Wives: Does your husband use a handkerchief? If so, are you grossed out by this?

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My husband and I are in our mid-40’s, so I don’t consider ourselves to be old coots…but I overheard a conversation between 2 young 20-ish whippersnappers that’s got me thinking maybe we are (or, more correctly, maybe *my husband *is). It went something like this:

20-ish woman: My grandpa still uses a handkerchief to blow his nose!

Other 20-ish woman: Ick! Who uses THAT anymore??

Me, thoughtfully: Hmmm…what’s wrong with a handkerchief? I’d much prefer that to the alternative, in which he uses the “one finger hook-wipe with a sniff”.

Any comments?
 
No, my husband uses tissues. My dad who is in his 70’s uses handkerchief as long as I can remember. It did gross me out as a child and still does. I prefer a tissue to dispose of and so does hubby, but there is nothing wrong with using a handkerchief.😉
 
I use hankies. What’s gross about it? I put them in the wash with the other clothes – they don’t need hand-laundering anymore, if they ever really did. I use them until they get disgusting, then throw them in the basket. It’s less wasteful and far cheaper in the long run.
Here, it is almost always very damp, and carrying tissues or TP means dissolved paper stuck to your pockets – sometimes slimy paper, too. Ew. That is grosser in my opinion. Hankies hold up better.
 
No, he doesn’t, but if he did, I believe I’d refuse to be the one to wash the thing! 😛

Tissues are such a lovely invention. :tissues: 🙂
 
**LOL, I know you didn’t intend this thread to be funny, but the one finger hook wipe with a sniff made me giggle:p (but that still beats the "plug one nostril and blow the contents of the other onto the ground:eek:)

Anyways, I would have to lean towards the hankies are gross side of the coin. But I guess it depends. I’ve never used a hankie so maybe you could enlighten me? Are they a one time use and then wash kind of deal or is it more like using the same snotty tissue over and over until there isn’t a dry space left?:confused:

I mean, I use cloth diapers and many people think that is gross. But it’s not like I reuse them without a good washing first.

If the hankie is only used for one time and then washed I think that is fine…

if not then you can tell your hubby that he is officially an old coot:D**
 
No - that strikes me as pretty gross. My dad always used one, though. Nasty. Thank God for tissues.
 
Feanaro_s_Wife said:
**LOL, I know you didn’t intend this thread to be funny, but the one finger hook wipe with a sniff made me giggle:p (but that still beats the "plug one nostril and blow the contents of the other onto the ground:eek:)

Anyways, I would have to lean towards the hankies are gross side of the coin. But I guess it depends. I’ve never used a hankie so maybe you could enlighten me? Are they a one time use and then wash kind of deal or is it more like using the same snotty tissue over and over until there isn’t a dry space left?:confused:

I mean, I use cloth diapers and many people think that is gross. But it’s not like I reuse them without a good washing first.

If the hankie is only used for one time and then washed I think that is fine…

if not then you can tell your hubby that he is officially an old coot:D**
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The finger way is known as farmer-blow around here.
You use the middle, press it together, then use each corner and press. That way the dirty sides are not exposed and you vcan’t accidentally reuse them. After five to ten uses (depending on the size of the hanky) you throw it in the wash and when it’s time to go to the laundry you just throw the whole basket of clothes in together, so you don’t even touch the hankies again until they’re clean.
 
No he uses tissues.

I actually use hankerchiefs -I’m 36 incase that important to the discussion. I come from a hankerchief family -both mom and dad are hanky users.

I generally only use them at home. I do need to blow my nose a lot and I’d be going through tissues way too much. Between my allergies and my general congestion due to my heart problem I’ve always been a frequent nose blower. Besides being more cost effective they also irritate my nose less. Outside my home I generally use tissues although in winter months I often keep a hanky in my coat pocket. Hubby is not grossed out by my hanky use.
 
