improving-hand-hygiene-practice

Hand Hygiene & Care

For Washroom Services, Call Us On 0800 313 4972  or Contact Us Online

For Healthcare Waste, Call Us On 0800 030 4005  or Contact Us Online

Servicing British businesses since 1903

Rated Excellent on Trustpilot Committed to customer service

Innovative solutions with industry leading technology

Improving hand hygiene practice

Having professional handwashing facilities keeps your workplace healthier for longer. As 80% of diseases can be spread by a combination of poor hand hygiene and contact with contaminated surfaces, being able to properly clean your hands is a crucial component of infection control.

Against the backdrop of the Coronavirus pandemic, we must all be especially vigilant in ensuring that our hands are properly washed, dried and sanitised. Initial’s hand hygiene range has been designed specifically to reduce the risk of infections spreading through your premises. Our unique alcohol free UltraProtect™ hand sanitiser provides 8 hour hand protection and is effective against Coronavirus*. It is ideal for schools and other locations where alcohol hand sanitiser may not be suitable.

Independent test show that Ultraprotect™ destroys 99.99% of feline Coronavirus* (*Feline Coronavirus, a surrogate virus for Coronavirus).

As the Experts in Hygiene and Healthcare Waste Management since 1903, we are here to help you. We have a comprehensive range of high-quality hygiene solutions that will help to safeguard your employees' and customers' hand hygiene, including hand washing, drying, sanitising and surface hygiene solutions. 

Contact Us

Safer Washrooms and Hygienic Buildings

In the washroom, germs can be transmitted both directly and indirectly in a number of ways, making it crucial to minimise their spread in your washroom.

Breaking the Chain of Infection | Initial Washroom Hygiene

This video player requires JavaScript.

Explore our hand hygiene & care products

Soap Dispensers

Our extensive range of hand wash options means we can accommodate all requirements.

Hand Sanitiser Dispensers

Prolong your hand hygiene by up to 6 hours with our range of sanitisers.

Hand, Hair and Body Dispensers

Our versatile and cost effective soaps wash are specifically designed for use in shower areas.  

Rapid>Sanitiser Station

Our Rapid> solutions represent the cutting edge of washroom hygiene.

Hand & Surface Sanitiser

Our versatile Signature Hand and Surface Sanitiser helps to reduce the risk of infections spreading.

Hygienic Door Handles

With our new hygienic door handles range we can provide you with two crucial solutions in one product.

Hand Cleanser

Limited availability of a range of bottled hand cleansers. 

Surface Sanitisers & Surface Disinfectants

By keeping surfaces clean, you will prevent the spread of germs around your premises.

Initial Washroom & Medical Supplies Shop

Our new webshop features a range of soaps and hand sanitisers

Hand Hygiene and Infection Control

Hand hygiene and infection control go hand-in-hand. Maintaining clean hands through correct handwashing technique is a sure-fire way of reducing infections in all healthcare environments and is recognised by the Department of Health as the first line of defence against spreading many illnesses.

An effective hand hygiene compliance programme, including frequent handwashing, hand drying and use of hand sanitisers, will help protect every healthcare worker, customer and patient in your healthcare practice.

Steri-7 Xtra Range

Help fight the spread of infection using Initial's specialist hand wash and hand rub, which continues to protect your hands once dried by using Steri-7 Xtra's Reactive Barrier Technology. 

The technology gives your hands round-the-clock biosecurity, with no window of opportunity for pathogens to re-establish themselves.

Click here to find out more about our Steri-7 product range.

Chat Online

Monday - Friday 08:00 - 17:00

Live Chat Now

Did you know?

  • Coronaviruses can live on plastic and stainless steel surfaces for 72 hours. The New England Journal of Medicine 2020; 382:1564-1567
  • Roughly 80% of infectious diseases are transmitted by touch. Memorial Medical Center
  • Contaminated hands can transfer pathogens to seven separate surfaces. National Library of Medicine; PMID: 15350713
  • Under HTM 01-05 guidelines, bars of soap and scrub or nail brushes must not be used for cleaning hands. Department of Health
  • Disposable gloves do not fully protect your hands from contamination and you may reinfect your hands during removal. World Health Organisation

Hand Hygiene Poster Download

Make sure your staff always follow procedure. Fill in this quick form below to receive informative downloadable posters by email on effective handwashing technique and how to sanitise your hands properly.

