I often get the sense that I’m in the only one here doing manual labor but I’m sure there are others.
Identify yourselves.
Proctologists need not reply.
I trim trees and operate a wood chipper-shredder. Routinely carrying huge logs and branches hereabouts and there, greasing and fuelling machinery, and brandishing dirty chainsaws.
But I prefer to wear riggers gloves, so my hands actually stay pretty clean.
Woodworker. Hands are always dirty after sharpening blades.
I used to be a programmer, but I got sick of the whole corporate scene. Now I build and maintain houses - and my hands are dirty a good amount of the time!
Damn that’s a crazy transition. How do you like it?
Masterbate.
Caretaker for my father. Lots of poop.
Also still paying my dues to the electrical union. That was a dirty AF job. Miss it a bunch, tho.
elementary school custodian. i love my schedule and the hours of alone time i get to listen to books and podcasts! a living wage and paid holidays are nice too.
Facility maintenance. We grease motors, change belts, tighten bolts. One of the fuel pumps on our generator has a leak, so that’s a fun bit of dirty hands.
My approach to maintenance also involves a lot of cleaning, because I believe clean equipment runs better over time. So cleaning off fan blades, insides of electrical cabinets, sumps, etc. We also fix sinks and toilets.
I do janitorial work. I wear gloves though, so I’m not really getting dirty? I’ve done auto assembly work and some bullshit dealing with produce crates being sorted for cleaning that always left my hands black and shit after my shift in the past, though.
I’ve only ever worked 2 jobs that were not manual labor. I did network IT shit right out of highschool for about 2 years, and I also worked as a relay operator twice. Even as an ISP installer, it was mostly bolting things into things and running cable.
I generally wash they with warm water and soap after I’m done or taking a break. I usually take one of those little dish soap bottles from the hotel when I travel to keep in the truck, cuts right through the grease and grime pretty well even if all you have is a jug of water on hand.
Loading trailers, hands generally stay clean unless my gloves are almost worn out
Diesel mechanic, the black never washes off!!
I unload pallets of computer gear. That’s not the main part of my job, but it’s something that happens from time to time.
My primary job is that of a software engineer, but I also run a small farm business. Out in the dirt, greasing equipment, repairing equipment, etc. all make me long for the Lava soap I remember as a kid.
Wash them??
Hurr durr!