Hi there, Dr. Rob here, your biosafety advisor. Did you know your hands routinely become contaminated which can potentially lead to you becoming ill or spreading the contamination to others? Luckily, just a thorough hand washing with plain soap and water will remove that contamination and keep you safe. But, what should you use to wash your hands? How should you wash them? When should you wash them? All good questions.

In everyday life, we are constantly touching things like our phones, door knobs, raw food, soil, other people and more, which may have biohazards on them. This can then lead to us spreading the contamination to the objects we touch, other people, and even ourselves. For example, if you sneeze into your hand and then touch your phone, now your phone is contaminated. Therefore, washing your hands is absolutely vital to prevent this contamination from spreading further and from potentially making you sick.

So, when should you wash your hands? Really, it’s as often as needed. For example, if you’re having a home day, it might only be a couple times a day after using the washroom. However, if you’re out shaking hands, touching anything that others have touched like hand railings, door knobs, and certainly after going to the washroom, then you should wash your hands many times. Washing your hands is quick, easy, and very effective at preventing illness and the spread of contamination.

Unfortunately, you never know if there is contamination on your hands or not, as we can’t see, smell, or feel the contamination. That’s why it’s important get into the habit of washing your hands after touching anything that might be contaminated.

Now, what should you use to wash your hands? Old fashioned soap and water is still the best. The foaming soaps are the most effective, followed by liquid soaps and finally the bar of soap. This is because you get more effective soap suds with the foam and liquid soaps than with the bar of soap.

How does soap work? Soap is what’s called a surfactant, which removes the oils from your hands and some of the older skin cells. It is this physical removal of the contamination layer from your hands that is so important. The soap and friction of rubbing your hands frees the contamination from your hands enough to be washed away with the water. This is why, special antibacterial soaps that claim they kill most of the bacteria, are no better than regular soaps as the contamination is removed anyway.

So, what about hand sanitizers? Unfortunately, hand sanitizers are a very poor substitute for handwashing with soap and water. This is because they only kill some of the germs and they leave all that contamination on your hands.

Hand sanitizers should only be used as an emergency short-term solution until you can wash your hands with soap and water. Do not rely solely upon hand sanitizers to clean your hands. They do not work as well as soap and water and people have died believing they do.

Next, what’s the best way to wash your hands? First, wet your hands and then add soap until you get soapsuds. Rub the soapsuds all over your hands, including the back of your hands, palms and between the fingers. Rub with medium pressure for about 15 seconds. Then rinse your hands, still rubbing them together under the water for another 15 seconds. If you think you have gotten contamination under your fingernails, clean there as well with a brush. Washing your hands is quick, easy, and a very effective way to remove any potential biohazards from your hands so you don’t get sick and are not spreading it to others.

To recap, remember that your hands get contaminated every day during your daily activities. This contamination could infect you or spread to others. Therefore, get into a good habit of washing your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water. Do not rely solely on the use of hand sanitizers, as they are not that effective. So, if you’ve shaken someone’s hand, handled food, used the washroom, or think your hands might be contaminated, then wash those hands so you can … Be safe, be biosafe.