With the expected increase in footfall this Summer, many businesses are thinking about the potential increase in revenue, but are they also thinking of the potential increase in germs from poor hand hygiene habits across the population?

Studies show that people do not wash their hands frequently or adequately enough; the average person washes their hands for around 9 seconds and only 16% wash their hands at the recommended time periods.

In addition, separate washroom studies from around the world show that only 78% of people wash their hands at all² which means that 1 in every 5 is walking around with unwashed hands.

It is known that enclosed environments, where people are working or interacting in close proximity with one another, whether in a workplace, public facility or leisure environment are at a higher risk of the spread of germs; in particular those who work in the hospitality industry who handle money and items such as glasses and crockery.

So, what can businesses in the leisure and hospitality sector do to highlight the importance of keeping hands clean?

Businesses can encourage good hand hygiene practice by providing easy-to-understand awareness materials such as posters, stickers for use in the washrooms, on floors, mirrors and doors. With modern day substrates, such as removable wall vinyls, stickers can be used and replaced without leaving any residue on walls, floors or mirrors.

Christine Mottershead, Marketing Director at Deb advises: “Businesses can work with their washroom services suppliers to create a communications campaign to educate staff and customers alike why they should keep their hands clean. Free downloadable posters are readily available from established suppliers to help promote good hand hygiene practices.”

Deb has launched a suite of new posters for a wide range of establishments, including leisure and hospitality, which are available to download free from the Local Information section of Deb’s website.