How many people do you think actually wash their hands well enough to get the germs off of them after they use the bathroom? 65 percent? 50 percent? 20 percent? Keep going, it’s a long way down.
Research at Michigan State University shows that only 5 percent of us wash our hands long enough to kill infectious microorganisms after using the bathroom. In addition, 33 percent don’t even use soap. And 10 percent don’t wash their hands at all. Men are particularly negligent about hand washing.
“These findings were surprising to us because past research suggested that proper hand washing is occurring at a much higher rate,” says researcher Carl Borchgrevink.
Hand washing is the single most effective thing you can do to reduce the spread of infectious diseases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Poor hand washing contributes to nearly 50 percent of all foodborne illness outbreaks.
It takes 15 to 20 seconds of vigorous hand washing with soap and water to effectively kill the germs, the CDC says; yet the research at Michigan State shows that people are washing their hands, on average, for only about 6 seconds. Experts say hand washing should last long enough to sing the song “Happy Birthday” two times.
The study shows:
- Fifteen percent of men never wash their hands. Only 7 percent of women don’t bother to wash.
- When they wash their hands, only 50 percent of men use soap. About 75 percent of women soap up.
- People are less likely to wash their hands when sinks are dirty.
- People are more likely to wash their hands earlier in the day. The researchers think that later at night, people are intoxicated and less likely to wash.
