Improper handwashing can leave you susceptible to germs. As a way to bring some joy into the CDC guidelines, 17-year-old William Gibson created —which will allow you to "generate hand washing infographics based on your favorite song lyrics," according to the website. Shake off #happybirthdaysong that water or grab a new paper towel and dry your hands after scrubbing them to Taylor Swift.

We've done research on water temperature, and what we've discovered is that water temperature doesn't really matter in terms of effectiveness," says Donald Schaffner, PhD, who studies predictive food microbiology, hand-washing, and cross-contamination at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ.

1. Refrain from washing new colored clothes or adding them with the rest of your laundry. If you do, then you know difficult it can be to get them to keep their hands clean. Hand washing is the single most important procedure for preventing nosocomial infections. Periodic washing throughout the day will keep whatever was on the escalator handrail or supermarket self-checkout machine from getting inside your body.

Next, apply either bar soap or liquid hand wash. The hands of medical personnel are constantly touching objects that can be sources of bacteria. If you look at these factors, on average you should be washing your hands at least 11 times a day (3 x before eating, 8 x after using the toilet).

Drying your hands properly is also important, Professor McLaws said. Interlace fingers and rub to clean edges of fingers. Wash hands for 20 seconds. Wash your hands when they are visibly dirty or after touching something that is visibly dirty, after going to the bathroom, and before preparing or eating food.

Whether it be the rapidly escalating corona pandemic or just any given winter, handwashing is one of the most effective ways to prevent the transmission of infections. We've seen it too and, frankly, as hand-washing is the easiest way to prevent the spread of illness and disease, we'd like to encourage the practice.