Lather Up for National Handwashing Awareness Week

This year, National Handwashing Awareness Week, December 5-11, comes at a time when more people are returning to their offices, children are back in school, and people are out and about in preparation for the holidays.

All these factors can facilitate the spread not only of COVID-19, but also the flu, norovirus, and other infectious pathogens. Proper handwashing can help keep these germs at bay.

Cintas Corp offers several handwashing tips you can share with your cleaning staff and facility residents to help protect people from germs this winter:

• Promote healthy hand hygiene by placing signage in restroom and kitchen areas encouraging patrons to wash with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Offer hand sanitizer throughout the facility at entrances, restrooms, common areas, and cafeterias. Choose hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol and avoid sanitizers on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) “bad sanitizer” list.
• Ensure your facility is stocked with an ample amount of hand hygiene products, toilet tissue, trash bags, cleaning chemicals, and microfiber cleaning tools to keep up with the increased amount of cleaning required. Provide disposable wipes and encourage employees to clean their workspaces and cell phones regularly.
• Clean common touchpoints such as door handles, elevator buttons, light switches, phones, and stair rails at least once per day or as often as determined necessary.
• Deep clean restrooms on a routine basis using high-pressure to remove build-up of soil and bacteria and to help prevent cross-contamination.

Watch CMM’s hand hygiene webinar for more information on the importance of proper handwashing.