We’ve all been taught from a very young age that washing our hands is important. Apparently, this lesson didn’t quite stick for everyone. The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) released the results of a survey they conducted on May 5, 2025, which was World Hand Hygiene Day. While it will likely surprise no one that not everyone takes the time to wash their hands, the numbers of just how many people actually did were quite shocking. It turns out Americans are not nearly as hygienic as anyone thought.
To conduct their survey, the NFID partnered with NORC (formerly known as the National Opinion on Research Center) at the University of Chicago. They spoke with 3,587 respondents from across the country in November and December 2024 and March 2025. Of those nearly 3,600 respondents, one in five admitted that they don’t wash their hands because they just don’t want to.
People gave several reasons for their dirty hands habit. The NFID said they “(cited) reasons like it being unnecessary, a lack of time or a concern about drying out their hands.” In short, people were simply not interested in washing their hands and willing to give pretty much any excuse as to why they avoided it.
In addition to this 20% who made the active choice not to wash their hands, 48% of respondents were willing to confess that they frequently forgot to wash their hands after what the NFID called “key times” like going to the store or being in a medical setting.
This is potentially disastrous. According to the NFID, “Handwashing can help prevent approximately 80% of infectious diseases.” While many people don’t think of it this way, washing your hands can literally mean the difference between life and death.
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Learning that 20% of survey respondents actively choose not to wash their hands because they don’t want to, and another 48% don’t do it because they forget, is disturbing. It gets even worse when you consider the fact that there were more people who simply weren’t willing to admit that they didn’t wash their hands.
Nevertheless, the survey uncovered that people do know how to wash their hands, even if they’re not doing it. 62% of adults “correctly answered that washing their hands with soap and water for 20 seconds effectively reduces the spread of germs.” Kristen Rogers, who reported on the survey for CNNshared that 24% of respondents thought more than 20 seconds was necessary to properly get rid of germs, while 13% thought it was less time.
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It is interesting to note that while the importance of doing things like washing your hands was drilled into us all during the COVID-19 pandemic, 33% of people said they actually washed their hands more now, when COVID is treated more like the flu, than they did during the actual height of the pandemic.
Experts are concerned about these numbers. Robert H. Hopkins, Jr., MD, the medical director of the NFID, said, “Given the importance of handwashing in infectious disease prevention, the stakes are high — improving hand hygiene can help improve health for all.”
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Everyone is probably tired of hearing it by now, but washing your hands really is essential. According to the Cleveland Clinic“Research shows that you can prevent one in three illnesses that cause diarrhea and one in five respiratory infections by keeping your hands clean.”
While washing your hands may feel inconvenient or even unnecessary, the benefits far outweigh the seconds of frustration the act creates. It’s worth it to pay attention to your hand hygiene.
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Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
