Doctors and health professionals have expressed their concerns about how an overwhelming number of adults do a poor job of washing their hands. Many people either wash their hands too quickly or use little to no soap. And to many people’s dismay, some people choose not to wash their hands at all or they use dodgy hand sanitisers.
Now is a better time than ever to wash your hands properly. Collective Maintenance Services has been a one-stop emergency cleaning service for decades. We know how important it is to maintain a proper cleaning ritual. This article will cover the appropriate way to wash your hands and whether or not it’s worth it to make your own hand sanitiser.
How to Properly Wash Your Hands
Experts at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) break down proper handwashing in a few simple steps:
- Wet your hands up to the wrist or forearms using clear, running water.
- Turn off the water. Apply a decent amount of soap and lather it up very well by rubbing your hands together. Lather the back of your hands, up to your wrists and lower forearms. Don’t forget in between your fingers, under your nails and in the folds and lines of your skin.
- Sing happy birthday or the ABC’s to yourself for at least 20-30 seconds, even if it means repeating the songs until it reaches the correct time.
- Turn the water back on and rinse your hands thoroughly, making sure you get all of the soap off of your hands, wrists and forearms.
- Dry your hands with a clean paper towel or let them air dry.
Making Your Own Hand Sanitiser – Is it Worth it?
When there is a global shortage of hand sanitiser, most people turn to DIY recipes as replacements. There are plenty of online tutorials to use as guides, but whether or not it’s worth it depends on the recipe itself.
Many experts believe that it’s not a good idea to whip up your own batch and possibly create something that may have incorrect concentrations. But other experts insist that something is better than nothing as long as your solution has a very high level of alcohol. Without this key ingredient in the right proportions, making your hand sanitiser is relatively worthless.
On the other hand, alcohol-based hand sanitisers aren’t useful if your hands are dirty. It’s crucial to make sure your hands are clean before using your hand sanitiser. If washing and sanitising are making your hands dry, use a moisturiser, such as shea butter, that helps to form a seal on your skin.
Although Collective Maintenance Services can’t wash your hands for you, we do provide a professional emergency cleaning service performed by certified experts. Contact our friendly team today for more information on our 24-hour emergency call-outs and reliable service.
