Global Handwashing Day is celebrated on October 15, an annual reminder of the importance of handwashing and hand sanitizing. In honor of Global Handwashing Day, we’ve partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation and Staples to collaboratively improve the health of our communities, through improved hand hygiene education.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Life is Better with Clean Hands Campaign
The Life is Better with Clean Hands campaign is designed to promote proper hand hygiene in community settings. The campaign’s educational materials aim to motivate adults to make clean hands part of their daily lives and encourages parents and caregivers to be hand hygiene role models for the children in their lives.
Just in time for Global Handwashing Day on October 15, campaign materials are available in English and Spanish, including posters, social media graphics, web banners and stickers.
The campaign Life is Better with Clean Hands aims to:
- Motivate adults to wash hands during key times to help protect them, their children, and other loved ones.
- Help adults feel confident that they can overcome obstacles to handwashing.
- Remind adults of the importance of washing hands after using the bathroom and while preparing food.
- Encourage parents to be handwashing role models for their children.
- Encourage parents to teach their children how and when to wash their hands.
Keeping hands clean with soap and water is one of most important things everyone can do to stay healthy.
Follow these five steps every time:
- Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.
- Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
- Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice.
- Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
- Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.
If soap and water aren’t convenient, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol, like PURELL® Advanced Hand Sanitizer.
The entire hand sanitizing process should take approximately 15 seconds:
- Apply a dime-sized amount of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer in the palm of your hand, enough to cover all surfaces of your hands.
- Rub the sanitizer into the palms of your hands, fingers, back and front of hands and thumbs.
- Continue rubbing hands together until they are dry.
For more information and resources about the Life is Better with Clean Hands campaign, visit cdc.gov/handwashing/. #KeepHandsClean