The Importance of Handwashing

Soap doesn’t kill germs on our hands, it removes them.

As this pandemic continues to rattle our lives at work, home, and in between, we must help to keep each other safe. 

Mobile fleet workers, especially delivery drivers who are entering buildings and meeting people, are at risk of not only gathering germs from different places themselves, but also spreading them. Hand sanitizer most definitely helps between stops, but might not stop all germs. 

Even hand sanitizers containing 60% alcohol can’t remove all types of germs, and may only reduce the growth of germs. Studies have found that hand washing is more effective than hand sanitizers at removing norovirus, for example.

Hand-washing can reduce the risk of respiratory infections by 16%, which may have a direct link with helping to protect yourself from the ominous coronavirus as we know it. The detergent effect of soap and the friction of washing work together to reduce the number of microbes on our hands. (see sources at end of article)

How does soap fight a virus?

1) Viruses are “self-assembled nano-particles” in which the weakest link is the fatty bilayer.

2) The soap contains fat-like substances which loosens the “glue” between the
virus and the skin. Soap dissolves the fat membrane and the virus becomes inactive on our skin.

It seems a no-brainer to try to use soap and water as much as possible over sanitizer, but the issue as a mobile worker is not always having access to running water throughout your day. 

ENTER, the ShoulderSink. This all-in-one Mobile Handwashing Unit is portable, convenient, compact, and most of all - easy to use.