Covid-19: is dishwashing liquid as effective for washing hands?
It’s no longer a secret: hand washing is the first barrier gesture to adopt to limit the spread of the coronavirus. In question ? Our hands touch doorknobs, bank card terminals, mobile phones and other objects potentially infected with the virus all day long. Problem: they also affect our face about 3,000 times a day, which facilitates contamination.
Water and soap are therefore the best weapons to protect yourself and others from the coronavirus. If you have run out of soap, you can use hydroalcoholic gel, because this product has bactericidal, virucidal and fungicidal properties, even if it does not clean itself. But is it possible to use dishwashing liquid if the soap has run out?
Dishwashing liquid is often unsuitable for the skin
Dishwashing liquid is a detergent, in other words a product that cleans and dissolves impurities. It has surfactant properties that help remove dirt. While dish soap is effective at getting rid of germs, it is not recommended that you use it too often for hand washing.
And for good reason: the pH of this product used for washing dishes is often unsuitable for the skin and tends to dry and weaken it. A phenomenon that can be counterproductive, because damaged skin is a fertile ground for the proliferation of bacteria.
Dishwashing liquid can therefore be used occasionally and as a troubleshooting aid for washing hands, but conventional soap should be preferred.
Coronavirus: the right steps to wash your hands
As a reminder, hand washing must be done meticulously to be effective. What to do ?
- rub their hands with soap and water for at least 30 seconds;
- clean area by area (palm, back of hands, interdigital spaces, fingers, wrists, etc.);
- rub their nails well and cut them – preferably short – regularly to prevent bacteria from settling there;
- dry your hands with a clean or single-use towel and use this towel to turn off the faucet.
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