I need a second opinion on a sanitation fixation I've been having (TW)

[Eclair_de_XII]

On Saturday, I had to transport a used toilet brush in my car. Beforehand, I had washed the handle roughly, and ran the bristles under hot water. I am afraid that I had not washed it thoroughly enough. I had had to pack it into a small box, which I placed on the floor of the backseat of my car. I had also had to put the wastebasket on the backseat floor also. I transported the two to the house I had moved to recently. I regret that I had not put more protection around the items.

Anyway, the day after, I had gone to a car wash in order to have the areas of contact cleaned and washed. Then I went to the local pharmacy, and got a spray bottle of Oxyclean, and some dishwashing sponges, since the brush at the car wash was... dubious to say the least. And then I went to work scrubbing the affected areas. But I neglected to scrub the back of the front passenger seat, which was directly in front of the toilet brush.

It's been three days since I transported these things. Over those three days, the interior of my car has been heated to about ninety degrees Fahrenheit due to how much sunlight Nevada gets during the summer. Also, the smell of Oxyclean hasn't gone away until just this morning.

Do you think I'm overreacting when I say that I feel that my car could go for an extra scrubbing for the back of the front passenger seat? Or am I underreacting to this whole ordeal, loosely speaking? Quite frankly, I am quite exhausted of worrying about germs and such. I am losing sleep over it. I am feeling far more agitated than I used to. I can no longer feel comfortable in my own car, knowing what it's carried.

 

[russ_watters]

I think you're over-reacting to the point where you may want to discuss this with a psychologist if you aren't already seeing one about such issues. This is... a lot. Beyond that, we can't really be of help here. Good luck. Thread locked.

[edit] Btw: Clorox Toilet Wand; disposable heads/no brush.

 

[jedishrfu]

Reading your post, I feel you've over-reacted to the situation and wondered if you have these worries why you didn't place the brush in a plastic garbage bag. As @russ_watters has said, it would be good to speak with a psychologist concerning possible OCD issues.

I once saw a documentary on OCD where a boxer had acquired it and would constantly wash and rewash his hands. When asked to move the garbage can to the curb, he was fearful of touching it. During the interview, he kept rubbing his hands. It was sad to see how much this OCD behavior affected his life.

At work, I had a coworker who had similar OCD behavior where he would watch the clock waiting for when he could leave. He would pace up and down the aisle always coming back to his desk to make sure it was locked and the lights were off. My officemate later told me that his wife would always leave a light on at home so that during his nightly house-check, he would find it to turn it off.

With respect to the Oxyclean, I would suggest opening the windows of your car and taking a hot uncomfortable spin on the highway (or do it in the morning when its cooler) to let the wind air out your vehicle.

While Oxyclean is not toxic to breathe in, I'm sure its not the best thing to be breathing.

https://netzeroman.com/is-oxiclean-toxic/

Take care,
Jedi