How Quickly Do Germs Spread in a Facility?

Some viruses and bacteria can survive on surfaces for 24 hours and others live for weeks !

These surviving germs can quickly spread throughout a building. In a study conducted by Dr. Charles Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona, a “racer” virus was planted on a single doorknob. It quickly spread throughout an office and ended up on 50% of the occupants’ hands and office surfaces.

No matter how thorough a cleaning crew may be, when faced with this type of rapid dissemination, people need to take defensive measures into their own hands. And facility maintenance needs to provide the proper supplies to enable occupants to do so.

Studies show a large majority of us do not properly wash our hands, however posting signage has been shown to be effective in increasing hand washing compliance.

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During flu season, we recommend filling soap dispensers with foam soap as it dispenses less product per activation yet effectively covers hands for efficient washing. People use less product, thus saving labor refill time and money.

Additionally, the World Health Organization recommends the use of paper towels for drying hands in an effort to reduce the spread of germs.

WHO: How to handwash? With soap and water

Video from World Health Organization

And where do hand sanitizers fit into the flu defensive plan? A study conducted at the University of Colorado promoted proper hand washing supplemented with increased accessibility to hand sanitizing gel in dorm rooms, restrooms and dining halls.

The result:

Upper Respiratory Illness (URI) decreased up to 39.9%
Total illness rate decreased 20%
43% less missed school/work days

Which is the best hand sanitizer? We recommend following the FDA’s recommendation of choosing a hand sanitizer with a concentration of between 60% to 95% ethanol or isopropanol for greatest germicidal efficacy.

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