women washing her hands with soap and water

Most Americans are doing a great job of following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for hand washing and say they will continue to do so after the the COVID-19 pandemic ends, according to the Healthy Hand Washing Survey conducted by Bradley Corporation.

Ninety percent of those surveyed say they are washing their hands more frequently or more thoroughly or longer than before and 78 percent are washing their hands six or more times a day. That’s compared to just 37 percent who washed up that often prior to the outbreak.

In addition, 77 percent are washing their hands for at least 20 seconds or longer, per CDC recommendations. Prior to the coronavirus, the majority of Americans were not washing their hands long enough. In fact, more than half estimated they previously washed for just five to 15 seconds.

It seems as if these healthy actions may continue since 88 percent of Americans believe they are extremely or somewhat likely to maintain their increased hand washing regimen once the virus has passed.

The Healthy Hand Washing Survey was conducted online from April 6 to 7 with a representative panel of 1,111 American adults and youth. Participants were from around the country, were 14 years and older, and were fairly evenly split between men and women at 49 and 51 percent, respectively.

 While Americans are taking action, they also are quite worried. Seventy percent say they are extremely or very concerned about contracting the coronavirus. Only 12 percent indicate they are not very or not at all concerned.

As expected, germ awareness is running high. Just under 90 percent of Americans are now more conscious of germs than before the pandemic. In fact, 91 percent say it’s extremely or somewhat important that public restrooms have touchless fixtures – presumably so they can avoid contact with potentially germ-ridden fixtures and surfaces.

“During these unprecedented times, hand washing and germ avoidance is top of mind for almost everyone,” says Jon Dommisse, director of strategy and corporate development for Bradley Corp. “The health benefits of hand washing can’t be emphasized enough, particularly during virus outbreaks like this. Hand washing is a simple, effective and inexpensive way to remove germs from our skin and help prevent a possible infection.”