September 3, 2020

The Importance of Handwashing in Today's World

While handwashing has always been important, we all have heard that we should be washing our hands more frequently during this time. Washing our hands protects us and others around us. This is something that has become a new habit for many people every time they walk in their house or before every meal. You don’t always stop to think about how important it is – but in today’s world, it is making a real difference!

The Importance of Hand Hygiene

Many germs are spread from our hands. Germs can spread from your hands to a surface, from a surface to your hands -- then you go on to touch your nose, mouth, or eyes, which causes you to become sick.

“Handwashing with soap is an easy, effective, and affordable do-it-yourself protection that prevents infections and saves lives.” -Global Handwashing Partnership

According to the CDC handwashing education does the following:

Reduces the number of people who get sick with diarrhea by 23-40%
Reduces diarrheal illness in people with weakened immune systems by 58%
Reduces respiratory illnesses, like colds, in the general population by 16-21%
Reduces absenteeism due to gastrointestinal illness in schoolchildren by 29-57%

Steps to Handwashing

Wet hands.
Apply soap to all surfaces of hands.
Wash for at least 20 seconds.
Rinse hands.
Dry hands with a clean towel.

The World Health Organization has provided this detailed PDF on how to handwash

Help Encourage your Child’s and Student’s Handwashing

Have them wash their hands before every meal.
Have them wash their hands after using the bathroom.
Have them wash their hands every day when they get to school and after coming home from school.
Have them wash their hands after playing outside.

These may seem like no-brainers, but encouraging your child to wash their hands throughout the day will help it become a habit. Before you know it, your child will head to the sink without you having to say anything!

Exciting News to Help Encourage Handwashing!

Coming soon: the Time Timer WASH! We are excited to share our newest product with you. This visual timer aims to revolutionize handwashing time in classrooms and homes.

The Time Timer WASH visual timer for handwashing displays a 30-second LCD disk, reinforcing World Health Organization (WHO) and Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations. Broken into three stages, the disk disappears as time elapses, displaying icons for soap, scrubbing, and rinsing. The WASH operates using touchless IR for complete sanitation. Music and sound are optional to help reinforce the steps. It’s water resistant and can suction cup to wall or counter, stand alone, or hang with screw on wall.