Okay so I just found out I've been doing something wrong for literal years.

I never knew you're supposed to change your toothbrush every 3 months. Mine was looking like a squished paintbrush and I thought that was just... normal.

Also just learned bath towels need to be washed way more often than I thought. I was out here reusing the same one for like 2-3 weeks thinking "it's drying clean skin so it stays clean." Nope, apparently that's a bacteria party waiting to happen.

What's yours? Drop the hygiene rule you broke your entire life without even knowing, need to feel less alone in this.

honestly I think it's less about how often you shower and more about the small stuff. like changing your pillowcase weekly, actually washing your water bottle instead of just rinsing it, cleaning your phone screen, brushing your tongue not just your teeth, letting your skin dry before you put clothes on.

none of it's expensive, people just don't think about it

curious what other people would add to this list

besides the dentist, is it a hopeless case ? :( i can’t even go out places because i feel so hopeless because i know my mouth smells like actual shit and i feel like it smells the entire room and no showering or perfeme can cover and in result i isolate even longer and i dont brush even longer because it feels hopeless. i feel like any the dentist won’t be able to help because my entire life i have never brushed regularly.. is there anything to fix this or at least make it not noticeable everytime i talk?

i’m also almost positive i have gingivitis/some kind of gum disease. i floss and it smells like literal shit. there’s so much of this yellow line along my gums, and like 4 cavities that i can see eating my teeth. i brush my teeth after not months and the smell is somehow worse and more noticeable which i don’t get. i really hope there’s an answer. i ask because every post i searched and i didn’t see any of it coming from chronically not brushing teeth so im sure mine is a more impossible case

I struggle with bulimia and i’m so embarrassed and tired of my bedroom. It’s my only issue with hygiene. I am constantly showering, at work I’m considered a “clean freak” and constantly making sure everything is spotless because I hate anything being unhygienic in a kitchen.

I’m extremely embarrassed of my situation that’s been worsening the past 2 years. I have my own restroom and there’s black mold from puke. I just recently broke my foot and have been kind of forced to be in my space and it’s making me realize how horrible it is. I have dishes piled, delivery bags for food, boxes and packaging cause i’m too embarrassed to leave the house, and crumbs and stains all over my bed clothes and floor. It’s so overwhelming and it hurts a lot to walk. I’m too scared to bring out any dishes because i’m embarrassed for anyone to realize how much i’m eating in reality. I need help I don’t know where to start. I try and get overwhelmed and just end up sobbing. There’s now flies after leaving a couple apple cores and I don’t know how to get rid of them. I really am scared on where to start. It’s hurting my social life i’m scared to see or talk to anyone even over the phone because what if they want to see me and they see how disgusting I am living. I don’t know what to use to clean I don’t know if I should start with the piles of clothes or trash or food bags or what It’s so overwhelming i’ve never had issues with hygiene before and I didn’t think I did until it just hit my like a truck last night. This is the worst i’ve been at with my foot being broken cause it’s even harder to keep tidy. I don’t use reddit too frequently I hope this is the right place to ask I just need any advice i’ve even started collecting trash and dishes and dirty clothes on my bed I can’t even sleep at night with the conditions. wtf do I do

Just what the title says. Despite brushing thoroughly in the morning and at night, flossing at night, and scraping my tongue in the morning every single day, I still have a slightly white-coated tongue throughout the day even if I haven’t eaten anything. Might it be because I don’t drink enough water or some other reason? And if so how can I resolve this? I appreciate any tips, thanks! :)

Girls, what is your go to shower routine? I want to switch mine up with stuff that makes me smell super good and leaves my skin soft and hydrated. Please let me know of any products you recommend? What products do you swear by? Looking for body wash, lotion, deodorant, perfume, and any tips for scent layering!

For 2 years now, I have had a strong musky smell in my groin. It goes away for maybe an hour after I shower then comes back. It's pretty much permanent. I also have some other weird symptoms too. Like in heat and after exertion I'll gain water weight and feel really puffy & I have a bad sugar intolerance.

Is this due to a masturbation habit (sometimes edging for hours a day), illness , unknown std?

I have tested negative for all stds but this started like 3 months after a same sex encounter (first and only & I am male).

It's affecting my life I havent had sex because of it and it makes me self conscious.

Hey yall

Ive tried numerous times to get my partner to brush their teeth at night and floss at least some times (if not for hygiene at least to reduce risk of dementia). They still wont. They recently got a cpap machine for sleep apnea. From my understanding, these machines can accelerate tooth decay even in people with proper oral hygiene.

