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Wash Your Hand the Right Way to Help Your Family Stay Safe

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Handwashing Help Family Stay Safe

It’s simple to wash your hands the right way, and it usually takes no more than a minute. But did you know that simple scrub can help reduce the spread of everything from respiratory illness to diarrhea?

Hand washing is also one of the best ways to remove germs, help avoid getting sick, and prevent the spread of germs.1 So, hand washing is important to remember, and an important habit to teach your kids.

When you should wash your hands

You should wash your hands before and after you eat or cook; play with or feed pets; cough, sneeze, or blow your nose; change a diaper; use the bathroom; dress a wound; handle garbage; interact with bodily fluids of any kind; or when they look dirty.

The 5 Steps for Effective Hand Washing for You And Your Kids

Step

STEP 1: Wet your hands using clean, running water when available.

Reason

Germs can collect in standing water.

STEP 2: Lather the front and back of hands, between fingers, and under fingernails with Safeguard™ soap.

Friction helps lift dirt, grease, and microbes from skin.

STEP 3: Scrub hands together for at least 20 seconds.

More germs are removed the longer you scrub. If your kids get impatient, teach them to recite the ABCs twice to reach the 20-second mark.

STEP 4: Rinse hands under clean, running water.

Dirt, grease, and microbes—including infectious disease-causing germs—are carried away from skin, which can help minimize skin irritation.

STEP 5: Dry hands completely with a clean towel, or air dry.

Germs can be transferred more easily between wet hands.

When to use hand sanitizer

When soap and clean, running water aren’t available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Hand sanitizer quickly reduces the number of microbes on hands in some situations, but does not eliminate all types of germs.

To use, simply apply the product to the palm of one hand, and rub your hands together, spreading the sanitizer to all the surfaces of your hands, until they're dry.

A healthy habit to share

Teaching your children the importance of hand washing—when, why, and how—can help prevent the spread of germs in your home, and help keep children safe from germs when they’re not with you. Share these hand-washing basics with them to help them learn when and how they should wash their hands.