'Handwashing Day' Highlights Americans' Dirty Secret

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Today is "Global Handwashing Day" and a recent study shows that, while most Americans say they wash their hands, they really don't.

"Global Handwashing Day", not coincidentally, comes just about the time flu and cold season really picks up.  Amy Bellcourt with S.C.A., one of the world's largest paper and personal hygiene companies, says cold and flu germs can stay on a surface for eight hours.  So how long should you stand over the sink?

Bellcourt says, "It really is about 60 seconds.  And drying them with a paper towel is really important.  The friction that you get when drying your hands with a paper towel adds one more step to getting the germs off your hands and keeping them clean."

A recent study by the American Society of Microbiology shows that most men and women say they wash their hands, but in reality, only ¾ of women surveyed and just over half of the men actually wash their hands.

Reported by Karin Phillips, KYW Newsradio