As you're reading this post I'm sure you'll either get annoyed or agitated at the mention of COVID but don't worry it's only being mentioned in passing, I'm not going to be expanding on it. With that being said, moving on!
I'm not sure if any of you picked up or did any special hygienic steps when you would eat out during COVID, that is when restaurants started allowing you to dine in again. I know for my family and I, a step we never did pre-COVID was carry around cleaning wipes. Why do you ask? Well not only shall I explain but you'll be able to see first hand as well, in the image below. So we would carry around these wipes to wipe down the table we would be sitting at; if the chairs didn't have cloth then we would wipe down all the areas of the chair that we typically grab or use in addition to the base of the chair where the seat part is. Sometimes chairs would have a seat cushion so we would only then wipe down the areas of the chair that we touched. If the table had salt and pepper shakers or if they had a little jelly holder, etc then those items would get wiped down for our use. I know, maybe drastic and to some of you crazy but considering that to this day (knock on wood) my two young kids have not had COVID (even when my entire family was infected at one time) I'm glad we did that and that we still tend to do that...you may just be singing a different tune after you keep reading and find out where the image I took was at-meaning in which restaurant/establishment I was in when I took it.
The types of wipes we carry are the alcohol wipes (I know more costly but preferably as far as cleaning the surfaces of germs are) but when we forget or run out mid-putting then a set of baby wipes is better than nothing. Yes, I still carry baby wipes and no even if you don't have kids, it's still useful to carry a package in your vehicle. The reason why I say even singles should carry around the baby wipes is because they are awesome cleaners for when you get a stain on your clothing but also for dirt/spills in your vehicle; gentle and hygienic for your clothing material and the vehicle paneling/seats. Ok I digress on the wipes now. When an area I see is less desirable in the visual sense of how clean it can be, I will spray some alcohol on the baby wipe and use the baby wipe. Now for you shocked nay-sayers who maybe think "what about the restaurant or establishment tables and chairs, if you use the alcohol wipes won't you be messing up their equipment?" I can't speak for others BUT when my family and I clean areas it's because we know it's not solid wood or any of the valuable materials that could be tarnished/destroyed when wiped with alcohol. Guess my suggestion to any of you who begin using this technique after reading my post, please be considerate and conscientious of the areas you are cleaning off your use-perhaps only clean the objects on the table for your use and not the table/char surfaces.
Now we come to the image I've taken. I've actually taken images after a cleanup, at a total of six different places so far. This particular image was taken at a very popular city in a well known chain restaurant-Olive Garden. The other five images I took (of before and after wipes) was at Texas Roadhouse, Normas, Cracker Barrel, Waffle House, and Pappadeux Seafood. Sadly, the wiping only got worse no matter the city. Don't want to take my word for it, by all means try it yourself at the establishments you frequent and let me know what your findings are...doesn't mean I still won't eat out! Hell no! But leaves you to wonder how "clean" they really keep things (even after COVID is now just a whisper in the wind).
Stay clean, stay safe, and enjoy your outings! :)
Sincerely,
A Distinct Woman
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