The comforter in a hotel!!

Imagine sitting in a chair. How many people had clothes touching their ass that touched that chair?

Suffer through it and wash up good before you eat or when you get home.

What I find bizzare about this is why in the hell would someone want to use the shirt they are wearing to wipe other peoples juices off a machine? Bring a towel like a bowler does.

Btw do you know how dirty money is

I’ve never played in a tournament, and this thread is pretty much telling me that’s a good thing. Who knew the machines in tournaments are covered in sweat.

POTW

I've been expecting hand towels to come back in style. I mean totes are cool so anything can happen

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I've played in tournaments. Luckily, i've never encountered much sweat when I play a machine.

Overall, I don't encounter any issues with germs, but I still encounter large man-babies who slap the glass and make a face like their bank account was depleted, because they had a bad ball.

This is why I keep a pack of poopie wipes in my fanny pack!

Been using my clean shirt to wipe sweat or sticky fingers off the ends of lock bars, & flipper buttons for 40 years. I bet other players are happy not to have to use their own shirt. Before I would have a social or tournament, all pins would get a wipe down with windex.

I often wear a cotton scarf, and found it handy for wiping things off after i play. I do tend to get some palm sweat from the excitement of playing, especially during a good multiball, and wanna be polite to the next player by wiping it with my relatively clean scarf (gets washed after every wearing)... but i also use that same scarf to dry my palms directly too... it's not that i wipe things down to be sanitary, but just to save the next player from that gross slimy buttons feeling. It's been remarked on before with gratitude by at least one local opponent. I also use often use it before i play, if it seems the machine is a bit greasy from the last player, or during too if i find myself getting slippery. I have worn a dress several times to events, especially during this roaringly hot summer, and found myself using the skirt to dry off things as well. But the scarf is totally the right height for this. When i've hung a towel from my belt, it was a much more awkward height to actually reach the metal. But i'm a shorty...

So is skirt better or worse than t-shirt for those who are grossed out by this whole thing, i wonder? (i sometimes worry that someone will think i'm trying to distract opponents with skirtflipping though, so i'd actually be interested in some perspective here.)

I would LOVE it if more events offered commemorative towels rather than t-shirts. As i have often ranted, I HAVE ENOUGH EFFING CREW NECK SHORT SLEEVED TEES OMFG. Tank tops, v-neck tees, hoodies, even crewnecks with LONG sleeves would be great alternatives... but wouldn't it save you organizers a TON of effort figuring out how many of which sizes to order if you just got towels for everyone! One size fits all!
Or totes. Totes are totes cool.

One little related peeve i wanna mention here: it's great when you order pizza for the pinball party. But PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE wash that cheesy grease off your hands before you go back to playing!!!!

Pinburgh logo crying towels sounds like a moneymaker for ReplayFX.

Towelie has been preaching this message for years, maybe since early 2000's.
Guess many of us are/were slow to catch on.

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Towelie-never-forget (resized).jpg

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/08/26/north-americas-first-known-sex-doll-brothel-opening-in-toronto.html

I guess no pinsiders will be visiting the new sex doll brothel in Toronto.....eeewwwww.
Can you imagine????

Being 66 years of age and looking back to the wonderful times I had in the 60's and early 70's going to protests and concerts and where ever I was there was ALWAYS a pipe being passed around that came outta nowhere and I always hit it, never got sick tho'! Hmmmmmmm?

Would everybody please sanitize all their money before handing it over to me. Thank you.

Man I cracked up A LOT at this thread!

This is hilarious, because as someone who does it, I'm always called a germaphobe at league. I just dont want my hands/fingers slipping off the greasy game.

germs are how we weed out the weak in pinball....

I’m the exact opposite. It has never crossed my mind to use a shirt I plan on wearing all day as a pinball man-grease cleaner. But not all heroes wear capes.

Has no problems with germs !

Warning, not breakfast TV

Well, the first outbreak will surely be dubbed "pinfluenza" and at least we'll all know the origin: the sweaty underside of someone's shirt.

As someone who almost died from a bacterial infection (sepsis), I can tell you that if I played in pinball tournaments I would wear latex gloves. I don't care if I look like an idiot, I don't need any infections or any more heart surgeries.

