Hand Hygiene: Does Rubbing Kill Germs? Effective Ways to Clean Hands

While friction from rubbing your hands together can help remove some germs and dirt, it is not an effective method for killing most bacteria and viruses.

To effectively kill germs, it is important to use soap and water to create a soapy lather over the entire surface of your hands for at least 20 seconds and then properly rinse or sanitize by covering all hand surfaces with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer and letting your hands air dry completely. Washing your hands with soap and water, or using hand sanitizer when soap and water aren't available, for the proper amount of time helps disrupts germs' membranes, causing germs to fall apart , thus effectively eliminating most. The mechanical action along with water and detergent work more effectively to physically remove microbes and soil and wash or rinse them down the drain.