According to the Healthy Handwashing Survey conducted by Bradley Company, Americans implement hand washing on an “as needed basis.” Case in point, 74 percent wash their hands more frequently or more thoroughly in response to seasonal virus outbreaks and 54 percent increase their hand washing activity when they’re sick.

In addition, 77 percent make it a point to wash up when on a road trip or in an airport and 67 percent wash more when they have travel coming up.

Public restroom usage is another handwashing occasion. Respondents said they suds up 89 percent of the time after using a public facility. The majority of those who skipped the cleansing step cited a lack of soap or paper towels while others claimed nonworking sinks hampered their efforts. Interestingly, 29 percent of men said they didn’t feel the need to wash their hands after using a public restroom.

“Regular hand washing throughout the day helps remove germs and viruses that can cause sickness,” says medical microbiologist Michael P. McCann, Ph.D., professor and chair of biology, Saint Joseph's University. “Hand hygiene is a simple and easy thing to do and shouldn’t be overlooked.”

As expected, handwashing diligence hit all-time highs in 2020 and 2021 as COVID-19 was spreading. Since then, the frequency has gone back to pre-pandemic times. Specifically, in the spring of 2020, Americans were washing their hands an average of 10.5 times per day compared to an average of six times a day prior to Covid.

“No matter the season and no matter what’s circulating, handwashing should be top-of-mind every single day,” says Jon Dommisse, vice president of marketing and corporate communication for Bradley. “It’s especially important for parents to get their children into the life-long habit of washing their hands before and after eating, after using the bathroom, after sneezing and other times throughout the day.”

Public restrooms examined

The findings found it’s a mixed bag. While a good chunk of Americans (43 percent) believe the condition of public restrooms has improved over the past 15 years, 35 percent say they haven’t noticed any change one way or another.

On the bad news front, a majority (68 percent) report they’ve had a particularly unpleasant experience in a public restroom due to the facilities. The top complaints are clogged or unflushed toilets, an old, dirty or unkempt appearance and unpleasant smells.

To combat those negative issues, Americans would like restrooms to be cleaner and more well-stocked, have touchless fixtures throughout and offer a good supply of paper towels, even if there are hand dryers.

The annual Healthy Handwashing Survey from Bradley queried 1,003 American adults Jan. 4-9, 2024, about their hand washing habits, concerns about seasonal viruses and their use of public restrooms. Participants were from around the country and were fairly evenly split between women (51 percent) and men (48 percent). 1 percent of survey respondents selected other.