Hands Up For Hand Washing

We all know the importance of washing our hands. With 80% of diseases transmitted by touch, hands can be a major vector for harmful microorganisms. Therefore washing and drying your hands effectively is vital for your health and for the health of those around you. As October 15th is Global Hand Washing Day – a day to raise awareness on the importance of washing and drying hands – microbiologists at Dyson have pulled together 15 facts on why and how you should wash and dry your hands properly, particularly with cold and flu season just around the corner.

Dyson’s 15 Hand Washing Facts

1.    Damp hands can spread up to 1,000 times more bacteria than dry ones.
2.    85% of microorganisms are transmitted by moist hands, while dry hands only spread 0.06%.
3.    The average person’s hands can carry at least 3,000 different bacteria.
4.    When it comes to hands, fingernails are the most difficult to clean of microorganisms.
5.    Bacteria can live on your hands for up to three hours, and one bacterium can multiply to more than four million in eight hours.
6.    There are two layers of bacteria. The outer layer found on hands is called “Transient Flora” – this layer is easily eliminated by effective hand washing and drying. The deeper layer, more resistant to hand drying, is called “Resident Flora”.
7.    Research carried out in the US has shown that women wash their hands significantly more often, use soap more often, and wash their hands for longer than men.
8.    An average office desk has 400 times more bacteria than a toilet seat.
9.    26,000 live bacteria can be found on an average banknote.
10.    Smartphones can carry more than 30,000 bacteria units per swab.
11.    The average keyboard can contain more bacteria than a toilet seat.
12.    Research carried out in the UK found faecal bacteria contamination present on 26% of hands, 14% of banknotes and 10% of credit cards.
13.    In the Medieval times, hand washing became more popular during the outbreak of the Black Plague. People were looking for reasons why it was spreading and how to decrease the effects – they found that frequent hand washing in warm water, warm wine or even vinegar helped.
14.    In the Ancient Babylonian times (3million – 700AD), it was understood that clean hands were essential to health, and they related unclean hands to sickness.
15.    In India and throughout Asia, people eat and shake hands with their right hand only, as the left hand is used for cleaning yourself and other unsavoury functions.

According to Dyson Microbiologist Toby Saville, washing your hands should take at least 15 seconds – the time it takes to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ twice.