Washing your hands is one of the most important things you can do to keep yourself healthy. How can you be sure you’re doing it correctly to obtain the most effective disease-prevention results? The team at HealthSmartVaccines in Chantilly, VA is here to walk you through the CDC-recommended process, a simple five-step technique to ensure maximum germ elimination.

Here are the CDC’s guidelines for effective hand-washing to protect yourself and others from illness:

1. Wet: Begin by wetting your hands in clean water—either warm or cold water will do. Then apply soap to your wet hands. It’s important to note that if you do not have clean water and soap available to you, alcohol-based hand sanitizer is the next best option, though it is not able to eliminate all types of germs.
2. Lather: Once you’ve soaped up your hands, thoroughly lather all areas of your hands, including the areas between your fingers and under your fingernails.
3. Scrub: Scrub your lathered hands together—the CDC recommends that you spend at least 20 seconds on this step. If you need help keeping time, sing “happy birthday” to yourself twice.
4. Rinse: When you’ve scrubbed your hands for the proper amount of time, it’s time to rinse off under clean, running water.
5. Dry: Last but not least, dry off your hands beneath an air dryer or with a clean paper towel.

HealthSmartVaccines is Fairfax County’s go-to destination for vaccinations and immunizations, from routine flu shots to travel vaccines, as well as travel insurance and TB testing. To learn more about their health essentials, call (703) 961-0733 or visit their website.