Clean hands, it’s elementary

By Susan Tallant/editor-in-chief

Come on, guys; it’s time to come clean. You’re giving the others a dirty reputation.

You know who you are, the one-third who leave the porcelain and don’t take a few seconds to wash up.

Yes, one-third of men do not wash their hands after using the bathroom, according to a recent study sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology and the Soap and Detergent Association.

Yikes! I have probably shaken your hand … luckily, I am a freak about washing mine.

Nine out of 10 adults say they wash their hands after using public restrooms, but the research reveals a much different picture.

The study was conducted in four major cities—Atlanta, New York City, San Francisco and Chicago—by observing more than 6,000 adults in public restrooms (half male and half female) Aug. 17-25.

The observers were instructed to groom themselves, such as comb hair or put on make up, and rotate restrooms every hour to avoid counting repeat users more than once.

Here is the dirt:

The Braves might have lost two out of the three games played against the Diamondbacks during the study, but Atlanta’s Turner Field won first place for dirtiest guys hands down with only 57 percent of guys stepping up to the sink.

In defense of the Braves fans, some of the guys not washing up could have been from Arizona. Girls at the event were the big hitters with 95 percent washing hands.

San Francisco came in second with 62 percent of the men lathering up, followed by New York City at 79 percent and Chicago reporting 81 percent.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the single most important thing we can do to keep from getting infectious diseases and spreading them to others is to clean our hands.

All it takes is 20 seconds. Here’s how: Wet hands (before reaching for the soap). Lather (holding hands away from the water). Scrub for 15 seconds (don’t forget between fingers and under the nails). Rinse well under warm, running water. Dry hands thoroughly.

See how easy it is, guys? It kind of gives new meaning to Robert Fulghum’s All I ever needed to know, I learned in kindergarten theory.