Improve hand hygiene technique and compliance in your healthcare setting by placing these posters at your handwashing stations.

Hand Hygiene Poster Download

The benefits of dispensers

During the ongoing Coronavirus situation, it is important to keep good hygiene standards in your business. Our versatile dispensers will help you to maintain your site’s cleanliness and offer a range of cost, hygiene and time saving benefits that DIY solutions cannot deliver:

  • Unlike bottles, dispensers will always remain fixed at safe social distances
  • Our robust dispensers are harder to damage or steal than small bottles
  • Our Top Up dispensers can dispense hand sanitiser, soap or surface disinfectant
  • No-touch operations create optimum hygiene standards
  • High capacity dispensers require less time and money to maintain than smaller bottles
  • Larger 5 litre refills save plastic by using fewer bottles to maintain your dispensers' levels

Frequently asked questions

  • How often should you wash your hands?

    You should wash your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap for 20-30 seconds to protect yourself from catching and spreading infections. 

     Wash your hands:

    • After using the toilet or changing a nappy
    • Returing home after going out for essential purpose such as visiting the supermarket or pharmacies
    • Handling raw foods like vegetables and meat before and after
    • After blowing your nose, sneezing or coughing
    • Touching animals, including pets, food and after cleaning cages

    To achieve the best possible hand hygiene, you should not only wash your hands with soap but also dry them thoroughly and use sanitiser or hand rub to provide extra protection.

  • What is the best hand wash?

    We offer a wide range but our antibacterial hand wash offers. Our soap dispensers have an integral antibacterial technology which has been developed to fight against harmful bacteria. We have demonstrated the technology kills >99.9% of both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria on contact.

  • Why do you need to wash your hands?

    Washing your hands thoroughly with soap prevents the transference of potentially harmful bacteria and viruses. If you have pathogens on your hands and touch either your face or a communal surface, you risk contracting or spreading the illness.

  • Is it necessary to use soap to wash your hands?

    Yes; using professional hand wash will remove more pathogens than just washing with water. Soap to wash hands is more effective than water only, people tend to scrub their hands more thoroughly when using soap, removing germs.

  • What is hand hygiene and why is it important?

    Hand hygiene refers to the cleanliness of your hands. It is important because clean hands reduce the risk of illnesses spreading. Unclean hands can lead to you contracting a variety of infectious illnesses as hands are the main pathway of bacteria and germs.

Achieve proper hand hygiene in three steps

1. Handwashing

The first step in the hand hygiene process is proper handwashing. Using soap while adhering to our handwashing guide will remove a large amount of pathogens from your hands.

See our range of soaps and take the first step towards better hand hygiene.

Download our hand hygiene poster: Recommended hand hygiene steps to prevent the spread of viruses

2. Hand Drying

Even when you’ve managed to wash away any hand pathogens with soap, you need to remove residual moisture to stop them from reappearing. If you leave the washroom with wet hands then you create a breeding ground for the same pathogens to re-emerge.

Our range of hand drying options spans from traditional roller and paper towels all the way to ultra-hygienic hand dryers with in-built air filters.

3. Hand Sanitising

Finally, when your hands have been properly washed and dried, apply hand sanitiser for extra protection. This will prevent your hands from quickly becoming a pathogen hotspot.

To cope with the recent unprecedented spike in demand, we have made a number of new additions to our hand sanitiser range. This ensures that we can help to safeguard the nation’s hand hygiene.

Learn More Now

Work smarter: choose the serviced option

Letting us maintain your soap frees you up to focus on more important things.

  • Fully installed and serviced by qualified Initial Customer Delivery Representatives
  • Bespoke maintenance and delivery schedule
  • Repairs and replacements are free within the contract duration

You may also be interested in

Chat Online

Monday - Friday 08:00 - 17:00

Live Chat Now

Floor Mats

Explore our comprehensive range of versatile floor mats.

Sanitary Waste Disposal

Our feminine hygiene unit service gives you the confidence that your visitors have a safe and simple way to dispose of their sanitary waste.