LOL! We just put these in our new kitchen, but only on the top drawers. The middle and bottoms have just regular ole pulls. I don't know...I don't find that I get my fingers all up in the crevice of the pull...just the very tips of two fingers...just enough to get the drawers open. So I don't know how much less sanitary they'll be than the regular pulls.

Of course now I"m going to be paranoid watching my guests to see if they lick before opening. ;)

I find that the tops of the cup pulls gather dust! I have to wipe them off on the top, so I just wipe the underside too while I'm at it. No big deal.

You all are probably right, but, I just can't get past "what's on the underside". (darn OCD...LOL!)

No abuse from me. Knowing my housekeeping skills, I think you have a good point, Dando.

Everything you touch, unless it's been autoclaved, is disgusting. Accept this and move on.

More importantly before you touch something that will enter you without further alteration, either because it is food that has been cooked or your fingers because you're going to mine for gold in your nose - wash your hands.

I would be willing to bet that if cultures were performed there would be more pathogenic microorganisms on your faucet than the underside of your cup pulls.

Never wear shorts in a movie theatre. You can't believe the stuff that has been cultured off of movie theatre seats. Yuck.

Who opens their drawers with dirty hands? If your hands are so dirty that they are going to make the underside of the cup pulls yucky, what are they going to do to the items in the drawer that you touch?

In the kitchen, when my hands get dirty, I rinse or wash them as needed before moving on to the next task to fight cross-contamination.

We have cup pulls - have had them for 6 years now and haven't had the least issue with them getting dirty underneath.

Here's a culture test factoid that skeeves out my OCD partner no end:

Q: What's the germiest thing in your kitchen, by far?
A: The bottom of your purse/bag sitting on the countertop.

I was going to say the same as CP. I wouldnt worry about cup pulls. I'd pay more attention to where your, or those of visitors, purse gets set to rest. NOT on the counter!

As to my issue with cup pulls, you can only open them from the bottom. I sometimes grab my drawer and door pulls from the top. Imove too fast in the kitchen to think about how to open a drawer.

And I thought I was OCD. Now I'm going to wonder about that every time I open one. lol

My regular pulls get dusty too. I have cup pulls on a couple of drawers in the garage and my fear is that a spider has built a web in there in the long periods between being pulled.

Now have I given you a new fear too? hehehe

I have cup pulls on my bedroom furniture that I got when I was a little kid at a GARAGE sale! I've never washed under them! (Although they are not usually as dirty as in this picture which was after a dusty move.)

(The sad thing is even after I grew up and bought nice adult furniture, I went back to this...)

CP, that observation about where purses have been says it all. The minute I turn my back (and even when I don't), two of my cats are up on the counters, leaving not a paw print behind to remember to wipe clean.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

I did ask for it.
Spiders?
Always step on your gardening or work gloves a few times before you put them on.

Honestly, if you want verbal abuse you are going to have say you have a timeless, classic kitchen or that you like open floor plans. Cup pulls don't even come close!

OK, now should I confess that when my hands are gross with raw chicken I'm likely to open the trash cabinet with my foot? And that I'm positive my foot is cleaner than my kids' hands? Now none of you will ever touch a drawer pull again (at least in my house).

OT, but out here in the desert we have to knock our boots on their heels before putting them on to ensure no scorpions are in there! lol

Now we're way OT, but I once put my foot in a shoe and a bat was in there. I broke his wing so he won't be trying that again!

That's why I prefer living above ground.

I know I wash my hands when in the kitchen, but I can't always vouch for our sons or visitors (I'd bet that dh's hands are usually clean, lol). I have normal pulls on all our drawers and I wipe them easily.

I think the cup pulls look good, but worry that they are getting too popular and find them harder to open when on lower drawers since you have to get under them. Our regular pulls can be used from above or below. I have to admit that I often open a lower drawer with a toe if my hands are occupied or out of laziness.

Toes work on cup pulls too. ;)

Marcolo, I didn't exactly live in a cave. I lived in a beautiful 1895 Queen Anne house in Massachusetts. The bats could squeeze in between the slate tiles on the roof and they would mostly live in the attic, but on the hottest night of the year they would come down for a visit. Apparently those double-wide openings with pocket doors create the perfect pathway for them to travel through the walls in and out of the main floor of the house.

Dianalo, I applaud your effort to get back on topic.

Oh, the things I've learned on here. I almost wanted the cup pulls but now i'll never give it another thought. I never thought about the underside getting dirty. With 7 kids, you'd be surprised at what can get dirty!

Fortunately cup pulls won't match my style so I don't have to worry about the grunge issue!
I gave up carrying a purse - so I don't have to worry about the grunge on the purse.
My cell phone is in a zip lock bag to keep it clean.
My lab rat friend (no rats involved) told me that granite is porous and harbors all sorts of things.
My OCD DH won't touch a door knob.
OK - maybe I am exagerating a bit!
-The cell phone is only in a baggy when I run or bike to protect it from the elements.
The rest - use your imagination - but cleanliness might be one of the culprits causing an increase in childhood asthma -
So, if you like the pulls, go for it.

LOL! I just mentioned my OCD personality on another thread. I NEVER, EVER, set my purse down on anything. I hang it off the back of chairs or it sits on my lap, and I routinely wipe it with those alcohol wipes. You could EAT off the bottom of my purse. Also yucky: people who put their MAIL on their kitchen islands. My mail is often dusty when I get it. What is that?!

P.S. I do realize this is just a personality flaw on my part. Immune systems need to be exposed to "normal" bugs to develop properly. When my DS was young, I forced myself not to stop him when he crawled around in the sandbox or the sidewalk, or in our own backyard for that matter. It was HARD for me, though.

OK, back to regularly scheduled programming.

Sharonite
My OCD husband doesn't put anything on the ground and its starts to get contagious.
We should have stock in Purell!
I can say that being somewhat careful is helpful in decreasing illness.
I saw a video watching nurses self inoculate themselves by touching yucky stuff and then touching eyes, nose, and mouth!
I broke my allergic salute habit and rubbing my eyes and definitely have less illness (no sick days in over 6 years from a cold!)

Going back to original thread - if you like the cup pulls get them, just don't touch your mucous membranes before or afterwards!!!

For some reason, I never even considered cup pulls; they don't do anything for me.

Went with bar pulls instead... she says hurriedly, as she runs to clorox the bottom of her purse, screeching at her kids to step away from the kitchen countertops......

"Toes work on cup pulls too. ;)"

Sadly, they don't on mine. The soft close feature requires a little tug to get the drawers to open, and I can't quite get enough leverage. ;)

Like another poster above, this is the only thing about a cup pull that I don't like.

I am not concerned about bacterium on these surfaces...

cup pulls remind me of hardware stores of my childhood...not unsanitary just utilitarian...but the store didn't have fancy filigree either...

And then I find this. (project link below)
It's those darn pull cups that make this kitchen! LOL!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Project link

I hate to see you ruin your design because of a functional issue, Dando. Throw caution and hygiene to the wind! You've had other people's spit in your mouth before. It's not that bad.
Renee

Florantha: precisely! And that's exactly why I've never really liked them ... couldn't put my finger on it until you mentioned it. The thing is *all* those old drawers that I encountered, anyway, were just terrible. They'd open a bit to the left, a bit to the right, and you'd wind up fishtailing your way back and forth to get those drawers open. Horrible. I associate cup pulls with dank musty old grange halls and scary nearly-impossible to open under-seat drawers and the like. Old cupboards - all smelling of that musty stink of *oldness*.

In a certain way I like all that, just no way-no how in my kitchen!

And marcolo: you are just the funniest ever. Good to know you surface regularly.