Handwashing: The Do-It-Yourself Vaccine

By: Keith Schneringer  |  November 29, 2018

Washing your hands properly is one of the best things you can do to help prevent and control the spread of many illnesses – and good hand hygiene is a key contributor to helping us all stay healthy. As a matter of fact, the CDC believes that handwashing is so important that they refer to it as a “do-it-yourself vaccine”!

Regular handwashing is a quick and simple activity which can help us all to remove germs from our hands, and therefore prevent the spread of these germs to others (including back to ourselves) which could potentially result in illness. As the CDC states, “Handwashing is a win for everyone – except the germs”!

Hand Hygiene Is as Easy as 1-2-3

1. Wash hands with soap and clean water
2. Dry hands with clean paper hand towels
3. Apply hand sanitizer

Keeping hands clean is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. It is best to wash your hands with soap and clean running water for 20 seconds.

Dry hands thoroughly, since wet hands can pick up and transfer more contamination than dry hands. Avoid contact with contaminated surfaces such as sink, faucet handles, towel dispenser cranks or levers that can result in cross-contamination.

Alcohol-based instant hand sanitizer should be viewed as an addition to hand washing and drying. Hands must be clean and free of grease and grime for instant hand sanitizer to work properly. Instant hand sanitizer can be used if there is no visible soil to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.

 When Should You Wash Your Hands?

• Before preparing or eating food
• After going to the restroom
• After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has gone to the restroom
• Before and after tending to someone who is sick
• After blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing
• After handling an animal or animal waste
• After handling garbage
• Before and after treating a cut or wound 

Handwashing for Health

With the understanding that handwashing is an important and beneficial contributor to public health, look to WAXIE for best-in-class handwashing platforms like WAXIE Select™ to help deliver hand hygiene solutions at your facility. The attractive WAXIE Select Dispensing Systems offer smart customer advantages such as durability, ease of servicing, and enhanced sustainability features.

Durability is a key feature of every dispenser within the WAXIE Select system. In addition to offering a new modern and sleek design, each WAXIE Select dispensing system is engineered to provide years of dependable, problem-free performance. Maintaining the system is easy, due to expanded view windows, clear refill bottles, and bright, bold soap colors which allow at-a-glance monitoring of content levels so you know when to change the refill.

Whether you choose a manual, no-touch, or our new no-touch system, your facilities team will appreciate the advanced features that make maintenance a breeze. The no-touch WAXIE Select™ NRG™ dispensing systems are powered by energy that’s right on the refill (a coin cell battery that’s integrated into each refill). Imagine never having to change out batteries because they are included on every refill! WAXIE Select NRG dispensing systems represent a 68% reduction in battery waste when compared to leading touch-free systems on the market.

Enhanced sustainability features include SMART-FLEX refill bottles which are constructed of rugged PET material and use 30% less material than rigid HDPE bottles. Once it is time to replace the soap refill, remove the pump and the bottle is easily recyclable. Patented technology is built into the WAXIE Select dispensing system which results in optimal energy use and no battery changes in most installations. Each of the refills (with the exception of the antimicrobial soap) are certified by UL ECOLOGO based on reduced impact on human health and the environment – and many are certified biobased by the USDA BioPreferred program.

Finally, the WAXIE Select formulations are aesthetically appealing, soothing to the touch and nourishing to the skin. Moisturizers, natural extracts and skin conditioners are added for a premium handwashing experience. The WAXIE Select portfolio offers aromatic botanical scents, as well as fragrance-free, dye-free and green certified formulations. Additionally, our WAXIE Select Boost™ Foam Handwashes with CLEAN RELEASE™ Technology enhance soap performance, reaching deeper into skin’s cracks and crevices to gently remove more dirt and germs than regular soap. Studies have shown that CLEAN RELEASE technology removes 30% more dirt than regular soap and is preferred by 95% of users compared to other foam handwashes.

In short, WAXIE Select Foam Handwashing Systems encourage people to wash their hands – and clean hands are good for everyone!

Keith Schneringer is WAXIE’s Director of Channel Marketing + Sustainability. He is a LEED AP O+M and CIMS-GB ISSA Certification Expert who has been a consultant on a variety of LEED and CIMS-GB projects, and has presented to audiences at USGBC, BOMA, IFMA and CHESC events (among others). He enjoys learning and sharing information on topics related to sustainability and green cleaning and can be found on Twitter @kschneringer.