If ever a thread needed to die... <rolls eyes>
There are a few take-home messages to be gleaned from all this (imho). Otherwise, consider me ten-four over-and-out on this topic:
1. For normal people that put regular distilled water in their HH, and rinse it occasionally, there is nothing to be learned from this entire dialogue (polylogue?). But as was suggested, the screaming and yelling has been wildly entertaining, if not enlightening. Or whatever.
2. Imaginary germs are the WORST kind. Hence worthy of protracted debate and deserve our full attention.
3. Imaginary germs have special properties. They can evaporate, then reappear, they have legs, they can walk through plastic, they conspire, they have voting rights, they are eligible for social security and prescription drug benefits, and they really ARE out to get us. I should mention that interestingly, imaginary germs have REAL names. I'm still trying to understand that. Give me time.
4.
Fortunately, imaginary methods work best on imaginary problems, hence all the weird things people put in their HH to "cleanse" it, and the ceremonial rites that are required to make people feel good about their HH.
5. Sterility (no adjectives required) is not the goal. What we're striving for is SUPER-DUPER WHIZ-BANG STUNNINGLY AWESOME sterility. I'm convinced that some here have in fact achieved NEGATIVE bacterial counts in their HH. (something that has no meaning with REAL germs, but for imaginary germs the math works out).
6. Taking a water sample from the HH and walking it over to the lab and culturing it to see what grows is considered CHEATING. If somebody tries that, the only proper thing to do is close your eyes, plug your ears, shake your head while going bla-bla-bla-bla-bla-bla-bla-I-can't HEEEEAR YOOOOU! (doesn't matter which side of the debate you find yourself, still works)
7. It is NOT FAIR do draw comparisons between the relatively sterile environment of the HH with it's multiple filters, distilled water, the maybe up to
several germs a day (real or imaginary) that could MAYBE slip through the system, VERSUS sleeping on an ordinary pillow with BAZILLIONS of REAL germs, with BAD-SOUNDING NAMES, and danders and pollen and dried slobber and exfoliated skin and the dust mites that live there and ... I'm describing a CLEAN pillow! LINK:
DUST MITES. That's considered CHANGING THE SUBJECT. Don't even go there. (Although I think it deserves it's own thread). Seriously, sometime in the middle of the night turn off the blower and lay there quietly, listen carefully, you can almost HEAR them collectively munching away inside your pillow. YES REALLY !!!
8. The type and quantity of germs is not an issue. The REAL issue is whether the germs were acquired CORRECTLY. Acquiring germs through the HH is absolutely positively INCORRECT. Even ONE germ is ONE too many, and cause for shame. Acquiring a million times as many germs from your pillow is not a problem. That is the CORRECT way (one of many) to acquire germs. And besides, it's "natural". Allowing your chihuahua to lick your face all over is also correct.
9. For people who use the HH in the regular way, but ALSO can't resist one or more of the common alternate uses for which we are famous (culturing yogurt, raising trout, sprouting alfalfa, breeding chinchillas, ant farms, stashing trail mix, hatching parakeets, bobbing for raisins, cultivating mushrooms, truffles, etc.) I will agree wholeheartedly with some of the methods suggested earlier. DOUSE it in triply sterilized pasteurized distilled water, add a few BRILLO pads, some colloidal plutonium, trinitrotoluene... the list is endless. (the latter is effective, but hard on plastic, not recommended).
