Is Killing Bacteria More Effective Using Water, Soap, or Hand Sanitizer?
An easy way to prevent yourself from contracting a disease is to get in the habit of washing your hands. Well, among ordinary soap, antibacterial soap, and hand sanitizer, which one is more effective at killing bacteria? Previously, first consider the explanation below.
Why is hand washing important?
Every day your body is exposed to dust, dirt and bacteria. All of these substances can cause disease when they enter the body, for example, stomach aches.
You need to know that the hands are an intermediary for bacteria and dirt to enter the body, either through the mouth or other parts of the body that are touched by the hands. Therefore, washing your hands regularly can prevent bacteria from accumulating on your hands.
Make no mistake, hand washing is not just simply wetting your hands with running water. You should also rub between your fingers, palms, and nails with soap for 20 seconds. Then, dry your wet hands with a tissue or towel. Apart from water and soap, you can also wash your hands with hand sanitizer.
Various ways to clean hands
There are many ways to wash your hands, whether you use water or not. These ways are:
- Wash your hands with running water
- Wash your hands with plain soap
- Wash your hands with antiseptic soap
- Wash your hands with a hand sanitizer (without water)
Like what is the effective way of washing hands that kills bacteria?
Washing your hands in any way is better than not washing your hands at all. But if you want to get rid of germs and bacteria completely, there are several ways that are more effective than others.
Come on, we compare it below.
1. Wash hands under running water
Most people, including yourself, probably wash their hands more often with only running water. This usually happens when soap is not available or you are in a hurry so the water only gets wet on your hands.
You need to know that running water can indeed clean the germs that stick to your hands, but only partially. If you don’t rub your fingers properly when washing your hands, you won’t get away with germs that stick to between your fingers or nails.
2. Wash your hands with plain soap
Regular soap is designed to reduce the surface tension of water so that dirt on the surface of the skin is easier to clean. In fact, regular soap is also effective for getting rid of bacteria. However, sometimes ordinary soap products are more formulated to get rid of odor on the hands, so they are not necessarily effective at killing bacteria.
Regular, scented soaps contain added perfume, which may dry out your skin. For babies and also people with sensitive skin, soaps that contain perfume should be avoided.
3. Wash hands with antiseptic soap
Antibacterial soaps are cleaning products that contain added antimicrobial ingredients, such as alcohol, benzalkonium chloride, and other antibacterial ingredients. This cleaning product is effective at killing bacteria so it is often used in hospitals, clinics, health centers, or other offices.
In addition to bacteria directly sticking to your hands, furry pets, such as cats or dogs, can also act as intermediaries for the transfer of germs to your body. The type of bacteria that sticks to pets doesn’t cause scabies, but it can make your skin itchy. Well, to fix this you can use this antibacterial soap.
4. Wash your hands using a hand sanitizer
Washing hands with soap and water is a priority. However, when water and soap are not available, that doesn’t mean you don’t need to wash your hands. It’s easy, by using hand sanitizer. This cleaning product is available in small packages that are easy to carry everywhere, for example, when traveling.
When you’re in the car and about to snack, you certainly won’t stop for a moment just to wash your hands, right? Well, this is the advantage of a hand sanitizer that is easy to use anytime and anywhere.
Content hand sanitizer can not remove grease or dirt as well as washing hands with soap. Unfortunately, not all types of germs can be eradicated by hand sanitizers. So, you better choose hand sanitizer about 60 percent alcohol-based ones.
Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