My dad still uses them…and…

Microbiologically speaking, this is NOT healthy. I think that the days of the hankies should be done with. If you really want to convince someone to give them up, propose to them that their next cold could be over with days sooner if they would only use tissues - which are much more sanitary.
 
Perhaps we non-hanky whippersnappers ought to get clarification:

Are we talking about use for a cold? Allergy season? Hay fever? The occasional booger? What exactly? :ehh:

And is it a Northern thing? Or are the Southerners just more stealthy about their hanky use? Are we living in hanky denial down here?
 
surf(name removed by moderator)ure said:
Perhaps we non-hanky whippersnappers ought to get clarification:

Are we talking about use for a cold? Allergy season? Hay fever? The occasional booger? What exactly? :ehh:

And is it a Northern thing? Or are the Southerners just more stealthy about their hanky use? Are we living in hanky denial down here?
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This is for any time of year, any moment of the day when you feel like you need to wipe your nose.

You keep it in your jeans pocket, or in your khakis and whip it out as the spirit moves you. 👍

Then you fold it and return it to pocket for the next “call”.

You throw it into the hamper when you remember.

(The above is written by a wife, observing her husband of 18 years’ use of the hankie.)
 
I use the tissue and yes hankies can be gross but after a couple of days of wiping with the tissue and your nose is red and raw the soft cloth of a hankie feels much better. I will carry one to wipe, not blow, only to avoid the nose tracks on my sleeve!!😃

Paul
 
If the issue is having a cold and having a sore nose, why not use the best of both worlds? Use cloth but only ONCE! Can’t be much different than cloth baby wipes. Use them once, throw them into a bag/pail/bucket or whatever and wash them. Sure, you’d need quite a few during cold season but in the long run it would still be much cheaper than boxes and boxes of tissues:thumbsup:
 
this was the funniest thread title i ever read. i’m laughing too hard to read replies!
 
Maybe there is an ick factor, but for the person who spends most of their life with a runny nose, you just become immune to the ick factor or you die of horror. I prefer to wipe my nose instead of letting it drip on things. You can only wipe your nose so many times on paper before it bleeds. Cloth is the only way to go. Often it is a sleeve. If my hands are in the sink, then it is the shoulder daub move or nothing. Oh well. Either that or strap plugs into my nostrils before starting any sort of work. Perpetual sniffing can’t get the job done (though I do try).
 
My Dad always used a cloth hankie when I was younger(and perhaps still does). I rarely saw it washed.
Anyway when we went out, and I got some muck on my face he would spit on it and then wipe my face with it.:eek:
This is the stuff that childhood trauma is made of.
 
My DH uses hankies and refuses to switch to tissues, he claims they “won’t survive” when he blows his nose. I’m pretty horrified by the whole thing.

We reached a compromise wherein he will make sure used hankies are folded with the contents inside, and put into the hamper separately - not balled up in a jeans pocket where I won’t discover it until it’s too late, the jeans are clean, but there’s a crusty crumpled hanky that has to be put back into the hamper.

I don’t tell him they’re gross and unsanitary any more, he doesn’t argue that they’re not, and I have the right to call them “snotrags” and not “hankies” :cool:

I use tissues when I have an actual cold, but if it’s just a little drippy, I will use a hanky.
 
we prefer Puffs With Lotion for a cold, but my dad used hankies, and provided my first ironing job, as he had a sinus problem and went through 2 dozen a week.

how anybody that deals with baby goop all day can complain about laundering hankies is beyond my comprehension.
 
puzzleannie said:
we prefer Puffs With Lotion for a cold, but my dad used hankies, and provided my first ironing job, as he had a sinus problem and went through 2 dozen a week.

how anybody that deals with baby goop all day can complain about laundering hankies is beyond my comprehension.
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I don’t need to post anymore. Annie just said it all, for me, even describing my way of learning to iron. I really loved ironing dad’s new hankies!

Sooo, where can I buy ladies’ hankies?
 
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