Have you ever found yourself giving someone an evil stare as they walk out of the bathroom without washing their hands? How about someone who just rinses their hands with water but no soap? Of course you’re going to give them an evil stare! Washing your hands with just water is about as effective as not washing your hands at all! Or is it?

Did you know that water is the main factor when it comes to the cleanliness of your hands? Numerous studies have shown that washing your hands with just water decreases the bacteria by over 50%. This percentage isn’t even close to true with people who only use soap. In fact, soap has a very miniscule effect on killing bacteria unless it’s antibacterial soap.

So, is soap even necessary for cleaning your hands?

It’s definitely necessary while cleaning your hands. The water washes away the bacteria on your hands, but soap loosens up the bacteria on your hands so that the water can wash more away. Antibacterial soap kills the bacteria on your hands. The secret for keeping those yucky germs off of your hands is all in the technique.

Washing Hands 101: You should be washing your hands with warm water. Use enough soap to get a good lather. Make sure you are scrubbing your hands pretty hard and thoroughly. Your hand washing should take about 20-30 seconds before you are finished. This will give you the greatest chance of ridding yourself from all of that bacteria that lies on your hands.

Remember, if soap isn’t available in the bathroom, scrubbing your hands with warm water is still much more effective than not doing anything at all. Try not to be so harsh with the people who are using just water to clean their hands, but definitely send out the evil eye to those just walking out of the bathroom with their hands dry.

-Tom