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Hand Washing Timer
Wet your hands, press Start and take the soap. The beeps tell you when to scrub and when to rinse.
Step 1 / 3
The five steps, with a 20 second timer for hand washing
| Step | Time | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wet | Not timed | Clean running water, then turn off the tap |
| 2. Soap and lather | 5 s | Rub palms together until foamy |
| 3. Scrub | 20 s | Backs of hands, between fingers, under nails |
| 4. Rinse | 10 s | Under clean running water |
| 5. Dry | Not timed | Clean towel or air dry |
The steps follow the handwashing advice of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Twenty seconds of scrubbing is the minimum; the timed part of this page runs 35 seconds in all.
How to use it
- Wet your hands under clean running water and turn off the tap. Press Start with a knuckle, or ask an adult to press it.
- Take soap and rub your palms together during the first 5 seconds, until you have a lather.
- At the tone, scrub for 20 seconds: the backs of both hands, between the fingers, around the thumbs and under the nails.
- At the next tone, rinse under running water for 10 seconds. When the timer finishes, dry your hands with a clean towel or let them air dry.
How long should you wash your hands
The CDC advises scrubbing for at least 20 seconds, about as long as humming “Happy Birthday” twice from start to finish. The scrub is the step that does the work. Soap loosens dirt and germs from the skin and rubbing lifts them, which takes time and friction; a quick pass under the tap moves very little.
Twenty seconds also gives you time to reach the parts that get missed: the backs of the hands, the thumbs, the gaps between fingers and the skin under the nails. Rinsing then carries the loosened dirt away, and drying matters too, because germs spread more easily from wet hands.
A hand washing timer for kids
Children wash for as long as it takes to get their hands wet. A countdown with a sound at each step gives them something to wait for, and the beeps tell them when to switch without anyone standing over the sink. Put a step stool at the basin so they can reach the water comfortably, and prop the phone or tablet where splashes will not reach it.
The times that matter most are before eating or preparing food, after using the toilet, after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing, after touching animals, and after coming in from outside or from public places. When soap and water are not available, a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol is the fallback. Rub it over all surfaces of the hands until they are dry.
Common mistakes
- Putting soap on dry hands and rinsing at once. Wet first, lather, then give the scrub its full 20 seconds.
- Washing only the palms. Thumbs, fingertips and the backs of the hands are the parts most often skipped.
- Drying on a damp shared towel that has hung for days. Use a clean one, a paper towel or the air.
- Counting to twenty at speed. A child’s “twenty” can take six seconds, which is why the timer counts for them.
Questions people ask
How long should you wash your hands?
Scrub with soap for at least 20 seconds, then rinse and dry. With lathering and rinsing the whole wash takes a little over half a minute.
Do I need hot water to wash my hands?
No. The CDC says clean running water, warm or cold, with soap. Use a temperature that is comfortable enough to stay under for the full wash.
Is hand sanitizer as good as washing?
Soap and water is the first choice, especially when hands are visibly dirty or greasy. When there is no sink, use a sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol and rub until dry.
How do I get my child to wash for 20 seconds?
Make the timer the judge. Start it together, let them watch the scrub count down, and treat the rinse tone as the finish line. Humming “Happy Birthday” twice during the scrub also works.
Why is there no way to change the times?
The page is a fixed routine so a child can start it with one tap. The 20-second scrub is the published minimum; if you want longer, keep scrubbing into the rinse step and rinse after the timer ends.