Proper Hand Washing and Drying Technique

Hand washing and drying – including using effective soap, vigorously rubbing hands and thoroughly drying them – is crucial to good hygiene and disease prevention. If you don't wash your hands correctly, you won't remove the bacteria, particularly around the fingers, fingertips and nail folds. And it's precisely these areas that most need cleaning.

Hand washing station

Hand washing and drying should be performed at designated hand washing stations with a:

• Sink
• Suitable treated and/or filtered warm water source
• Hands-free paper towel dispenser
• Non-irritating or sensitizing soap

Key success factor
The hand washing station must be well maintained, with regular cleaning and replenishment of soap and paper towels.

Hand washing

• Moisten hands with warm water.
• Use 1-3ml of soap or a soap formulation known to be gentle to skin.
• Total hand washing time, including lathering with soap, should be 15-20 seconds.
• A good lather should be developed through vigorous rubbing during the soaping process.
• Hands should be washed up to the elbow, or include skin beyond the sleeves of protective clothing.
• Friction generated during the washing process, aided by soap, will loosen bacteria from hands, as well as flakes of skin that may harbor bacteria.

Rinsing

• Rinse well in warm water at an adequate flow rate.
• During rinsing, hands and fingertips should be positioned low in the sink, with the rinse progressing from elbow or forearm to fingertip. This way, water is drained from the fingertips into the sink.
• It's important to remove all soap residues from hands during rinsing, since prolonged exposure to soap components can cause irritation.

Drying

• Thorough sanitary hand drying will remove most remaining microbial organisms.
• Single-use paper towels, ideally from a hands-free dispenser, have been shown to be superior to all other methods to effectively remove most unwanted germs and loose skin cells.
• Dry hands thoroughly, since wet hands pick up and transfer more contamination than dry hands.
• Avoid contact with contaminated surfaces such as the sink, faucet handles and towel dispenser cranks or levers that can result in cross-contamination.
• If the tap or faucet is not hands-free, then leave the water running while drying hands and use a paper towel to turn off the faucet after drying hands.

Fingernails

• Fingernails should be kept trimmed and clean.
• Use a nail brush or nail-cleaning tool only when necessary, and choose a brush specially adapted to remove deep deposits of dirt.
• Fingernail brushes are easily contaminated, so they should be sanitized between uses.

Click to enlarge

Use of gloves

• Use of gloves does not eliminate the need for sanitary hand washing and drying.
• Gloves should be put on carefully to avoid contamination from unclean surfaces, clothing or other parts of the body.
• Gloves should be changed at regular intervals (at least once an hour), after touching contaminated surfaces or utensils, or if punctured.
• Gloves should be changed after sneezing, coughing or touching the face, hair or unsanitized clothing.
• Be mindful of possible glove (latex) allergies and the possibility of food products or chemicals entering the gloves, causing adverse effects.
• Hands should ALWAYS be washed and dried before, after and between glove changes.