HYGIENE SURVEY

Home hygiene survey
Tan Teong Li



THE Hygiene Council, a global initiative supported by Dettol, recently revealed the following results in the annual Dettol Global Hygiene Survey.

The survey is based on interviews conducted with over 10,000 people from 10 countries about hygiene practices in the home and community.

• 70% of swabs and samples taken in Malaysia were highly contaminated. The dirtiest items were cloths – 100% were heavily contaminated.

• Malaysian homes had the most heavily contaminated sites (70%), with Indian homes coming in second (57%) and German homes (6%) being the least contaminated.

• Most Malaysians (47%) agree that hand washing is the most effective way to prevent the spread of germs. However, 31% said they spend less than 20 seconds in the process.

• Most Malaysians (71%) believe that the rubbish bin posed the highest risk of transmitting germs to family members.

According to the survey, which included 1,000 Malaysians, more people agreed that hand washing is the most effective way to prevent the spread of germs (47%), followed by disinfecting surfaces (29%), keeping animals out of homes (12%), avoiding kissing (7%) and disinfecting laundry (2%).

A large majority (80%) said that their children wash their hands before eating. However, when asked how long they spent doing it, 34% said five seconds and another 34% said 10 seconds.

Asian Hygiene Council chairman Dr Christopher Lee said: "The optimum time for washing hands is 20 seconds.

"Washing hands is the most inexpensive, simple and highly effective method for significantly preventing the spread of diseases."

The kitchen cloth is universally one of the most contaminated items in the home. Some 89% of kitchen cloths across the world have unsatisfactory levels of bacteria and 78% are heavily contaminated (it is 100% in Malaysia).

This means that when cleaning up, bacteria will be spread all over the kitchen – the opposite effect of cleaning.

Overall, Malaysia had the most contaminated homes in the study, followed by India.

Malaysia had the dirtiest bathroom taps, with 95% failing the standard and 75% being found to be heavily contaminated. Detailed results showed high levels of E. coli (on 50% samples).

"Greater emphasis needs to be placed on using simple, effective hygiene habits such as proper and regular hand washing and surface disinfection," said Catherine Tantoco, marketing director of Reckitt Benckiser (Malaysia and Singapore), the manufacturers of Dettol.

"The public should use disinfectant on frequently touched surfaces such as light switches, door handles, bins and toys.

"Dettol is committed to promoting good hygiene practices in the community not just through the quality of its products but also through public education initiatives.

"As a brand, we continue to be trusted by doctors and mothers because we are scientifically proven to kill germs and prevent the spread of infection," she added.

The work of the Asian Hygiene Council is supported by Dettol through an educational grant.

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