How to wash hands
Do you know how long it will take to rub your hands? Or is the rinsing actually the most important step? Washing your hands is not about killing germs. Removing germs, believing it or not, you're probably doing it wrong. These steps will lead you to more efficient handwashing.
1 -
Open Water
Interior chrome faucet
Clean, flowing water temperature is more important. Open the water and wet your hands. Depending on your preference, you can turn off the water or let it run. Turning it off protects you from water, but then you increase the number of touches to the tap handles with microbes - you are trying to wash.
2nd -
Polythene
Child with soapy hands
Soap is important. It helps to remove germs and germs from your skin while washing your hands and making the whole process more effective. Something you don't need? Antibacterial soap. Studies have shown that it is no better than normal soap and that the commonly used component triclosan can actually contribute to antibiotic resistance. This is a problem that we don't have to do worse than it already is.
3 -
Scrub in at least 20 Seconds
Washing hands
Most people don't clean their hands nearly enough. Twenty seconds doesn't sound like a long time, but it's much longer than you can imagine.
To wash at the right time? Sing the Happy Birthday song to yourself twice (or loudly).
While you're there, make sure your hands are completely covered. Brush between your fingers, under your nails, all over your head, and brush your wrists up. Not only your palms and fingertips, but all your hands have germs.
4 -
Rinse Soap (and Microbes)
Close up of woman washing hands in bathroom sink.
How to remove germs from your hands at the end of the rinse is really the most important step. Again, it is important to use clean running water. Soaking your hands in a still pool of water (or water standing in the sink) is not the same as rinsing soap and clean running water. If everything you have is a water pool - for example, you are outdoors and you have no access to running water - it is better than nothing and is definitely preferred not to wash your hands.
Many people don't realize that washing your hands doesn't kill germs, it's the most effective way to get them out of your hands, so don't spread them to yourself or others. Rinsing germs and washing germs greatly reduces the likelihood that the disease will spread.
5 -
Dry your hands
Woman drying her hands
We finally came to dry. Use a paper towel, air dryer or cloth hand towel, dry your hands completely. Studies have failed to determine which drying method is best, so use existing or preferred ones. If you use a cloth hand towel, it should be washed frequently - especially if they live in a common house where they can easily spread.
6 -
Turn off water
Faucet close-up
This can actually be step 6 rather than step 1.2. If you want to save water, wet your hands and turn the water on and off again when you need to wash again. According to the CDC, "Some recommendations include the use of a paper towel to close the tap after rinsing the hands, while this practice leads to an increase in the use of water and paper towels and there is no study showing that it improves health."
Use your best judgment here. If you are using a public toilet, you may think that you will use your bath towel to open the bathroom door.
27AXX
PURELL Cottony Soft Hand Sanitizing Wipes, 120 Individually Wrapped Wipes in Self-Dispensing Display Box - 9027-12
