Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 17th October 2024 Issue no. 1134
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Survey finds end-of-Summer trips are preceded by extra handwashing
This ‘Labor Day’ as Americans took a final outing before Summer came to an end, research found that their advance prep included increased hand hygiene.
According to the Healthy Handwashing Survey from Bradley Corporation, 60% of adults make a conscious effort to wash their hands more before a planned trip. And, once they hit the road, 75% say they try to ‘suds-up’ whenever they stop. For those who are flying, 69% specifically visit airport washrooms to keep their hands clean and germ free.
"Our research shows that when people have travel plans or a special occasion coming up, they step up their handwashing regimen to make sure they stay healthy," says Jon Dommisse, vice president of marketing & strategy for Bradley Corp. "It's a smart move because handwashing is the simplest and easiest defence against sickness."
When traveling, public washrooms are imperative - especially since washing with soap and water is more effective than using hand sanitiser.
The Healthy Handwashing Survey found that Americans wash their hands 87% of the time after using a public washroom. If they do skip handwashing, it's typically because soap or paper towels weren't available or the sinks were dirty or not working.
"Thankfully, handwashing is a matter of course for a majority of adults,” adds Jon. “We found that almost 70% say they feel healthier or safer immediately after washing their hands and that's most likely because they know they're doing something to keep themselves healthy and well."
When using a public washroom, Americans take a variety of evasive measures to eliminate direct contact with germs or dirty surfaces… 62% say they typically grab a paper towel to avoid touching door handles, faucet handles and toilet flushers… 43% use their foot to flush the toilet and 31% hover above the toilet seat.
With so much effort going into evading germs, it's no wonder that 82% of adults believe it is important to have touchless fixtures in a public washroom!
In fact, half of Americans say they would feel safer from germs in public washrooms if they were equipped with touch-free technology. As for the most desired restroom improvements, having touchless fixtures is once again among the top requests, along with keeping washrooms cleaner and better stocked, and always providing paper towels, even if there are hand dryers.
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