Recently, we’ve seen an unprecedented focus on contagious, health-robbing germs. Nowadays, when someone extends their hand to me, I find myself wondering whether they washed their hands. It’s just the nature of being in the cleaning business. You see, I know the facts. Only 5% of people properly wash their hands before leaving the restroom!
As a commercial cleaning company, we take pride in providing quality service. For most of our customers, clean restrooms are a top priority. As well it should. The problem is, most commercial restrooms are only sanitized once per day. By the time our crews return the following night we have a lot of cleaning up to do.
Folks Who Wash Their Hands Help Prevent Spread of Disease
We have long known that washing our hands it the most critical component to preventing the spread of disease. But I am one of the first to consider fudging if I find myself in a filthy restroom — especially if my children are with me. My emotional side tells me that not touching anything more than we have to is the best way to avoid contamination. Why? Because I know that even a restroom that looks clean can actually be riddled with germs. Just imagine how many germs are lying in wait in a restroom that LOOKS dirty!
This recent article emphasizes the importance of our job as cleaning professionals. I find these facts downright scary.
After using the bathroom, 95 percent of people fail to wash their hands long enough to kill harmful bacteria, a new study finds.
Researchers also found that only two in three people use soap, while one in 10 skips the sink altogether, and men get much lower marks for hand hygiene than women. …
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that you wash your hands vigorously using soap and water for 15 to 20 seconds, or the time it takes to sing or hum “Happy Birthday” twice. (or the ABC song if you’re my kids) But on average, bathroom users only washed their hands for 6 seconds, and just 5 percent washed their hands for 15 seconds or longer, the researchers found.
Among men, only half used soap and 15 percent didn’t wash their hands at all, compared with 78 percent of women who used soap and 7 percent of women who didn’t wash their hands.
…More at 95% Of People Don’t Wash Their Hands Correctly After Using The Bathroom
So the question is: if public restrooms where kept clean and sanitary, would people be more likely to wash their hands before leaving the restroom? I truly believe the answer is “yes”. And I feel equally good knowing that our cleaning crews are using a two step process to clean, sanitize and disinfect. Click here to read more.
