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According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), handwashing has been clearly shown to prevent a variety of diseases and is one of the most important ways to protect oneself and others from infections.1 Sounds simple enough, but still questions arise when it comes to stopping the spread of germs through handwashing. What’s the best method? Hand soap vs. sanitizer? How long should you wash your hands? How often?
We’ll answer these questions by examining handwashing best practices, the differences between hand soap vs. hand sanitizer and how to best protect your employees and guests through workplace hand hygiene efforts.
To understand when to wash your hands, it’s important to understand why. Germs are everywhere. They’re on other people, surfaces we touch or objects we pick up. When you come in contact with germs and then touch your eyes, hands or mouth, you risk infecting yourself and spreading them to others.2
In short, you can’t escape germs, but you can limit their spread by washing hands. Though not a complete list, it’s important to wash hands before and after cooking, eating, touching high-touch surfaces, entering or leaving a public place or caring for wounds or a sick person. Additionally, hands should be washed after using a restroom or blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.
It’s important for the health of your employees and guests to have hand wash or hand sanitizer options readily available. Vestis™ can help you set up and maintain hand hygiene with a wide variety of supplies including hand soap dispensers, hand sanitizer and paper towel dispensers.
While soap and water has been the go-to for hand hygiene for centuries, hand sanitizer is a relative newcomer in the war against germs. As reported by the American Chemical Society (ACS), a nursing student patented the first alcohol-containing, gel-based hand sanitizer for hospitals in 1966. And in 1988, the firm GOJO introduced Purell®, the first alcohol-containing gel sanitizer for consumers.3
But which is more effective?
Soap and water, worked into a lather, trap and remove germs and chemicals from hands. A good lather from wetting hands forms pockets called micelles that trap and remove germs, harmful chemicals and dirt from your hands. Scrubbing for 20 seconds is important to this process because these actions physically destroy germs and remove germs and chemicals from your skin. When you rinse your hands, you wash the germs and chemicals down the drain.4
The CDC reports that alcohol-based sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of microbes on hands in some situations, but sanitizers do not eliminate all types of germs. Soap and water are more effective than hand sanitizers at removing certain kinds of germs, like norovirus, Crypto and C.diff. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can inactivate many types of microbes very effectively but it’s important to use a large enough volume and to allow the sanitizer to air dry without wiping it off. It’s also better to use sanitizers with an alcohol concentration between 60–95% as they are more effective at killing germs than those with a lower alcohol concentration or non-alcohol-based hand sanitizers.5
To elevate hand hygiene and help stop the spread of germs and illness, it’s important to maintain a well-stocked restroom and make soap and hand sanitizer readily available to employees and guests.
Vestis offers a full suite of restroom supplies and will monitor and refill inventory for a flat rate on a convenient weekly schedule. Among our restroom supplies, you’ll find Purell® hand soap dispensers that can be filled with Purell® antimicrobial soap or Purell® Gentle & Free Soap. Antimicrobial soap effectively kills germs and cares for hands, even with frequent use. Gentle & Free Soap is great for frequent use. It’s dye-free, fragrance-free, hypoallergenic and is free of phthalates, parabens and triclosan6. It’s also enriched with moisturizers and skin conditioners and rinses clean. Additionally, Vestis offers GOJO® SUPROMAX™ hand soap that is effective on oil, grease, paint and adhesives while gentle on the skin. It’s ideal for businesses like automotive shops, production facilities and maintenance work.
Hand soap dispensers can be placed in all bathrooms, kitchen areas or wherever handwashing is performed.
Vestis also supplies Purell® hand sanitizer and hand sanitizer dispensers. Dispensers can be wall mounted or freestanding for ease of movement. Freestanding hand sanitizer dispensers are ideal for high-traffic areas like entrances, registers, break rooms or showrooms — or wherever water is not readily available for handwashing with soap. Hand sanitizer dispensers are lightweight and easily moved but have a small footprint designed to maximize stability.
In addition to hand soap, hand sanitizers and dispensers, Vestis helps you promote cleanliness throughout your facility with paper towels and towel dispensers, air freshener dispensers and a variety of bath tissue and other restroom supplies.
Reach out to us for details on how we can help keep your supplies stocked and support your workplace hand hygiene efforts.
1https://www.cdc.gov/clean-hands/data-research/index.html
2https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/hand-washing/art-20046253
3https://cen.acs.org/business/consumer-products/hand-sanitizer-does-keep-hands/98/i12
4https://www.cdc.gov/clean-hands/faq/index.html
5https://www.cdc.gov/clean-hands/data-research/facts-stats/hand-sanitizer-facts.html
6https://www.gojo.com/en/productsku/5072-02
