People Aren’t Washing Their Hands as Much as You Hope, New Survey Shows

Is there anything more uncomfortable than witnessing a person walk out of a washroom stall without washing their hands?

If you’ve been in that situation before (or multiple times) you’re not alone. Eighty-two percent of Americans frequently or occasionally see others leave a public washroom without washing, according to the 2016 Healthy Hand Washing Survey conducted by Bradley Corporation.

And for people who do wash their hands, 67 percent confess that they skip the soap and simply rinse with water.

Boost Your Workplace’s Hand Hygiene

If you want to boost basic hand hygiene in your office, simply ask building management to post a sign that encourages employees to wash their hands before returning back to work.

In the survey, which polled approximately 1,000 Americans, 44 percent of men and 34 percent of women said signage motivates them to clean their hands.

After all, when it comes to washing your hands, a little bit truly goes a long way. Rubbing your hands together with soap and water for 20 seconds (roughly the time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday”) really does help eliminate your risk of catching the cold and flu and even severe life threatening diseases, according to Health Canada.

We’d love to know: Are you surprised by the survey results? Do you think Canadians have better hygiene than our neighbours south of the border?