Follow-Up on Soap and Hand Sanitizer

Don Schaffner, a Rutgers professor who specializes in, well, exactly this sort of thing, refutes the notion that soap is more effective than hand sanitizer when it comes to combating the spread of coronavirus. It’s a good short Twitter thread, with several sources. Worth reading.

But the bottom line is this: we have two good tools for cleaning our hands, and we should all use both frequently. Wash your hands with soap and make frequent use of hand sanitizer.

Speaking of handwashing, after my post linking to the CDC saying it’s just as effective to use cold/cool water (and arguably better, because it causes less skin irritation when washing frequently), I’ve also started following their recommendation to turn off the water after initially wetting my hands. It’s very clear to me after just two days that doing so makes it far more natural to spend more time actually sudsing your hands up. When you leave the water running, it subconsciously puts you in a bit of a rush, because you know you’re wasting water.

★ Monday, 16 March 2020