Soap VS Hand Sanitizer

Back again with us, fellow Germ-Buster! Time sure flies.....Tomorrow is New Years guys! I'm so excited! I hope in 2017 everything will be fine for all of us. Today we will talk about whos's cleaner: soap or hand sanitizer? Curious? Then let's get started!

Thanks to media coverage following the outbreak of H1N1 and other pandemics in recent years, the public has finally caught on that regular hand hygiene is essential to helping prevent the spread of germs. People are washing their hands more frequently and hand sanitizers are populating buildings more quickly than ever before.

But, despite this increased awareness, misinformation still exists about the difference between soaps and hand sanitizers, as well as how and when to use them. Simply stated, soaps clean hands, sanitizers do not.

"The difference between soap and sanitizer is soap removes soil from your hands," says Dave Smetzer, sales manager for Capital Sanitary in Des Monies, Iowa. "In the process of cleaning your hands, you wash away the soils and germs."

Ronnie Kent, president of Associated Paper in Conyers, Ga., agrees that soap's primary function is to clean hands and also remove germs.

"Every time you touch a doorknob, a phone or pen, you're getting germs on your hands," he says. "Washing your hands will get rid of those germs — germs that you can even pass on to yourself when you touch your face or nose."

Sanitizer is equally effective at killing germs, but it will not remove dirt from hands.

"Hand sanitizers aren't necessarily a cleaner," notes Bill Egerton, director of marketing for Birsch Industries in Virginia Beach, Va. "They won't get grease off your hands, but they will kill bacteria on your skin. There's nothing wrong with washing your hands with traditional soap. If you wash your hands properly, you'll get the bacteria off your skin."

Nevertheless, distributors encourage custodial managers to offer both soaps and sanitizers in their facilities. Although sanitizers are not a substitute for handwashing, they can serve as a backup to remove germs in the absence of water or when it is inconvenient to visit a restroom.

When you want to disinfect your hands fast, you may reach for a bottle of hand sanitizer. But how effective is hand sanitizer compared to washing your hands with soap and water?Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can be used "in addition to" hand washing, but should not be used as a substitute for washing with soap and water.

While alcohol-based hand sanitizers (particularly those with 60 percent alcohol or more) can reduce the number of some germs, a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that hand sanitizer doesn't reduce the spread of some viruses such as the norovirus.

University of Maryland, a world leader in food safety and microbiology did a small, informal test in which we basically washed their hands until raw.

The Experiment

That's right. They deliberately put E. coli bacteria on their hands to see which products would wash it off. The E. coli we used for our experiment was a harmless strain, not the deadly E. coli 0-157.

After each test, they swabbed their hands to see if there was any bacteria left that would transfer to these special incubation plates.

First, hand sanitizers. One with alcohol as the active ingredient, versus another that was alcohol-free. The key with hand sanitizers is to use at least a half a teaspoon or enough that it takes 15 to 20 seconds before it's dry.

Next, we tried out some soaps. A recent British study showed using soap instead of water alone killed three times as many germs. They pitted regular bar soap against antibacterial bar soap, and regular liquid soap against antibacterial liquid soap.

Each time they washed, they counted out the full 20 seconds the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends -- except once, when they tried another popular timing technique: singing. They sang our ABCs while we scrubbed, which experts say ensures you wash for at least 20 seconds.

E. coli. Wash. Rinse. Dry. Swab. They repeated the process again and again until their hands were chafed. Research shows that most people only dash their hands underwater for about five seconds, if they wash at all.

When she kept track, graduate student Caroline Rocourt was surprised at how long 20 seconds is.

"It's kind of hard to admit," Rocourt said. Wenting Ju, another grad student, said he'd like change his ways -- and at least wash for 10 seconds.

The Results

They came back to the University of Maryland three days later, after Their samples had incubated.

They looked for white dots where E. coli colonies had grown on the incubation plates. The fewer the better. The first thing they noticed is that alcohol-based hand sanitizer clearly works the best.

In fact, the CDC says you should use a hand sanitizer containing at least 60 percent alcohol.

As for soap, the antibacterial soap worked only slightly better than the regular soap.

The Food and Drug Administration recommends using only regular soap because of worries that germs will develop resistance, and people will develop laziness from high-tech soap.

"Based on the results that we got, it's really not necessary to use antimicrobials in the products. You can see some difference, but it's really not significant," Meng said. The difference between the amount of E. coli left by regular liquid soap and antibacterial liquid soap was even smaller almost undetectable.

The bottom line on hand washing: Technique is more important than technology.

The E. coli we used for their experiment was a harmless strain, not the deadly E. coli 0-157 bacteria. Swine flu is a virus, but the advice is the same: Alcohol kills viruses and soap -- any soap -- used well, washes them off.

When to Use Which

Experts say washing with soap and water is first choice, especially if you have visible dirt on your hands. Sanitizer can't cut through that grime. Hand sanitizer is great for when you can't get to soap and water, and it's actually more effective at eliminating germs because it kills them rather than just removing them.

You should supervise young children when they use alcohol-based hand sanitizer, but poison control centers tell us it tastes so terrible that kids don't usually eat much and don't suffer any ill effects.

Based on facts up there, the winner is soap! Soap is still no. 1 choice in the method of washing your hands. Hand sanitizer is just a substitution if you there's no clean water and soap nearby. Well thank you for today and see you on our next topic! Remember, Be Aware, Wash With Care. Bye-bye and Happy New Years 2017. Wish you all the best!

Sources: http://www.cleanlink.com/hs/article/Soap-vs-Sanitizer-Whats-The-Difference--13514, http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/ConsumerNews/washing-hands-soap-hand-sanitizer/story?id=8941662, http://www.eatright.org/resource/homefoodsafety/four-steps/wash/which-is-best-hand-sanitizer-or-soap-and-water