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Washing Hands Without Water?


blondie
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i posted on here a while ago about hand washing prior to snack - and how we have no running water nearby - we were using anti bac stuff you place on hands rub in then shake hands a bit to dry - but this is now a big no no according to our development worker and also i beleive in policies - so need help -does anyone know of anything we can use that doesnt need running water ?

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We have a small sink unit which has a large container of water underneath and you then pump up the water from that. We use it to wash after painting but it might work for your needs if you have somewhere to fill it from?

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Can I ask why the development workers says the anti bac stuff is a no no?

I wondered this too - clearly if you have no running water nearby you need to find some other solution (and since the hand sanitisers are being used widely in hospitals to prevent cross infection, I'd have said they were a good idea myself). How do you manage toileting and hand washing though? :o

 

I think this is one I'd turn right back on him/her and ask what their preferred solution would be.

 

The sink unit that Suzie C8 suggests might be a good way forward - but somehow I don't think it is a very cheap option!

 

I'll watch this one with interest!

 

Maz

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I think the reason the antibac stuff is mentioned as not being suitable is that it is not recommended for regular and prolonged use on young children's hands. It can be very drying to the skin and causes callouses on my husband's hands (rep who visits theatre regularly). He also says that actually it is no substitute for soap and water being used properly cos if it was surgeons would use it! Obviously in your case it has been an effective substitute though.

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I think the reason the antibac stuff is mentioned as not being suitable is that it is not recommended for regular and prolonged use on young children's hands.

Well that makes sense holly. Wonder if the alternative is a regularly changed bowl of water... :o Sorry: couldn't resist!

 

Does anyone know how much a portable sink unit costs?

 

Maz

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I wonder if washing hands at preschool could be considered as 'regular and prolonged use'?

 

I see a maths activity here, produce a graph of how many times each child needs to wash their hands throughout the course of a session / a week.

 

Make a chart and provide lots of small stickers with a pic of a hand on it, ( to differentiate have one hand with a paint brush, one with a 'T' for toilet and one with an item of food) get each child to place sticker next to their name each time they wash their hands, add up at the end of the time period. Make comparisons between the boys & girls, the purpose of hand wash, ie: toilet or crafts or eating. xD

 

I'd be interested in the results. :o

 

Even if you don't find a solution the activity might show some interesting results.

 

Peggy

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hi - its me again - i posted a while ago asking for ideas on handwashin before snack time.

we have no running water and collect any water we need from a kitchen up the corridoor - however at snack time it is impossible for the children t wash their hands under running water.

we used to use anti - bac - type you put a blob on the hands,rub together then shake dry.we cannot use this now - per our development worker - she says this is also in the policy book.

how can we let the children wash their hands without running water - any ideas gratefully received.

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hi - its me again - i posted a while ago asking for ideas on handwashin before snack time.

we have no running water and collect any water we need from a kitchen up the corridoor - however at snack time it is impossible for the children t wash their hands under running water.

we used to use anti - bac - type you put a blob on the hands,rub together then shake dry.we cannot use this now - per our development worker - she says this is also in the policy book.

how can we let the children wash their hands without running water - any ideas gratefully received.

 

All I can think of is a big bowl of soapy water, which isn't exactly as hygienic as running water but I can't think of anything else. What do the children do about going to the toilet though? Surely their must be running water there and they can't be that far away? Is taking them in small groups to the toilet not an option?

 

Out of curiosity, why can you not use the hand gel? I've seen a lot of places which use this, is it just your setting that can't use it or should nowhere be using it?

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Didn't someone mention portable sinks on here not so long ago?

Yes Playplayplay, and I have merged the two topics so that the answers given aren't just a duplication of the ones given before!

 

Maz

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I agree that there is no better substitute than running water and soap - however - we do not have that available 'on tap' (excuse the pun)

 

In an 'ideal' situation we would always opt to use soap and water - BUT - We were informed by Ofsted that anti bac handwipes were fine in our particular circumstance - we do have running water in the toilet area but that is a trek down a long corridor and totally impractical for the amounts of hand washing needed in the session (after messy play & before snack etc.) we would need to employ another member of staff particularly to attend to accompany children to handwash!

 

We were also informed that on no account should children share hand washing water. So no bowl in the room either.

Am I missing something on here - in which policies does it state no anti bac stuff?

 

Really interested in outcome.

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Antiseptic wipes? I can't see that they would be any better or worse than antibac hand rub though.

 

On Saturday I was at a Children's Center event and a couple of NHS ladies were there. They had that gel you put on your hands and then you put them under the UV light.

 

One man put his hands under and was really suprised that he had germs on his hands because he'd just used the anti-bac gel and the lady was saying that actually the gel isn't as good as the wipes.

So for actually cleaning your hands, the wipes are better apparently.

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Since the whole swine flu thing, our school has introduced the gel / liquid stuff in all classes, and all I can sayis that it is really great! Although it might not wash hands as well as a proper soap and water wash, the children actually enjoy using it, it's much easier for us to monitor, so I at least know that all the children are washing their hands before they eat their snack at the free flow snack table - because they want to use the gel as much as possible! So since introducing it I have much more confidence in the cleanliness of hands in my class!

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  • 4 weeks later...

We do both, we are lucky enough to have sinks and pump handwash and then when the children are sitting at the snack table we go round with the 'special squirt'. Even when they say they have washed their hands they love using it (some are obviously very used to it at home :o) and they all enjoy rubbing it into their hands until it disappears.

 

Rachel

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Watering can and basin?

 

Didn't someone mention portable sinks on here not so long ago?

 

 

I think this is a brilliant idea, wouldnt cost much. A couple of large watering cans filled with warm water and a couple of large buckets, with liquid handsoap, bet the children would love washing their hands like this. Would just need one member of staff to start pouring the water over hands when child was ready. Genius!!

 

 

Claire x

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