ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

One hundred per cent of teenagers asked to take part in a simple hand washing test were found to have failed to wash their hands properly.

The 100 16-year-old boys and girls in the study all believed they knew the correct method of washing their hands. However, a UV light inspection afterwards confirmed the 100 per cent failure rate.

The survey was carried out by Ireland's Neylon Maintenance Services which provides hygiene services to hospitals and industry. The students taking part in the test were all from Presentation College in Athenry.

The study was part of a hand hygiene programme by Neylon designed to instill effective hand hygiene practices in students before they entered the workplace.

As well as failing the hand washing test, almost three-quarters of the students admitted to not washing their hands before eating lunch while two-thirds said they would not wash their hands after PE or sports activities.

Over half of the students admitted to not washing their hands after coughing, sneezing or blowing their nose. And 86 per cent failed to wash their hands after handling money.

Following the three-day programme, the majority of the students claimed to have changed their hand washing habits with 73 per cent washing their hands more frequently than they had before.

"Not enough can be said about the importance of cleanliness, proper hand washing and infection control," said Presentation College principal Gerry Doherty. "We were delighted to have this opportunity for our students to partake in this course. It is one of the most important programmes they have been involved in this year."