I believe its Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Yeah, they can be.

Yes. It's bad for their immune system.

i think ppl have differing definitions of what is 'too clean', a mate of mine is always cleaning etc, and her house is spotless - then i once noticed her squat a fly that was buzzing around her, and then she wiped her hands on the nearest tea-towel and place it on the side, and i thought err im not drinking tea round hers anymore? (i take a bottle of cold drink with me) ever sdince i witnessed that!

If their cleanliness interferes with their daily lives yes. Physically, no.

I was going to ask a similar question. I think the overuse of disinfectants is not always a good thing. There is scientific evidence that in the last century the children from poor families seldom contracted polio, dyptheria, whooping cough, scarlet fever and other diseases, while the children from well-to-do families were more prone. Come to find out, they theorize that the "poor" kids were playing in dirt and did not have the personal or household hygiene of the upper socio-economic groups. They built up their natural immunity by this exposure. The rich kids, with their indoor plumbing and plentiful use of soap and household cleansers, did not build up their immunity by exposure to the more unsavory aspects of hygiene. So if you see your kids playing in a mudpuddle, let them.

If you asked my kids they would say "YES,my mom is!"Seriously I think some people can be too clean.I have a friend who although not diagnosed OCD,has all the symptoms. She is very obsessive about any kind of dirt or dust etc. When we go to her house she insists we take off our shoes if she thinks our socks are "too dirty" she will actually hand you a pair of disposable slippers{like they use in the hospital}to use.We very rarely go to her house anymore. My kids will make fun of her when she comes up in conversation and as much as I know this is not "nice" behavior I can't help but laugh over the slipper part.

Cleanliness can be form of OCD, but being clean is not necessarily bad. The immune system these days is taking a big enough hit as it is, we don't need to encourage an Immune System beat down by being overly filthy. I am a clean guy, but not a clean freak. If the cleaning gets in the way of the basics of life, then it is a problem.

Yes ... in order to build up a strong immune system, you actually need to get some sort of infection often, and of course you also need to keep winning the war in your blood ... an environment that is too clean and too sterile just lets your immune system diminish and weaken until it becomes ineffective ...

It depends on what you're about to do, to them. LOL!

In some places no, in others yes.

of course!

I'm not OCD about it, but I do like good hygiene...I don't think anyone can be too clean.

when I was a kid I was always covered in dirt and stuff and very rarely got sick ...today I think the use of disinfectant is over kill and this is why super bugs are getting out of hand, a little dirt never hurt no one ...but there are certain things I do insist on being squeaky clean ALL the time ...lol...:):)

Nope. You can never be to clean. :)

They can be clean but they should never be sterile. That would be too clean.

If you have obsessive/compulsive tendencies, you may take multiple showers each day and wash your hands until they get raw...otherwise I don't think you can be too clean! :) You don't touch doorknobs, you don't shake hands with others..I think Howie Mandel has that problem! :)

1) "Cleanliness is the absence of dirt, including dust, stains, bad smells and garbage. Purposes of cleanliness include health, beauty, absence of offensive odor, avoidance of shame, and to avoid the spreading of dirt and contaminants to oneself and others. In the case of glass objects such as windows or windshields, the purpose can also be transparency. Washing is one way of achieving cleanliness, usually with water and often some kind of soap or detergent. In more recent times, since the germ theory of disease, it has also come to mean an absence of germs and other hazardous materials. In industry, certain processes such as those related to integrated circuit manufacturing, require conditions of exceptionally immaculate cleanliness which are achieved by working in cleanrooms. A recent shift has now taken place to recognise that ‘dirt’ may play a useful role in our immune systems. This shift in thinking can be traced back to 1989, when David Strachan put forth the "hygiene hypothesis" in the British Medicine Journal. Strachan looked at the records of 17,000 British children and found that the greater number of older siblings they had, the less likely they were to come down with hay fever—a disease which, despite its name, is far more common in the city than the country. Strachan wondered if the older children were bringing home more viral infections to their younger siblings, priming their immune systems so they could better tolerate pollen. The "hygiene hypothesis" has now been linked with asthma, allergies, intestinal diseases including Crohn's disease[citation needed], childhood leukaemia[citation needed] and atopic dermatitis and the list is growing. It can apply to humans, animals, clothing, food, eating utensils (plates, pans, cups, etc.), other movable objects, floors, windows, walls, toilets, etc. Cleanliness is essential to successful electroplating, since molecular layers of oil can prevent adhesion of the coating. This industry has developed many specialized techniques for parts cleaning, as well as tests for cleanliness. The most commonly used tests rely on the wetting behaviour of a clean hydrophillic metal surface. Cleanliness is also important to vacuum systems to reduce outgassing." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleaning 2) "In medicine, the hygiene hypothesis states that a lack of early childhood exposure to infectious agents, symbiotic microorganisms (e.g. gut flora), and parasites increases susceptibility to allergic diseases by modulating immune system development." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis 3) Further information: Hygiene Hypothesis: Are We Too "Clean" for Our Own Good? http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/1031002421.html Hygiene of the Skin: When Is Clean Too Clean: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol7no2/larson.htm Antibacterials may lead to resistant bugs and weak immune systems: http://www.anapsid.org/tooclean.html Too clean, or not too clean: the Hygiene Hypothesis and home hygiene http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1448690 Can We Get Too Clean? http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/b103/f01/web3/bond.html The dirty truth? You can be too clean Mounting evidence suggests child allergies linked to sterile environments http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20774622/ Too Clean? Fight Against Germs Fuels Allergy Increase http://www.livescience.com/health/070914_too_clean.html What the latest research says about allergies and the state of your kitchen floor http://www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/dailycare/canyoubetooclean/

Yes. When they are soooo damn picky that they are annoying.

yes people with a compulsive behaviour clean themselves constantly and rub of their skin cells and good bacteria some people clean every 2 minutes there hands and face and showr every 30 mins just incasee...

Yes, especially when they look down their noses at those of us who have somewhat more "organic" households. I think it's important to be very clean in handling and preparing foods and in the toilet but using lots of antibacterial products and never letting kids get dirty is just overkill as far as I'm concerned.

Yes, if we rid our bodies of the 'good' bacteria - our immune systems will falter. The human race has dealt with germs for thousands of years...what makes the ones now any more scary than the ones back then. A little dirt never hurt.

Yes. http://www.usanetwork.com/series/monk/interactivegames/germicide/

I don't believe so. There is no excuse for bad hygiene. Anywhere on the body....so wash up and keep your environment clean, and you will probably be healthier as well. I rarely get sick. I have never had a cavity or any type of bodily infection. Its so simple! take care of yourself!lol

yes!

Yes, you begin to smell lol

NO!!! I think some ppl are not clean enough. I think people should bathe once a day and wash hands several times a day.

That's a question that people often doesnt ave the answer to. I mean to me i think that people can never get too clean. I feel like that if you want to bathe five times a day that's you. That's just someone with good hygiene. They think that staying clean is the key, which it is. You can never be too clean. Clean is clean. Some people honor bathing and that some people is me.