An example is better than words. When flu season had just started, Jaralee Metcalf, a behavioural specialist from Idaho Falls Elementary School experimented to show her students the importance of washing their hands properly. Currently, the whole world is following her example and her Facebook post has been shared virally.

Five slices of white bread (from the same loaf) were used in her experiment. The only difference is the cleanliness of the surface that came into contact with the slices of bread. The five slices of bread were placed in individual plastic bags. Observations were recorded over one month.

The first slice of bread which was rubbed on the Chromebook looked worse than all the other specimens.

The second piece of bread was a control piece, in which it was placed directly in the plastic bag and labelled “Fresh & untouched.” After one month, the second slice of bread still looked good as before.

The third piece of bread was touched by the students with their unwashed hands. One month later, this slice of bread was covered by a large number of moulds.

The fourth piece of bread was touched by the students who have washed their hands with warm water & soap. After one month, there are no obvious bacteria on it. This result intelligibly explained the importance of hand-washing.

The fifth slice of bread was touched by the students who have cleaned their hands with hand sanitizer. However, it turned out to have a lot of bacteria too. Therefore, this is a good example that hand sanitizer cannot replace proper hand-washing with soap. 

Hopefully, this article could help you realise the importance of proper hand-washing. Besides, it is not advisable to make your own hand sanitizer without clean water and medical-grade products. For more information, click here.