what kind of question is that? and 88% said they didn't. ouch. no wonder rare diseases spread

I have a banana sitting right here, and in a minute I'm going to peel and eat it with no rinsing! I live on the edge.

Not all germs are bad. In fact, we our bodies need germs to build immunity. I don't wash bananas and I am rarely sick. Why wash them when the peel portects the part you eat? I don't know about anyone else, but I hold the peel while I'm eating the banana. So nothing is touching the actual flesh of the fruit. How would you get germs from that?

a lot of people touch the banana part with their hands to break it down into bites. so that's a problem i reckon. also, someone you don't know touched it. somewhere oversees where their culture might be different and they don't wash their hands that much. anyway, there's a reason we wash our fruit.

I agree, fleurfairy.

I wash my own hands frequently, don't eat the banana with my hands after touching the peel… so I don't really see the issue. Fruits/vegetables where I eat the peel, I wash. Oranges, where the peel isn't eaten but the fruit would be eaten with hands that have just touched the peel would be more touch and go, if I actually liked oranges.

I don't even eat bananas - not because I don't like them, but because I get sick of them. Anyway, I wouldn't wash them. Washing citrus fruits before peeling them makes sense because you can touch the "fruit flesh" while peeling it, but while eating a banana... I mean, most people keep it in the peel...

Seriously, people should challenge their immune system a bit more often. We're living way too healthy these days.

So what about for baking..... where I just peel the banana then drop it in the bowl to mash it up.

I think you're ok Tidal Wave because when you cook it the germs are killed.

I don't. But I don't usually touch the inside with my fingers after I peel it, either.

Does just rinsing the piece of fruit actually kill germs? Or isn't it like rinsing your hands without soap...just spreading germs rather than killing them? Either way, no, I don't wash bananas.

you know i've never thought about washing bananas, but now that you mention it i certain will. i worry about other germs so why not on bananas?

I find germophobia tedious. Should you wash your hands after you use the bathroom and so on? yes. But you can't avoid everything. Just think of each time you handle cash and all the places it's been before you.

I am going to eat an orange with lunch today and not wash that at all. I live on the edge!

Sure don't. Guess I like to live dangerously like littlekaren. "No wonder rare diseases are spread". Hm... I'm going to go with probably DEFINITELY not. I can tell just based on my office that the reason is because the majority of people don't wash their *#$*&%$ hands.

If you're supposed to wash the outside of bananas, doesn't the same logic apply to any packaging of food you're eating? Should I spray the outside of my pretzel bag with Lysol before I open it?

i love the saying you've got to eat a pound of dirt before you die.

i think there are reasonable lengths to go to in avoiding germs, and there is overkill. i agree with the people who said that challenging the immune system is important. exposure to certain germs isn't the worst thing.

i never wash fruit with inedible skins (bananas/oranges). I never get a flu shot. I rarely get sick.

A slimy, wet banana? Gross! I'll take my chances and build up my body's immune system with a little bacteria, thanks.

(I should note that I understand you wash the peel, but it'll still get water on my 'naner. I'm not talented enough to avoid that!)

I don't touch it after peeling it, and I've been eating them without rinsing my whole life, so no, I don't rinse it. So far I haven't contracted any rare tropical banana diseases.

I had a banana this morning ...and I didn't wash it. I will say at the back of my mind I did ponder where it's been and I did carefully peel it so I didn't touch much of the outside... And I think about potatos (I eat sweet all the time) that have literally been lying in dirt, and even though I scrub them I'm sure there's still dirt there. Ohhhh well!

oh and Chouette4u, you raise an excellent point

Yeah, a lot of people don't really understand bacteria very well, do they? If you have a healthy flora of bacteria in your body/system, harmful bacteria don't grow because the other bacteria crowd them out and stop them from reproducing. That being said, I do not wash bananas before I eat them...I peel the skin down and bite directly into the pretty much sterile fruit.

BTW, one thing they tell people with OCD that obsessively wipe silverware off with the napkins at restaurants is: "You do realize that you're just rearranging the germs, right?" So yeah, a few good ol' Gram positive bacteria are actually not a bad thing for your body. Germophobia is so overkill...just wash your hands a reasonable number of times per day and you'll be fine.

Chouette does make a brilliant point. So does AZDaisy. This accomplishes nothing.

this also does nothing to address the more pressing banana-related danger: peel slippage.

I'm sure I've stuck far worse things in my mouth than a dirty banana.

Always ask someone you love before you put anything in your mouth.

Not trying to be a b*tch, but why does this question/article keep being posted? If seem to be post again and again every few weeks or so.

This time there are more people saying they do not wash bananas then the times before.

I have to agree with most people here. I do not wash them and see no reason to. There seem to be more people who are afraid of germs nowadays, germs can be helpful than harmful.

Yeah, um, fit, I think you have a small obsession with washing bananas. It's a little freaky.

Do you REALISE how many germs are on your hands all the time? You come in contact with objects all day that have germs on them. Like washing a banana is going to help, honestly

Of course basic sanitation is a must, don't go to the toilet without washing your hands afterward otherwise you're just gross. But washing a banana? Seems a bit obsessive to me.

ITS A BANANA you dont eat the skin, and its enclosed in a skin, even doctors say its pointless to wash a banana..i mean come on its prewrapped for you, nothing can get on it, so why wash it? youre just going to peel it anyway.

I thought the world had gone crazy when I saw the headline, but I'm glad to see so many sensible comments and the poll results.

I like my healthy immune system, thanks. I won't wash bananas.

Um whhhaat?? I'm pretty OCD with germs but I do not and will not wash a banana skin before peeling!!

i don't because i feel like the peel keeps the germ out?
maybe i should

Of course i don't wash a banana before i eat it. I've never heard anything so daft in all my life. it's ocd gone crazy. people need to lighten up.

In Australia we sometimes had a wax tip on our bananas... Kinda looks like a dick D: