Sounds obvious and should be, think of the Swine flu ads where you see how long germs linger and are easily transferred. Hand washing is the single most important step in preventing the spread of germs leading to disease and infections. We all use our hands much more frequently than we realise.
Wash your hands thoroughly and use your hygiene sanitizer throughout the day. Make sure you sanitize your hands in front of your client immediately before your start work.
Do you think you wash you hands enough and do it properly? You might be surprised. Here’s a helpful guide to washing your hands effectively so you can be sure that you are minimizing the risk of catching and spreading germs.
- Turn on water to a warm and comfortable temperature
- Use approximately a ten pence sized squirt of liquid hand soap (or according to manufacturer's instructions)
- Rub hands together into a lather for at least 20 seconds
- Wash well between fingers and under nails. Using a nail brush is not necessary unless specifically needed
- Rinse soap off hands
- Dry hands completely, preferably with at least two paper towels or air dryers
- If possible turn off faucet with paper towels and throw the towels into the appropriate bin.
- If you don’t have access to soap and water, use a good quality sanitizer gel. They come in various sizes, from handy bag and pocket sizes, to pump style that can be kept on a work station and in a kit.
- Hand washing is most effective at washing away germs, not necessarily killing them. Hot water is not necessary
- Hot water is not necessary
- Antibacterial soaps have not been proven to be more effective than regular soap, so use the products you prefer
- Drying hands completely is as essential as is in the hand washing process. Wet hands are more likely than even dirty hands to carry germs
- Be sure to use the towels to turn off the faucet. Remember, you just turned it on with your dirty hands! This is an easy one to forget.
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