Hand Hygiene | Proper Hand Washing Techniques Minimize the Spread of Infection

Washing Your Hands

Follow these steps to properly wash your hands.

1. Stand in front of, but away from the sink and turn on the water faucet to adequate flow.
2. Wet the hands under the running water.
3. Place an adequate amount of soap on the hands.
4. Rub hands together using a firm circular motion for at least 20 seconds.
5. Rinse hands under running water, keeping the hands pointing downward.
6. Dry hands thoroughly with a paper towel.
7. Turn off the faucet using the pater towel.
8. Discard the paper towel in the waste basket.

If hands are not visibly soiled, an alcohol based hand sanitizer may be used in place of hand washing. The sanitizer may be used as an adjunct to hand washing at any time.

The steps for using the hand sanitizer is as follows:

1. Stand in front of the hand sanitizer dispenser and pull the pump handle to dispense the gel.
2. Dispense about a dime size quantity of the gel in hands.
3. Rub hands together in a circular motion making sure to include the backs of hands and thumbs.
4. Allow hands to air dry.