If done everyday, it's civilized. If only done when something's wrong, it's nasty

Question

When speaking of doing this everyday as a daily routine, this is a civilized thing to do.

When speaking of doing this only when something's wrong, this is a nasty thing to do.

What is this thing we all do?

_{Note: No censoring is required for this action in both cases.}

Answer 1

I think the answer is

washing one's hand

When speaking of doing this everyday as a daily routine, this is a civilized thing to do.

Washing one's hand is considered basic hygiene

When speaking of doing this only when something's wrong, this is a nasty thing to do.

This alludes to the idiomatic "washing one's hands of something" which means (quoting Wiktionary): To absolve oneself of responsibility or future blame for; to refuse to have any further involvement with

Answer 2

Here is another possible answer

wearing a mask : civilized during the pandemic | when something's wrong = during a heist/theft/etc

Answer 3

There are a couple of different answers which kind of fit but I think the answer is

Brushing your teeth

When speaking of doing this everyday as a daily routine, this is a civilized thing to do.

Brushing one's teeth (preferably 2-3 times a day) is part of a healthy daily routine

When speaking of doing this only when something's wrong, this is a nasty thing to do.

If something is wrong with your teeth, then it usually requires intervention by a dentist. This is both nasty with respect to the pain caused and also from a hygienic perspective.

Answer 4

Another fit:

launder

When speaking of doing this everyday as a daily routine, this is a civilized thing to do:

Wash and iron (clothes or linen). "He wasn't used to laundering his own bed linen." (source: Google/Oxford Languages)

When speaking of doing this only when something's wrong, this is a nasty thing to do:

Conceal the origins of (money obtained illegally), typically by transfers involving foreign banks or legitimate businesses. "$123,000 had been laundered through Geneva bank accounts." Alter (information) to make it appear more acceptable. "We began to notice attempts to launder the data retrospectively." (source: Google/Oxford Languages)

Answer 5

My answer is:

Laugh

Because:

It's healthy to laugh every day but to laugh when something is wrong is schadenfreude.