It’s National Handwashing Awareness Week.

Greene County Elementary School Nurse Mary Pedersen says handwashing is the number one way to prevent spreading germs to others. During this time of year, when colds and other illnesses are more prevalent, Pedersen recommends more frequent handwashing, even after sneezing and/or coughing.

She has several reminders to effectively wash your hands to kill any germs and keep everyone healthy. She says to always wash your hands with warm or hot water; wash your entire hands such as in between fingers and the back of your hands; and she recommends kids to sing the alphabet song in their minds as the recommended time length for effective handwashing. She points out a common mistake that everyone makes when washing their hands.

“They’ll put soap in their hand, then they’ll put their hands directly under the water right away and that basically washes off all of the soap before you can even scrub. So what I tell the kids at school is to put the soap in your hands, and then maybe take a little step away from the water and really scrub those hands so the water is not washing it all off. And then rinse your hands off after you sing those ABC’s in your head.”

Pedersen adds, use a paper towel to turn off the water so you don’t touch the knobs with your clean hands where germs may be.