Many skip post-toilet washing, study finds

Fewer than half of men washed their hands with soap and water after using public restrooms in New York City, a recent study by Hunter College students found. Twenty percent did not even run their hands under water.

Women’s hygiene was only slightly better: Sixty-six percent washed their hands with soap, the students found, with 7 percent leaving without even rinsing their hands.

The study by students enrolled in a basic research methods course at Hunter observed 2,341 individuals in restrooms in transportation centers, department stores, museums and a food court between March 29 and April 19. Only 323 of those observed were men, simply because most of the students taking the course were female, said Hunter College sociology Professor Peter Tuckel.

“Clearly, there is a gender gap,” Tuckel said.

The college students’ study is only the most recent of a long string of studies looking at hand-washing habits, with most reporting dismal results. The American Society of Microbiology reported in 2000 that a third of people it observed in restrooms left without washing their hands at all.

A more recent study by Wirthlin Worldwide of 7,451 people found that more than 30 percent of restroom users in New York City airports did not wash their hands, while in Toronto fewer than 5 percent neglected to do so. That study also found women far more likely to wash their hands than men, but it did not make a distinction between using only water and using soap and water, Tuckel said.