DEAR HARRIETTE: My girlfriend drinks orange juice straight from the plastic bottle. I find it nasty because I cannot handle the "backwash" that may end up back in the juice. She is OK drinking from the bottle because she "does not have time to drink from a cup." I had no idea that my girlfriend drank straight from the bottle. I think it is rude and selfish behavior, and I would like to know how to get her to stop. -- Grossed Out, Memphis, Tennessee
DEAR GROSSED OUT: Maybe your girlfriend never thought about the germs that she is inadvertently putting in that plastic bottle. Perhaps nobody pointed that out to her in the past. It is time for you to speak up. Tell your girlfriend that it really bothers you that she drinks straight from the bottle. Offer to bring her a cup the next time you see her about to do it.
You can start by making light of it so that you get your point across without being harsh. Tell her that she deserves to drink from a cup. If she balks at that, be direct and let her know that her practice is unsanitary. Bacteria can leave her mouth and fester in the bottle, thereby contaminating it for anyone else who drinks the juice. Ask her to stop.
Because you know this is her practice, make it clear that in your home she must drink out of a drinking receptacle. Monitor her so that you don't get sick.