While we all want to take advantage of warmer weather by heading outdoors to swim or have family picnics, it’s important to be mindful of proper hygiene practices to stay healthy and happy this summer.
Tork Green Hygiene Council™ member Donna Duberg offered proper hand hygiene and food safety tips that could help you prevent unwanted illness.
Share Fun, Not Your Towel
Swimming is a refreshing summertime activity, but it’s important that each member of your family be given their own bathing towel. Wet towels harbor germs and exchanging them among each other can spread unwanted bacteria. Give your kids their own special summer towel in a design they love so they can easily distinguish which towel belongs to them.
Don’t Let Your Picnic Turn Sour
Picnics are one of the most popular summer perks, but warmer weather allows bacteria to grow more easily on food. The CDC indicates that one in six people will suffer from a foodborne illness. To protect against this, make sure you carefully handle food and minimize contaminants. Keep the following tips in mind:
- Before eating or cooking, thoroughly clean all surface areas before placing food on them
- Place all raw meat in foil and store it away from any ready-to-eat items
- Sufficiently cook all meat. According to the CDC, cooking meat to 160 degrees Fahrenheit can help kill harmful bacteria
- If you’re heading to an area that doesn’t have handwashing stations, bring antibacterial hand sanitizer
- Sufficiently cover all food and eating utensils to protect from insects that carry harmful bacteria
- Stock your picnic with plenty of reusable recycled paper napkins, plates and cups to limit the spread of bacteria
Stay On the Road to Healthy Living
If you’re planning a family trip this summer, be sure to keep hygiene top of mind when visiting washrooms along your route. Germs can be found anywhere from rest stops to hot dog stands to airport restrooms. When washing your hands in a facility that contains recycled paper towels, you can also use the paper towel to open door handles and keep your newly clean hands as germfree as possible. If you visit a washroom with a hot air dryer, make sure to dry your hands thoroughly. According to the Tork® Report: Healthy People Healthy Planet™, only 56 percent of hot air dryer users keep their hands under the dryer until they are completely dry. Failure to dry hands properly is a dangerous habit, as wet hands transfer 500 times more germs than dry hands.
Beware of Bacteria at Food Fests
Summer food fests can be lots of fun, but when large crowds are involved hygiene protection becomes more difficult. Consistently wash your hands or use hand sanitizer before you take a bite out of your favorite snack to keep food fests enjoyable. With food and money rapidly changing hands throughout the gathering, you could be faced with an excess of germs that may make you sick.
Take a trip to the nearest handwashing station or restroom to thoroughly wash and dry your hands to make the most of your outdoor social experience.
For more hygiene tips download the Tork® Report: Healthy People Healthy Planet™, where you can find the latest in hand hygiene perceptions.
