mum and then touched the hoodie which then touched the sweatshirt I'm wearing? Please I'm so scared.
- Date posted
- 23w
I’m so scared. Part of me feels ok and part of me feels like I need to clean everything off. Basically my sweater had a stain on it from food it was newly washed but I decided to throw it in the wash again. While throwing it in the laundry basket I noticed a specific type of clothing that scares me. I quickly put the sweater on top of the used laundry and left. My phone was in the living room and I’m pretty constantly scared it will get contaminated by laundry I’m not sure why but that fear started randomly. Anyway I had to walk past the living room to wash my hands in the kitchen because someone had to use the bathroom badly and was waiting for me to just throw my laundry in to go to the bathroom. Anyway I’m scared I went near my phone or contaminated it with my hands. I can’t remember the details fully either but I just remember walking straight to the kitchen but I don’t know. I’m really scared and I want to clean everything like my phone and everything it was near. The thing is my fear is real because used laundry is so gross. What do I do? When throwing clean laundry in a basket should you wash your hands? Do most people? Even if the article of clothing isn’t dirty? Because maybe my hands accidentally went near the actual gross laundry I don’t know
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