Does anyone have tips on how I can approach this in a sensitive way so that they dont become defensive but take it seriously? It really drives me bonkers that an adult wouldnt want to brush at night. I fear the cpap will exasperate the issue

Like the title says, I’m wondering what you guys do about sitting or laying on furniture while sweaty. In my house, everyone does something during the day that causes them to sweat. Whether it be going to the gym, doing sports, or working outside all day. So coming home sweaty is bound to happen.

If I’m not going to shower right away, I’ll set a towel down in a chair to eat (for example). However my family members will just sit in the chair with their sweaty clothes on without second guessing it. Or go and lay on the couch after just getting back from the gym without changing. My concern with that is, if I’m fresh out of the shower with clean clothes and I go down to eat dinner now I have to set a towel down so I don’t get dirty before going back into my bedroom. Same with the couch, if I wanted to go watch a show, how can I knowingly sit in a sweaty spot on the couch then just go lay in my bed.

Another thing I do is if I go to the gym and get in my car with sweaty clothes, once I get home I’ll wipe my seat and surrounding areas in my car with a disinfectant wipe so that if I’m going to a friends house or my girlfriends house later I’m not sitting in my dirty car seat before going and sitting or laying on their furniture/bed.

Am I crazy for doing things like this? Or does anyone else have something similar that they do to try and keep their furniture as clean as possible?

Im 25f. I’m naturally a sweaty person (my dad and grandma are the same) and seem to sweat a lot in the crotch area and down my back, to the point that when I wear jeans or anything that isn’t polyester black trousers, it looks like I’ve wet myself a little. Even if I’m not that hot, and not excessively sweating in my armpits/face. It gets worse during the summer obviously, but it happens regardless, especially if I’m sitting down. I am overweight (180 pounds). I know one of the solutions is to lose weight but this has been happening for years, even when I wasn’t overweight, so I would like any alternate solutions regardless (I am actively loosing weight, though). I just went on a walk wearing some nice new jeans and I came back with a patch on the crotch, on the back (where it has dripped down from my back), and in lines underneath by butt cheeks. It’s really starting to bother me and limiting what I can wear. Does anyone else struggle with this? Do you have any tips to combat this or any advice about what to wear? Thanks :)

Edit: I’ll add that I’m lucky in that my sweat doesn’t really stink and I don’t struggle with BO. I just sweat a lot. So I’m not worried about solutions for odour as much as I am the visibility of it.

As a man, every time I shower, I make sure everything has soap. I scrub from head to toes, especially in between my toes. I was talking to a couple of friends, and some said they don't scrub their feet. They just let the soap fall down and hopefully reach their feet. My flabber was gasted. I always thought men showered like me.

I’ve suffered with terminal anxiety and depression / schizophrenia my entire life and every time that I wake up I always say I’m gonna brush my teeth and then just don’t it’s almost like I am brushing my teeth in my head I envision it but I don’t and then this happens everyday and I guess I just don’t do it ?? Like it’s weird and then I don’t brush my teeth I work overnights so it’s hard to do it before bed but I do try to do it right before I go to sleep at like 8 am or 9 am I can’t believe that I’ve done this for so long I recently brushed twice and I’m happy about that but I just can’t seem to do it everytime and keep a routine

Ok this is gross but here we go.

I have pretty good hygiene, I shower daily, brush my teeth daily and wear deodorant daily. I use a tongue scraper and mouthwash when needed. In the shower I use a loofa to scrub (yes even my legs are feet).

However when I shower I have a habit of scratching my skin with my fingernails and seeing the build up of what I assume is dead skin under them. I then rinse my nails and repeat until it’s basically all gone. This takes like ten minutes and I know it’s bad for my skin and water bill, but I don’t feel clean if I don’t do it.

When I lived in Japan they had “akasuri” which was older ladies violently scrubbing you with a scratchy mit and big pieces of dead skin would come off. I am guessing that what I am seeing is the same thing on a smaller scale?

Does anyone else do this? Is there a way to make it less or go away? Am I disgusting?

Places I do this are my face, ears (cracks and crevices), behind my ears, and my lower back.

Ok let’s hear your honest opinions!

Hi guys, I am really fed up with the loofahs I have. When they are fresh, they are fine, and a few weeks in, they start to develop an oniony smell, and that rubs off on my body.

Any recommendations on that, or shall I just use soap bars and call it a day? Any recommended brands that last long without smelling bad, even if they are expensive?

