As the coronavirus (COVID-19) began to spread across Europe and the United States, the CDC and other public health organizations began to promote a simple yet extremely effective method of preventing infection: hand washing. Washing your hands with soap and water is something everyone knows they should do, especially after using the restroom and before meals, but far too many people are inconsistent about it and/or don’t know proper hand washing technique. So before we go further, here’s a guide to hand washing — all the hand soap in the world isn’t going to help if you don’t use it properly.
Hand Washing Instructions
- Rub palms together.
- Rub the back of both hands.
- Interlace fingers and rub hands together.
- Interlock fingers and rub the back of fingers of both hands.
- Rub thumb in a rotating manner followed by the area between index finger and thumb for both hands.
- Rub fingertips on palm for both hands.
- Rub both wrists in a rotating manner.
Why is washing with soap so important?
People tend to cover their mouth with their hands when they cough and sneeze, which can contaminate their hands with infectious respiratory droplets. Then they may come in contact with surfaces that others later touch, spreading the coronavirus. Since many people with COVID-19 don’t have symptoms for days or even weeks, it is important to behave as though you and others around you may be infected and wash your hands frequently with high-quality hand soap.
The COVID-19 virus has a fatty outer layer that resembles a crown, hence the name coronavirus. This fatty outer layer is easily damaged by scrubbing with hand soap, just as you would use dish soap and a sponge to remove grease from a cooking pan. Once this layer is broken, the virus can’t infect you anymore!
What kind of hand soap should I buy?
Any high-quality hand soap can help prevent you from being infected. Since COVID-19 is a virus, you don’t need antibacterial soap to kill it. However, if you are at high risk due to a chronic illness or disability, you may also want to reduce your risk of bacterial infections that can occur separately from or create life-threatening complications if contracted with COVID-19.
During the early days of the pandemic, it became very difficult to find soap, especially antibacterial hand soap, in grocery stores or online. So if you’ve been struggling to find it, we have a list of stores where you can buy hand soap right now.
Disclaimer: Pandemic Pal does not sell the products listed below, we are simply providing a service to make them easier to find. While the CDC recommends washing your hands with soap and water, we cannot guarantee the quality or effectiveness of any specific product or vendor. Therefore, we make no claims that any products listed on our site will mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose or cure any disease or health condition. This page contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Learn more.
Hand Soap In Stock
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eBay
Many people on eBay are selling homemade and commercial hand soaps, and shipping tends to be much faster than other websites.
Don’t see what you need on this list?
Walmart and Target
These stores have made significant progress in restocking and antibacterial hand soap is now available to buy again.
Amazon
Amazon has a variety of antibacterial liquid soap available.
Don’t see what you need on this list?
REI
The outdoor store REI has environmentally-friendly soap available.
Etsy
Buying from Etsy provides a great opportunity to support independent soap makers rather than large corporations.
Don’t see what you need on this list?
Other Stores
More places to buy antibacterial hand soap.
Photo by Jason Jarrach on Unsplash