Do you think that your hands are 100% clean every time you wash them? Washing your hands thoroughly is extremely important because they are many bacteria on the hands such as Salmonella, E. Coli, Staphylococcus and even some human influenza viruses such as flu.
How can you know that your hand washing technique is the best? Jennie Agg decided to test some hand washing techniques and then check her hands under a special UV light camera to see how clean they are.
The less amount of blue color is an indicator of less bacteria on your hands.
Before Washing
Your hands are covered with germs, shown by the white glow.
Rinsing and Shaking Off
Most of the people just rinse their hands and then shake off the excess of water. Unfortunately, this hand washing technique leaves most bacteria on your hands, especially fecal bacteria.
“A quick rinse is never enough,“ says Dr Lisa Ackerley, a leading hygiene expert and professor at the University of Salford. “Everyone needs to wash their hands properly, especially after going to the bathroom.“
6 Seconds Washing Without Any Soap
The average time of washing hands is 6 seconds, but unfortunately 6 seconds is not enough time to get rid of the bacteria. Scientists recommend you to wash your hands at least 16 seconds.
It is important to wash the fingers, not just your palms. Pay more attention between fingers, around the nails, cuticles and thumbs.
6 Seconds Washing With Soap
You must use soap while washing your hands.
“By using soap, you’ll remove most of the bacteria on your hands,” says Dr. Val Curtis.
Just remember that soap doesn’t kill bacteria, it just removes it from your skin, no matter if you use ordinary or antibacterial soap.
15 Seconds Washing With Soap
You can see from the photo below, that washing your hands longer reduces the bacteria from your hands.
30 Seconds With Soap
Many researches have shown that washing your hands for 30 seconds is enough to get rid of the harmful bacteria.
Should You Use a Towel or a Hand Dryer?
One thing is important-make sure you completely dry your hands no matter you use a towel or a hand dryer, because most of the germs are easily passed on to moist surfaces.
Research has found that 85% of microbes are transmitted by moist hands, compared with 0.06% by dry hands.