Ideal Standard contributes to the cause with sustainable solutions to control water conservation through its world-class basin and mixer technology

Don’t Wash your hands off Global Handwashing Day

Global Handwashing Day, celebrated worldwide on October 15, is an opportunity to design, test, and replicate creative ways to encourage people to wash their hands with soap at critical times. The Day is designed to foster and support a global and local culture of handwashing with soap, shine a spotlight on the state of handwashing around the world and raise awareness about the benefits of handwashing with soap.

First held in 2008, when over 120 million children around the world washed their hands with soap in more than 70 countries, as on date over 200 million people are involved in marking the day in over 100 countries. Endorsed by different governments, international institutions, civil societies, NGOs, private companies, and individuals, the Global Handwashing Day theme for 2016 is Make Handwashing a Habit!

The day is used to spread the word about handwashing, build sinks and tippy taps, and demonstrate the simplicity and value of clean hands and emphasizes the importance of handwashing as a ritual behavior for long-term sustainability.

Handwashing is like a do-it-yourself vaccine — it involves five simple and effective steps (Wet, Lather, Scrub, Rinse, Dry) which will help reduce the spread of diarrheal and respiratory illness. It’s quick, it’s simple, and it’s a win-win situation for everyone, except the germs. Handwashing with soap may seem like a simple behavior, but it is rarely practiced globally. This is due both in part to lack of resources as well as it not being a habit.

Handwashing is one of the easiest and most important means of preventing germs from spreading. Washing hands with soap not only removes the harmful germs, but a small amount of the antibacterial ingredient helps control the further growth of bacteria. Handwashing is also primarily helpful in lowering the risks of intestinal diseases, prevention of eye infections and lowering the respiratory infections.

Some facts and figures on hand washing:

Handwashing stops the spread of germs.
Only one in five globally wash their hands after going to the toilet.
Handwashing with soap is one of the most effective ways to prevent cross-infection.
The average person’s hands carry at least 3,000 different bacteria.
It only takes 30 seconds to adequately wash your hands.

When it comes to hand washing, it is common to use taps while washing your hands. The average person washes the hands between six and nine times each day. Say it takes 2 minutes each time to wash, that’s 12-18 minutes at the sink each day just for hand washing. It takes barely any time to wet the hands under the faucet, but while scrubbing, 10 litres of water per minute is going unused down the drain.

So, approximately 10 litres per minute X 12 minutes = 120 litres of water per day or 10 litres per minute X 18 minutes = 180 litres of water per day is being wasted. By just turning off the faucet while scrubbing, anyone can save 120-180 litres of water every single day. That's 43,800 to 65,000 litres every single year!

In this direction, Ideal Standard, one of the leading providers of innovative bathroom solutions, offers the most sustainable and eco-friendly products coupled with unmatched comfort and practicality, with its basin mixers which come with water and energy saving technologies like flow rate regulators & click technology.

The company’s award winning Ceraplan III range of fittings comes with Click technology which helps save up to 50% of water. By only opening the mixer until you feel a slight resistance, you can get 50% less water consumption – around six litres of water per minute delivered, as opposed to 11-15 litre/minute when the mixer is fully open, depending on the pressure. The basin and basin Grande mixers have versions with integrated regulators, which provide maximum 5 litres/minute flow rate, irrespectively of water pressure.

Additional to Ceraplan III, a vast majority of Ideal Standard range of mixers are equipped with water saving characteristics. Idealsmart, Tesi, Tonic II are only some of the eco-friendly basin mixers that not only offer impeccable designs and aesthetics for the bathroom decorum, but with their 5 litres/minute flow regulators can help save water while handwashing, without any loss in the flow as the water is mixed with air.

Combine Ideal Standard mixers with amazing Ideal Standard ceramic basins to achieve beautiful harmony and a bathroom that you can call your personal relaxing retreat.