You’d think that after living through a pandemic, we’d all be experts in washing our hands, but new research reveals a lot of us could use a refresher. The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases has just come out with their 2025 State of Handwashing Report, and let’s just say there’s a lot of room for improvement.
“We have been talking about handwashing probably back to the days when all of us were in preschool or even kindergarten,” said Dr. Robert Hopkins, the foundation’s medical director. “I would have hoped that we would think of that as a core way of keeping ourselves healthy regardless of our other health behaviors.”
According to their survey of nearly 36-hundred U.S. adults, out just in time for World Hand Hygiene Day:
- A third (33%) do wash their hands now more than they did during the pandemic.
- Almost half (48%) forget or choose not to wash their hands in key situations, like after grocery shopping, going to a restaurant, or after visiting a doctor’s office or hospital.
- But most people know how to do it right, with 62% correctly answering that washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds is the most effective method for reducing germs.
- That leaves 13% who thought less time is enough and 24% who thought it took more time.
- People are most likely to wash their hands after using the bathroom (69%), handling food (48%) and handling human or pet waste (39%).
- But only 30% are most likely to wash up after sneezing or coughing, “which is concerning given how easily respiratory diseases like flu can spread,” the report notes.
- So, why are nearly half of adults not washing their hands at important times? The top reason is forgetting (31%), but one in five (20%) actively choose not to.
- Some think the practice isn’t important or necessary (8%), while others say they didn’t have time (5%) or didn’t want to dry out their hands (7%).