Public Restroom Hygiene Myths to Help Keep Holiday Shoppers Healthy
December 15 2017 - 8:03AM
Business Wire
Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) promotes restroom cleanliness
during the holidays to help keep shoppers healthy. Here are
eight common misconceptions about restroom cleanliness and
hygiene.
1.
It doesn’t matter how long I wash my
hands as long as I use soap – False
Evidence suggests you should scrub your
hands with soap for a minimum of 15-30 seconds to effectively
remove germs. However, many other countries and global
organizations have adopted recommendations to wash hands for 20
secondsi
2.
Hand sanitizers can replace washing
your hands with soap and water – False
Washing hands with soap and water is the
best and most effective way to reduce the number of microbes and
germs on hands. Although alcohol-based hand sanitizers can quickly
reduce the number of microbes on hands in some situations, they are
not as effective as soap and water when it comes to removing and
inactivating gastrointestinal illness-causing germs such as
Cryptosporidium, norovirus and Clostridium difficileii.
3.
The hotter the water used for
handwashing, the better – False
Studies show that water temperature does
not affect microbe removal. In fact, there is no research to prove
that higher temperatures improve handwashing at alliii.
4.
You don’t have to dry your hands after
washing them – False
Studies show that germs can be transferred
more easily to and from wet handsiv.
5.
Hand dryers are more hygienic than
paper towels – False
Research shows that paper towels can help
remove bacteria, unlike air dryers which can increase bacteria
counts. Paper towels are also less likely to contaminate other
restroom users as air dryers have also been shown to spread
bacteria between three and six feet from the device, increasing the
chances of cross contaminationv.
6.
Hand dryers work faster – False
Studies indicate it takes approximately 10
seconds to dry hands using a paper towel while air dryers require
40 seconds to achieve similar drynessvi.
7.
I need to squat, hover or use a seat
protector to stay safe from germs – False.
Contrary to popular belief, toilet seats are one of the most often
cleaned parts of a restroom.
8.
The stall furthest from the restroom
door is the least used and therefore the cleanest – False
People tend to skip the first stall in
favor of stalls farther back to have a little more privacy. Because
the first stall is used least often, it’s most likely the
cleanestvii.
Even if customers practice proper hand hygiene, it’s important
for facilities to plan for additional cleaning and disinfection
during winter months to keep restrooms clean.
For more information about Cintas’ solutions for facilities,
please visit http://www.cintas.com/facilityservices/.
About Cintas Corporation
Cintas Corporation helps more than one million businesses of all
types and sizes get READY™ to open their doors with
confidence every day by providing a wide range of products and
services that enhance our customers’ image and help keep their
facilities and employees clean, safe and looking their best. With
products and services including uniforms, mats, mops, restroom
supplies, first aid and safety products, fire extinguishers and
testing, and safety and compliance training, Cintas helps customers
get Ready for the Workday®. Headquartered in
Cincinnati, Cintas is a publicly held company traded over the
Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol CTAS and is a
component of both the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and
Nasdaq-100 Index.
i
https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/show-me-the-science-handwashing.htmlii
https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/show-me-the-science-hand-sanitizer.htmliii
http://jfoodprotection.org/doi/abs/10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-16-370?journalCode=food&code=fopr-siteiv
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3538484/v
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3538484/vi
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3538484/vii
https://www.sharecare.com/health/health-society/which-bathroom-stall-typically-cleanest
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171215005113/en/
Mulberry Marketing CommunicationsJennifer
Petersen312-664-1532jpetersen@mulberrymc.com
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