Australia – lack of hand washing an issue for West Aussies

Survey reveals worrying lack of awareness of its importance

Effective hand washing in the workplace is very important for all sorts of reasons – but the potential implications of neglecting it seem to be lost on many West Australians, according to a recent report on the West Australian website.

The article by Grace Millimaci doesn’t pull any punches, drawing attention to the fact that around a quarter of West Australians admit to not actually bothering to wash their hands after going to the toilet.

She quotes from a recent national survey that was carried out by Palmolive, which highlighted a “worrying lack of hand hygiene amongst Australians”.

The survey is being referred to as part of the Global Handwashing Day campaign, which falls on Sunday October 15th.

Effective hand washing in the workplace

Palmolive are reported as emphasising the importance of washing hands properly.

“Learning the correct way to wash hands at a young age is the best way to establish a life-long healthy handwashing routine that will safeguard you from infections, germs and nasty bacteria.”

And the “correct way” is to wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds writes Millimaci – though, worryingly 79% of West Australians are reportedly washing for 15 seconds or less. Furthermore, 57% don’t wash after handling money and ⅓rd do not wash after sneezing or blowing their noses.

Or, as Ms Millimaci so succinctly puts it,

“Good luck avoiding the nasty flu being shared around by Fred at the photocopier.”

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Portable sinks for hand washing at the point of need – in any work situation

TEAL produces an incredible 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 – including construction workers and engineers – who are 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 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 and WashStand.

How to choose the correct mobile sink »