How to use hand sanitizer correctly

Hand sanitizer is the easiest habit in the house and the most often done wrong. Too little, wiped off too soon, or used on hands that needed a sink. Here is how to get the full 99.99% out of every pump.

Why it matters

Germs get onto hands from everything we touch: the cart handle, the keyboard, the door, the phone. Cleaning hands at key times is one of the most important steps to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to the people around you. When soap and water are not available, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol is the CDC's recommended substitute, and it is the reason a PURELL bottle stands at the entrance of hospitals, schools and restaurants.

Alcohol works by breaking down the outer layer of bacteria and many viruses on contact. It is fast, it needs no water and it leaves nothing behind, but it only works while the hands are wet with it, which is why the amount and the time are the two things to get right.

How it works, in three steps

• Apply the gel, foam or spray to the palm of one hand; read the label for the amount, and when in doubt use more.

• Cover all surfaces of both hands: palms, backs, between the fingers, around the thumbs, under the nails and around rings.

• Rub until the hands are dry. That should take about 20 seconds. If they are dry in ten, there was not enough product.

The dos

• Put enough sanitizer on your hands to cover all surfaces; a dime-sized drop is not enough.

• Use a product with at least 60% alcohol; PURELL Advanced is 70% ethyl alcohol.

• Supervise young children. Hand sanitizer is for the outside of hands, not for swallowing; keep it out of reach between uses.

• Keep a bottle at the first stop, the place you pass on the way in, so the habit forms itself.

The don'ts

• Do not rinse or wipe off the sanitizer before it dries; it may not work well against germs if you do.

• Do not use sanitizer on visibly dirty or greasy hands, after gardening, fishing, camping or a ball game. Wash with soap and water first if you can.

• Do not count on it to remove chemicals, pesticides or heavy metals; sanitizer does not get rid of all types of germs or any chemicals.

• Do not store it in a hot car for the summer; alcohol evaporates and the formula weakens.

Which PURELL format for which moment

The pump bottle on the counter is for the household and the desk; the gel needs a few seconds more rubbing and gives a controlled dose. Foam spreads thin, dries fast and is what the dispensers in a lobby use. The spray covers both hands in a fine mist and is the format people keep in a purse or a car door. Wipes do what the others cannot: remove dirt and sticky residue while the alcohol formula kills germs, so they are the answer at the picnic table and the playground. Keep two formats: one at the station by the door and one in the bag.