How to correctly wash hands
- You must have a hand wash or soap. Water alone is not sufficient to clean dirty hands.
- Warm water is more effective than cold water
- A nail brush is essential to clean under nails
- It takes at least 30 seconds to effectively wash your hands.
- Technique is important. Rubbing your hands isn’t enough.
- Wash between your fingers
- Wash the back of your hands
- Wash the edges of your hands
- Wash up to your wrist
- If you are wearing rings, ensure they are clean and you have cleaned under them
But can you be sure you have done a thorough job? There is a great product called “Glitterbug” that allows you test how effective your hand washing technique is. Check out their web site here
Common hand washing mistakes
- Not washing your hands
- Thinking that “wet” means “washed”
- Not washing your hands
- Using cold water and no soap/handwash
- Not washing your hands
- Just rubbing your hands together
- Not washing your hands
- Not washing under your nails and rings.
- Not washing your hands
- False nails. A disaster zone in the making.
- Not washing your hands
Handwash versus Hand Sanitisers
At its simplest:
- Hand wash removes dirt and oil, and kills germs.
- Hand sanitisers kill germs.
If your hands are dirty, you have to wash them. If they look dirty, you have to wash them. If they are oily, you have to wash them. If they have been handling raw meat, you have to wash them. If you have been handling chemicals (espeically poisons), you have to wash them.
Hand wash requires the use of water to remove the dirt.
But if they look clean, feel clean, and you haven’t been handling raw meat or chemicals then they will still be covered with microscopic germs. Sanitisers kill the germs (to various degrees of efficiency. Read the label!)
The benefit of hand sanitisers is that they don’t require water to wash it off, and so can be conveniently used anywhere.
A restaurant or cafe must have a hand wash with their hand washing sink. We would recommend a hand sanitiser in a convenient location where staff can easily use it without having to go out of their way.