How many times per day do you wash your hands ?

I’ll start.

I lost count [ I usually wash my hands often ]

Per day? Don’t you mean per week? Surely no one washes their hands multiple times per day.

I wash my hands first thing in the morning, after that whenever I feel that it is dirty or before I eat.

Quite often, but variable as well.

I work in a machine shop, and I get my hands pretty nasty at least a few times a day. If nothing else, when I am at work it is best for me to wash my hands before using the bathroom. (I think they would frown on me washing my dick in the sink afterwards, so it’s better for all concerned to wash beforehand.) And when I am not at work, I have hobbies that can sometimes be almost as messy, That said, there are some days where I only wash them once or twice.

@Poser I take it that you work a white collar job, never cook, and never use the toilet?

Sometimes my sarcasm isn’t very sarcasm-y. Sorry.

@Poser You got a smile from me
I wash mine as often as I go in the kitchen to prepare food plus every time I visit the bathroom.

Way too many, apparently. I give myself eczema because of it. :(

When I need to. After I use the restroom. When my hands get dirty.

I use common sense. My average is about three times. But, I must also include the use of a hand sanitizer at least four times a day.

I am not a germ freak, but being a police officer for 44 years, you learn to keep the germs at bay with hand cleaner.

@john65pennington Yeah, you’ve probably had your hands in worse places than I ever have.

I don’t really pay attention to how many times I wash my hands. I wash them after using the bathroom, and before handling food. While cooking, if I’m touching raw meat.

@augustlan – I hear ya, sister. When I was working in fast food, I washed my hands about a million times a day (this was before the introduction of plastic gloves for handling food). I had such bad eczema on my hands that I didn’t even want anyone to see them.

Not as often as Mr. Monk does.

And it’s variable. Right now we got a serious enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) outbreak in Germany (which might be triggered by cucumbers from Spain). I’m following the official advice.

@jp using hand cleaner is a substitute for washing hands ^^

Everytime I go to the bathroom, do work outside, play outside, clean the house, etc…

I’d say on average: 6 – 8 times / day.

I have mild germaphobia.

To many to count, plus the use of hand sanitizer.

Every time I use the bathroom, before handling medical supplies that need to be kept clean, and if they feel dirty. I often get this odd feeling of dirty hands after being in public; I used to get it strongly after a day of highschool, dunno if that’s psychological or what. All in all, probably about ten times a day. I’m allergic to isopropyl alcohol so I can’t use most hand sanitizers. Soap and water is better anyway: C. Difficile is resistant to hand sanitizer, but not good old fashioned soap and water.

At least 10 times per day. Far more often if I’m working, and other factors may increase that. I definitely would say 10 times per day minimum.

Not that often. I’m not a clean freak. I don’t wash my hands when I pee at home, only if I use the bathroom at work or another public restroom. Poop, yes I wash them then. Excessive washing to me seems not only unnecessary, but it makes the skin on my hands dry which has been a big problem through the winter but will improve over the next few months. I believe we are to obsessive about being clean and are therefore depleting ourselves of good bacteria as well as bad. Maybe if I got sick more than once a year I’d get more obsessed….but probably not.

A fair amount. I always wash my hands after going to the bathroom, I usually wash them before eating or after cleaning something (I’m often cleaning in this house with several less-than-tidy roommates). I couldn’t really estimate a number, but it’s more than certain people I know… :\

In retrospect, 10 might have been an inadequate estimate. I started counting, and in the hour since I last answered… I’ve washed my hands 6 times.

Before and after preparing food, before fiddling with my contacts, after going to the bathroom, and every time I blow my nose or cough/sneeze into my hands.

After I go to the loo and before I cook and during cooking if I touch meat. Or if they are dirty.

@Mariah I get that ‘dirty hands from doing nothing, really’, too. A lot of my hand-washing is in response to that. I was never this way until I had my first baby. I got eczema the very first winter after she was born, and have been battling it ever since.

I wash them every time I pass the bathroom. I use hand sanitizer every time I walk into a room and whenever else I deem necessary.

Uncountable, since I have to young toddlers…. the things they do require extra washing in addion to the normal washing I usually do which is alot.

Handwashing is extremely important to good health so I want to not only want to stay healthy I want to teach my children good hygene.

Soooooo many times.. it’s just about being CLEAN

Since this question was asked I have actually been paying more attention. My original estimate was “at least 10 times” a day.

Now that I am actually trying to be more conscious of how often I do it.. the truth is much closer to 70–75 times per day.

Holy crap, @ANef_is_Enuf. I’m going to have to start counting, now.

@augustlan I was shocked. I knew that I washed my hands a lot, especially out of habit from working in the medical field…. but those counts were at home, not at work. I can still barely believe it.