My mum certainly used this expression.

The over emphasis on hygiene at the moment - to the detriment of all else - seems silly. In our neighborhood there is a beach near my home and dogs are allowed on it from May to October from 6 - 9 am and from 6 - 9 pm -- the rest of the year they can be on all the time. There is a huge push to ban the dogs entirely because they are 'dirty' and they pee on the beach. But if you ban the dogs, what happens to cat pee, fish fee, and seagull pee. If the folks who indicated they won't take their children on the beach because dogs are allowed on it choose to take their kids to the park -- who do they think was playing on the grass before the kids -- Yup! the dogs.........and they probably peed once or twice before....

You can't sanitize the world......