There was a story on the news the other night about some grocery stores installing mini car washes to wash their shopping carts after each use. At first I thought it was an extravagant and silly idea. But when the reporter pointed out that toddlers in diapers sit in the exact same spot where I usually put my apples and avocados, I saw the wisdom of the idea.

When I told people about the cart washer, it seemed that it was pretty common knowledge among most shoppers that grocery carts are the modern plague carriers and not to touch one without wearing gloves and then throwing the gloves away.

I never noticed it before, but now I see diapered toddlers sitting in the carts all the time. What could possibly go wrong? They never leak. And small kids like to lick and bite things. It’s a natural part of growing up. It makes them immune to common bugs in our culture. But now that I realize that sticky stuff I feel every now and then may not be the dried up soda I thought it was, but baby saliva or more. I wonder if a simple cleaning is enough? Maybe I should only shop at places that steam-clean their carts. Maybe they should be sterilized like surgical instruments in a hospital. And then zapped with germ-killing X-rays.

I’m not asking supermarkets to take any more precautions than I do at my own home. I’m proud to say you could eat off my kitchen floor. If you don’t mind having cat hair, top soil and dust bunnies in your food. Of course, I don’t expect that level of cleanliness from a public place with hundreds of people pushing dirty carts around all day. But now that I watch shoppers’ behavior from a germ-spreading point of view, I am not sure simply sterilizing the carts is enough. I’ve seen small children lick apples and then put them back. I’ve seen adults wipe their noses and then go back to pushing a cart. I don’t want to sound like Howard Hughes, I’m not germophobic, and I’m certainly not wealthy. But I am grossophobic.