A person who cares a lot about cleanliness

[tulipflower]

What do you call in English a person who e.g. washes his hands a lot in an annoying way or cares a lot about cleanliness.

 

[jutfrank]

You could say 'clean freak'.

 

[emsr2d2]

Someone who washes their hands a lot and is particularly scared of germs might have some form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). It's not very respectful of you to call the behaviour "annoying".

 

[Tarheel]

I don't know how you wash your hands in an annoying way. Maybe you mean people get annoyed because they think he/she takes too long.

 

[tulipflower]

Someone who washes their hands a lot and is particularly scared of germs might have some form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). It's not very respectful of you to call the behaviour "annoying".

I think you got me wrong. I just wanted to know the word for describing such behavior I didn't intend to insult anyone. I was looking for the the word used for those who usually think they need to wash their hands although they have already done that just as an example. There are some people who don't even shake hands with others or when they are e.g. in a restaurant they think they should have their own spoon and fork. I just asked for the word.

 

[tulipflower]

What do you call in English a person who e.g. washes his hands a lot in an annoying way or cares a lot about cleanliness.

I don't know how you wash your hands in an annoying way. Maybe you mean people get annoyed because they think he/she takes too long.

No, I didn't mean that. Maybe I shouldn't have used 'annoying way' in this sentence.

 

[emsr2d2]

e.g. in a restaurant they think they should have their own spoon and fork.

Everyone in a restaurant should get their own cutlery. Would you normally expect them to share cutlery with another diner? That would be extremely odd.

 

[tulipflower]

Everyone in a restaurant should get their own cutlery. Would you normally expect them to share cutlery with another diner? That would be extremely odd.

No, I mean bringing them from their home.

 

[Tarheel]

You might call that person a germophobe.

If you bring your own cutlery because you don't trust what the restaurant has to be clean enough you are definitely obsessive about cleanliness.

 

[emsr2d2]

I don't think someone who's that obsessive would eat in a restaurant.

 

[tulipflower]

I don't think someone who's that obsessive would eat in a restaurant.

So the word is obsessive. I was looking for this word. Thank you.

 

[Tarheel]

That would not apply to just that situation. I would stick with "germophobe".

 

[tulipflower]

That would not apply to just that situation. I would stick with "germophobe".

So germaphobe is used just for cleanliness.

 

[Tarheel]

Well, you can be obsessive about more than one thing, but yes.

 

[Rover_KE]

So germaphobe is used just for cleanliness.

No. [link]

 

[Tarheel]

If you spend countless hours and dollars disinfecting surfaces and washing your hands I would say that's an obsession with cleanliness. Also, as with all obsessions, we rarely ask ourselves if it's worth it.