Nothing works as well as hand washing when it comes to viruses

And this is why it’s so effective…

Washing hands under (ideally) running water, giving them a good old scrub, and carrying the wash out for a full 20 seconds, is undoubtedly the most suitable way of ensuring effective hand hygiene. Not everyone understands exactly why hand washing is so successful however – something that a recent article on the Well and Good website recently sought to address.

It begins, not unnaturally, by championing hand washing. Author Kara Jillian Brown quotes a pulmonary and critical care physician at UCLA Medical Center, Russell Buhr, MD, PhD.

“There’s really no substitute for controlling the spread of viruses to hand washing — nothing we do is going to work as well as that.”

The mechanics of washing are important

There are a number of reasons why soap and water are so effective says Dr. Buhr. The act of vigorous scrubbing, then “rinsing that stuff off is carrying the dead virus away”. Soap itself breaks down viruses by dissolving the lipids and fats – the shell that surrounds them so to speak.

Brown also quotes Johns Hopkins University‘s Karen Fleming, PhD, who describes soap as “an amazing weapon that we all have in our homes”.

Why you should stick to soap and water if you can

Dr. Buhr is a real advocate of a paper towel hand dry and even suggests it to open the washroom door, to avoid recontamination from a previous visitor who may not have been so diligent.

Alcohol hand gels work well to an extent, he says, but “we still encourage people to wash their hands regularly to eliminate the residue of the hand sanitizer and whatever dead pathogens and dirt and grime is just sitting on our hands”.

Washing your hands sounds trivial — here’s the science behind why it works »

Effective mobile hand washing for everyone – wherever it’s needed!

Teal produces a comprehensive range of mobile sinks and portable basins for every type of hand washing situation for use by anyone who needs to wash their hands effectively, whether they’re in an office environment, temporary accommodation or out in the field on a daily basis.

There are vehicle mounted, wall mounted, mains powered and free standing hand wash stations as well as mobile sinks for use with pre-heated hot water.

The Teal range of mobile sinks includes the MediWash, Hygienius and Hygienius ProWash, BigSynk, Super Stallette, TEALwash, Handeman Xtra, Compact Classic, HandSpa, CliniWash – and now the new WashStand Xtra.

The handwash units shown above are the Teal MediWash (top) and the Hygienius.