Simple Handwashing Rules for the Flu Season

How to Wash Your Hands

Handwashing Brochure (.pdf, 2 pages, 309 kb)
Handwashing Poster (.pdf, 1 page, 181 kb)
Coloring Book (.pdf,  12 pages, 1.7 mb)

As simple as handwashing may seem to many of us, good handwashing technique is essential. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to properly wash your hands you should:

• Use warm running water and a mild liquid soap.  
           
• Wet your hands and apply a small amount of soap to your hands.  
           
• Rub your hands together until soapy lather appears. Wash for at least 15 seconds, making sure to scrub between your fingers and under your fingernails.   
          
• Rinse your hands under warm running water.   
          
• Dry your hands with a disposable or single-use towel.       
  
• When assisting a child, be sure that his or her hands can reach the running water. Help the child perform the steps listed above, then wash and dry your own hands.

Food Preparation

Care should also be taken to make sure that disease isn't spread through food preparation. One of the simplest ways to do this is to wash your hands prior to preparing food, and make sure that you wash the food as well.