Handwashing is one of the most effective ways to protect yourself, your team and your customers from getting sick. For enhanced food safety, it’s important to wash hands before, during and after preparing food, as well as before and after consuming food. It’s also important to wash hands after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing, after touching garbage, using the toilet and other key times you are likely to contract and spread harmful germs.

Though we all learn how to wash our hands at a young age, it’s easy to rush through the process to continue with your task at hand – compromising your health and that of others. Before you begin the process, slow down and be mindful of your actions when following the five steps to proper hand washing.

Step 1
Wet your hands with clean, running water. Warm water if preferred for comfort, but cold water works just as effectively.

Step 2
Apply hand soap and begin to lather by rubbing your hands together. Be sure to cover all areas of the hand – the back, between the fingers and under the nails. For even more thorough scrubbing power, use a Hand and Nail Brush to access stuck-on or hard to reach bacteria that may be trapped around or underneath your nails.

Step 3
Continue to scrub hands for a minimum of 20 seconds. Helpful hint: hum the “happy birthday” song twice to ensure enough time has passed before moving on to step 4.

Step 4
Rinse your hands well under clean, running water. Be sure to remove all soap remnants and bubbles for best results.

Step 5
Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.

Repeat this process properly and consistently throughout your day – there’s no such thing as over-washing your hands! For more information on hand washing, or other hand and body cleaning products, feel free to call us at 800-456-5624 or chat with us online at www.bunzlpd.com. We are happy to discuss additional practices to help keep you, your team and your customers healthy and safe.