We are dealing with two issues here:

1. wetness
2. bacteria

We are not going to manage bacteria on a game ever, so throw that expectation out. Wash your hands when the tournament is over, just like you would leaving any arcade. Wash again when you get home. It's all you can do (unless you need to wear gloves/mask for a medical condition).

We *can* all however, manage the wetness in a tournament. It can become a new custom and level of respect.

I think someone should invent and brand and bring 100 to the next show of:

1. a small cotton hand towel
2. a belt-clip retractable line cord mech
3. attach the towel to the line cord

Use that at tournaments. When you get home - throw the towel in with your wash like any T-shirt. Don't go to a tournament without your retractable pin-towelie.

If everyone had one, and did a quick wipe down after any sweating on a game, it would be a step in the right direction. It least take the grossness out of the game that can be managed. Nobody should EVER have to play a wet machine. It's no different than being at the gym.

-mof

PS: Pin-towelie.

It's about a $1.10 solution (for a 100pc order): $0.80 for each retractable badge holder with a carabiner hook, and $0.30 for each shop rag. Cut a 1/2" slit near any edge of the rag, and it's locked in. You can skip the badge holder, but I like the idea of letting it hang out to dry between games, rather than stuffing it in a pocket. Super sexy look too in red or blue or white.

I Want that towel sooooooo bad!

20 seconds is plenty, I see most do under 5

That's it. I'm bringing a pair of week old tighty whiteys to whip down games before a tourny next time. Did I spell thighty whiteys right?

I vote that Double Danger start making PINtowles

While we're talking about gross,a good way to get a better chance of winning is to eat lots of gassy food the night before then every time your ball drains let one go.If they are real good the player will have to leave the machine or stay there eyes watering dry reaching.

Well if anyone’s browsing Pinside on your phone, now’s the time to bathe it in bleach to achieve 99.99% cleanliness.

And what does this thread say for those who have a pinball machine IN their bathroom?! I’ve seen the threads! I know you sickos are out there!!

Oh, No! No Frozen references here!

God forbid if someone even touches the lock-down bar, shooter rod or flipper buttons with their hands!

I wonder how many podcasts will co ver this subject?

agree with the op on this. at our festival last weekend we regularly cleaned the machines with disinfectant and had plenty of sanitiser around. At pinburgh I was disgusted by how many folks didn't wash their hands coming out of the toilet!

Public washrooms need alarm bells

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I have never played in a tournament. Now I never will.

It's the warmth of a freshly played game or especially a toilet seat that I don't like.

They aren’t. And don’t let this silly thread deter you if you’re interested. Some entire local pinball scenes of awesome pinheads were built from their regular tournaments.

Just like everything else on pinside. This issue is way overblown.

Interac Terminals...

I've seen a lot of debit keypads (usually at fast food chains) that look like they have never been cleaned.
Often it's the last thing we touch right before we eat a meal...yum!

What would happen if a customer pulled out a wipe and sanitized the Interac Terminal before using it? Probably end up on YouTube...

Never been to a tournament. Are they usually in buildings with no A/C, outside in FL or something like that?

I have never sweat playing pinball. I guess I don’t understand what the heck is going on here lol.

My mom died earlier this year from sepsis. It stemmed from a bug bite on her leg that she scratched and got infected. We were chatting around lunchtime on Christmas Eve about what time she was coming over that night and she mentioned she didn't feel that great. 8 hours later and she was in a medically induced coma. It happens so fast.

Take care of yourselves. I'd never make fun of someone for being ultra cautious.

It can definitely get warm with lots in a smaller bar with struggling AC. Lots of pinheads run hot too. Including me. Haha

OMG. I'm sorry for your loss

To be totally honest I talked to Robert from Double Danger pinball and gave him my idea of having a microfiber towel or similar with a large button hole in a corner of it so that it could be easily hooked on the the plunger.

I guess he didn't think it was a good idea??

I was thinking barcades could put logos on or machine names, event names ect..

It's funny the guys that are wiping someone else's sweaty palm grease off with their shirt are seasoned tournament vets too.

I did bring a small wiping towel to an event once and I am glad I did.

I also jokingly mentioned pro player DD glove apparel. Some fingerless gloves with cushioned palms for nudging and helping keep the heat and sweat contained to the player. Thinking of weight lifting gloves but much lighter, more breathable, and maybe an area for padding of foam, silicone, urethane disc etc. To be swapped in or out