ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

A new UK survey reveals that a quarter of men and one in six women fail to wash their hands after going to the loo.

Two-thirds of those who do wash their hands scrub for less than 15 seconds, despite the fact that a minimum time of 20 seconds is recommended by experts. And the research - conducted by market research firm YouGov on behalf of WaterAid and the Scouts - revealed that 60 per cent of British adults are unlikely to dry their hands properly after washing them.

The survey of more than 2,000 adults also revealed that 19 per cent of adults routinely fail to wash their before preparing a meal, while a third of parents believe their young children may not be washing their hands after going to the toilet.

Busy lives also affected hand hygiene, with nearly 40 per cent admitting to failing to dry their hands properly when in a hurry. Around 60 per cent of people blamed ineffective hand dryers in public toilets for this practice.

WaterAid is reminding people of the importance of hand hygiene in ensuring good health. It is also calling for all hospitals and schools across the world to provide hand washing facilities with soap and water.

According to WaterAid's Om Prasad Gautam: ''Washing your hands at key points in your day, such as after going to the toilet and before eating food, can halve your risk of getting diarrhoea."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 80 per cent of common infectious diseases are spread by our hands. Scientists consider hand washing to be the simplest and most cost-effective way of protecting us against potentially fatal infections and diseases.