Hand Soap Vs Hand Sanitizer

Washing hands is very important part of hygiene. With cold and flu season coming it is more important than ever to make sure that when we wash our hands that we do it the best we can. How we wash our hands can be debated by many people. Some people prefer hand soap and others prefer hand sanitizer. Is there really a difference between the two; are there good points and bad points? The answer is yes, there is a difference and there are the good and the bad with both.

Let’s start with hand soap; hand soap is available in either bar soap or hand soap pumps. Bar soaps will get your hands clean but in some instances it can leave dirt and grit on the soap. Then when others go to use the same soap the dirt and the grit left over can transfer to the other person. Hand soap from the pump is a bit cleaner than bar soap. The soap will get rid of dirt and bacteria after cooking, cleaning or just washing your hands before you eat dinner.

There are antibacterial soaps available that will help protect against the germs and dirt from everyday use. Hand Sanitizers are great products because they can help protect you from germs and bacteria when soap and water is not available. Hand Sanitizers like Purell or Dial kill 99.99% of all germs and bacteria.

When you are traveling and you are sitting on a train or airplane and you have to use the bathroom and so have hundreds of other people, you don’t want to know what is on the door handles or the faucets, so you wash your hands the best you can with what they have and they use your hand sanitizers to get rid of the bacteria that could be on the doors that you have to touch to leave the restroom.

With cold and flu season coming and more fear of the H1N1 flu, washing your hands is essential. This is a great way to protect yourself and others from germs and flu. The best way to protect yourself from cold, flu and other health conditions related to germs and bacteria is to use the combination of washing your hands with soap and water and then follow up with a hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizers are great for when you can’t get to a sink and soap and water is great for cleaning up dirt and germs.

The question, which is better, hand soap or hand sanitizer? For cleaning dirt and grime from your hands hand soap would do a better job but if you really want to just get rid of germs and bacteria when you can’t get to a sink then the hand sanitizer is best. You should carry the best hand sanitizers in your pocketbook or briefcase. You never know when you are going to need it. Purell and Dial are great hand sanitizers and they come in larger bottles and travel sizes too.