How to Prove The Effectiveness of Hand Sanitizer

Hand sanitizers have become a familiar weapon in our battle against germs but there are those who argue that washing your hands, if done diligently and using the proper methods, can be as effective. Hand sanitizers are effective when water is unavailable and hands are dirty or contaminated. You can prove how effectively you or your family uses hand sanitizer by purchasing a hand washing training kit, which includes a small black light. Each kit comes in a powder or liquid form and is made from simple proteins that are colorless but show up under a black light.

Things You'll Need

• Germ Juice kit, Glo Germ kit or Glitter Bug kit
• Hand sanitizer

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Instructions

• 1

  Apply Germ Juice or similar product to your hands. Apply evenly. Allow to dry completely if using the liquid form.

• 2

  Apply hand sanitizer. Allow sanitizer to dry.

• 3

  Use the black light to determine how effective the hand sanitizer was at removing the liquid or powder "germs" from your hands. The black light will show how much was removed and if any was missed in the areas between the fingers or on the tops of the hands.

• 4

  Look for the areas on your hands that glow yellow under the black light. Any area that glows indicates the hand cleaning technique used with hand sanitizer was not properly followed. Hand sanitizer is effective against most germs, including the artificial kind found in Germ Juice, Germ Glo or Glitter Bug.

• 5

  Review hand cleaning techniques for use with hand sanitizer based on the CDC recommendations. Apply an adequate amount of sanitizer in the palm of the hand. Rub hands together. Rub the hand sanitizer all over the hands and fingers including between the fingers. Allow to dry before touching anything.