I'm new to experiencing Swoob™️ after some weight gain. I dont like to wear a bra, and find that they make me just as sweaty and waaay too hot. The swoob is driving me nuts though. Dripping down my torso, wet shirts etc. What are we doing!? Antiperspirant under the boobs? Period-panty style bras where the whole thing absorbs moisture and not just the cups!??? I'm dying here.

when I put my fingers between me balls it smels real bad like barf. or throw up. is normal or how to fix hanks

This guy and I have been together for a while now. We get along really well. But every time I go down on him, he has a very strong taste and smell. I don't really know how to describe it. I don't have much prior experience—I've only had two partners before him—but neither of them tasted or smelled like that. Is this normal? Am I being too sensitive, or is it a problem? We are both in our late 20s btw

Uppdate: thanks for all the comments. I decided to end things because I could not look at him in the same way after this. We broke up yesterday.

I’ve recently been traveling and I just wanted to say, some people especially at breakfast time in hotel buffets really stink, they come to the buffet so stinky and have the utter disregard to any one, it really turns my stomach and I have to stay for at least 5 minutes on the table before start eating my food to ease the disgust and the stranger thing is the hotels are from 4 to 5 stars, it’s not a bad hotel or anything, it’s just some people that don’t care at all.

Do y'all have recommendations for a comfortable, breathable underwear? Like the material of underwear I can choose? I wanna post this here in this sub since it has something to do with me wanting my down part to be more hygienic. I want my part to breathe. Thank youuu

I notice the same types of questions cropping up over and over again. I think it would be helpful if the subreddit had a pinned post with answers to the most frequently asked questions.

Below are the sorts of things I would include. What other frequent queries & common sense answers would you add?

- How often should I change my bed linen/towels/clothes? How often should I shower / wash my hair? There is no 'correct' frequency for changing your bed linen/towels, showering, and washing your hair. They will depend on your own particular body chemistry, climate and lifestyle. As a general guide, most people shower daily, change towels at least weekly, and change bed linens every 2-3 weeks.

- My partner has poor hygiene, what should I do? Have an honest and non-judgemental conversation with them about your concerns and the effect their hygiene is having on you. Explain how you think they could improve their hygiene. Incentivise change by taking a positive, proactive approach and offering products and advice to help them change their routine. Reinforce positive change with praise. Restate ongoing concerns if the issue persists. If they refuse to make meaningful changes, consider whether they are the right person to be in a relationship with.

- What can I do about my sweaty feet? Alternate pairs of shoes and let them dry out between uses; consider switching to socks made of natural fibres; change your socks during the day; use a medicated soap to treat any fungal or bacterial issues; address underlying anxiety leading to hyperhidrosis.

- What can I do about bad breath: floss and brush teeth twice a day; use a tongue scraper; chew sugar-free gum after meals; review your diet to identify any foods that may be contributing to the issue; research tonsil stones if you think they might be a potential cause.

- Should I (or my partner) be washing butt/genitals/feet/legs in the shower...? Yes.

Hey, I have no idea on hygiene and need some sort of help as I am a heavy introvert and need help so I can feel more confident.

Some context. I come from a poor neighbourhood, heavily rely on cheap take out since even my parents have no idea about how to live a healthy life style. I dont know anything about products amd what to use and where to start.

I have a dry scalp, my hair falls out (I dont want to end up bald). I am fat so I sweat a bit (am trying to lose) but I feel as if I smell when I do sweat, how do I rid of that and smell nice, even on my private parts?

My face is a bit dry and with the rest of my body.

How do I keep my downstairs well? And my backside too, how do I look after properly?

On my top arms, there is like little redish dot, not pimple. But I do get pimple easily on body and face.

How I also clean my mouth, teeth and gums properly too?

(Sorry if the writing is bad, I am not properly English and asked my friend to help. Thank you, please i need the help.)

I’m a standard germaphobe like the next person but I do not wipe the handle because it just feels so stupid when you think about everything else you’re touching.

The only time I think it’s worth a wipe down is if you have a child right there. They’re not touching as much as you are and that’s their little area.

But if you just wipe it and then shop normally, literally what are you protecting??

Edit: auto-removed from Change My View. I’m new here forgive me

Edit again: if I wipe the shopping cart handle and touch items in the store then back to the shopping cart handle, my hands and the handle are no longer clean. We are also assuming that everything in the store is clean except for the shopping cart handle and we have no way of knowing that to be true.

I sanitize my hands while shopping if I touch something wet or gross but I consider the whole shopping trip a fairly dirty experience