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Hand Sanitizers vs. Hand Washing – Which is More Effective?

There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to the use of hand sanitizers and hand washing. However, what if someone tells you that these hand sanitizers are not as good as they are advertised to be as far as cleaning your hands and keeping your facility healthy are concerned?

Commercial cleaning service providers in Dallas help create the healthiest and cleanest workplace environments possible for their clients. And if you will ask the experts, there are a lot of things that you should know first when it comes to hand sanitizers.

The Problem with Hand Sanitizers

For the longest time, alcohol-based handwash disinfectants are the common go-to solutions for hospitals as well as other healthcare facilities for controlling the spread of different infections like Enterococcus faecium (E. faecium) and Staphylococcus aureus or staph infection.

Most hospitals across the globe have also started to install hand sanitizer dispensers for their staff members, patients, and visitors to use to lessen the spread of drug-resistant bacteria and infections. While hand sanitizers worked for the two infections mentioned, they actually increased some other forms of infections.

Specifically, the enterococcal infections or those infections that were brought about by bacteria affecting the bladder, digestive tract, heart, and other body parts, started to increase. Internationally, enterococci make up 10% of hospital-acquired bacterial infections. These are also the main cause of the fatal blood infection sepsis in Europe and North America.

Different Types of Ingredients in Hand Sanitizers and Their Specific Roles and Purposes

The alcohol content of hand sanitizer must be at least 60% for it to be considered as effective. There are also hand sanitizers that use ethyl or isopropyl alcohol as the primary antiseptic ingredient. Certain products also include a maximum hand sanitizer alcohol content level of 95%.

Once alcohol-based hand sanitizers come into close contact with bacteria and germs on your hands’ surface, the alcohol will render them inactive or kill them on contact. But, even if such kinds of hand sanitizer ingredients can lessen the number of microbes, these don’t eliminate all kinds of germs.

It has been reported that some enteroccoci bacteria strains have already developed better tolerance to alcohol-based hand sanitizers. The alcohol-tolerant E. faecium was able to resist the standard 70% isopropanol surface disinfection that resulted to greater mouse gut colonization than alcohol-sensitive E. faecium since the strain tolerant to alcohol has acquired mutations in the genes that are involved in metabolism and carbohydrate uptake.

Hand Washing is Still a Better Option

Hand washing is and will always be a critical aspect of hygiene and health. Experts advise that you need to wash your hands using running water and plain soap. This is among the most important steps that you can take to prevent getting sick and to stop the spread of infections to others. If no water and soap is available, it is highly recommended to use alcohol-based hand sanitizers containing at least 60% alcohol.

Courtesy Building Services Inc. values the health of both employees and customers. The team cleans to disinfect every space and keeps them looking good and pleasing to the eyes.