The tale of handkerchief

When I was in school carrying handkerchief was a mandate. In school it was a habit to carry the handkerchief. This habit even continued to college. As everything started to progress each and every place would also have paper towels. Because of the easy availability of paper towels I had stopped carrying handkerchief. However one incident changed everything.

I used to work at one of the biggest multinational companies. The office was glamorous. Everything was portrayed to be sophisticated. The restrooms were spacious and impeccable. The restrooms had high quality and gentle hand wash. The paper towels that were provided in the restrooms were of superior quality and from a well recognised brand. They even were anti bacterial. Looking at the maintenance of the restrooms and the quality of supplies I had stopped carrying the handkerchief and started using the paper towels. I had been thinking that I was using the safest and hygienic most paper towels. Everything was spotless but in reality it was anything but that.

One particular morning I had gone to the restroom to freshen up. That morning the restroom was almost empty. There were not many women in the restroom. Excluding me there were two or three women and a housekeeper. Women were getting ready and freshening up. While the housekeeper was completing her choice of maintenance. I had washed my face and went to grab the paper towel. I dabbed the paper towel against my face to dry it.

While I was getting ready I saw most women had already left the restroom. Now in the restroom it was just me and the housekeeper. I saw that the housekeeper was cleaning the toilets. She had been wearing a protective gear before cleaning the toilet which included a mask, gloves made of latex, rubber boots, and a removable protective apron. While wearing that protective gear she had been cleaning the toilets. I was grateful to see that the housekeeping management had provided protective gears to the staff so that their hands and clothes do not touch the unsanitary and unhygienic surfaces. I was glad to see that the management cared about the housekeeping staff for their health and safety.

The housekeeper had cleaned the toilets and then she wiped of the floor with an antiseptic. During this she was still wearing the protective gear. I thought to myself that the housekeeping staff had been provided with appropriate training towards usage of protective gear to shield themselves from the infection and exposure to the pathogens. I was glad to see that these trainings have been effective for the housekeeping staff.

After the cleaning had been completed I saw that the housekeeper did something unthinkable. The housekeeper was still wearing her protective gear. She had not taken of the latex that she had used for cleaning the toilet. Her gloves were soaking wet. This is when she went to the housekeeping cabinet. She picked up the roll of paper towels with her soaking wet latex gloves. With those used gloves she was holding paper towels which she loaded into the paper towel dispense machine. I even saw wet spots on those paper towels.

When I saw that I felt extremely disgusted. My stomach churned to see that the housekeepers handle the paper towels with the gloves that they had used to clean the toilets. I felt sick to stomach thinking that I had used the same paper towel on my face. I had been thinking about the microbes that the paper towel would carry. I kept thinking about the potential infection that those paper towels may induce. At that moment I felt nauseous as well as dizzy.

I exited the restroom and went back to my workstation. My hands were wet but I could not touch those paper towels again after what I witnessed. That was the moment when I decided that I should go back to my old habit of carrying the handkerchief.