Sanitation in daily life

Hygiene affects every part of our lives, whether we are conscious of it or not. All our interactions from shaking hands with someone to eating, will cause us to transfer bacteria. We can control the level of bacteria on our hands when we wash, yet we are constantly swapping and accumulating bacteria, both breathing it in and when we touch surfaces.

Working atmospheres and confined spaces like the washroom are ideal breeding grounds for bacteria. Bacteria thrive under the conditions found in the washroom - where it’s warm, moist and unclean. Their simple structure means that bacteria will multiply every 20 minutes. In just 8 hrs, you will have over 16 million bacteria. This means that even if a washroom is spotless in the morning, you may have a problem in the evening.

Many of these bacteria are pathogenic, which means they’re capable of spreading serious disease. The bacteria that cause illness are transient in nature, which means they are fantastic hitchhikers! We either inhale them or pick them up on our hands – this is called cross-contamination. The good news is that most bacteria are harmless. We have a strong immune system which in most cases can help prevent us getting ill. Even though there are already approximately 1000 bacteria on every square centimetre of our skin, there’s still plenty of room for transient bacteria to accumulate.

Washing your hands with soap and water can inhibit the growth of bacteria. Drying your hands is important as any moisture left on our hands acts like a magnet - drawing millions of bacteria onto our hands again.

Initial has been looking at the issues of hand care in the washrooms for the last 100 years and hopes to improve hand hygiene through providing the best products to wash, dry and care for proper sanitation.

Initial are involved globally in educating children in schools on the importance of good hygiene. In New Zealand, Initial Hygiene and members of the Foodsafe Partnership visit primary schools nationwide to teach children the importance of hand hygiene. As a member of the New Zealand Foodsafe Partnership, Initial, in the last two years have taken the lead to mobilize its branches nationwide on a campaign to educate and change hand hygiene behaviours.

“Good Hand Hygiene Practice should start at an early age,” says Geoff Polkinghorne, General Manager of Initial Hygiene, New Zealand. “By teaching children to wash and dry their hands, they can prevent the spread of diseases and viruses so it is vital that they start practicing this when they are young.”

We are striving to create better awareness of the need for sanitation protocol in our everyday lives, reducing illness and promoting good working practises.