Finally! A Non-Germy Hand Towel for the Bathroom!

I have a little confession - I hate bathroom hand towels. I mean, sure they're pretty and they can match your decor, but when I'm at someone's house, I feel really awkward using those towels to dry my hands after I wash them. I'm not a super germ-a-phobe by any means, but reaching for a hand towel only to discover someone else has used it recently and it's still damp grosses me out. 

Of course, your hands are only as clean as the towel used to dry them, so when no one else is here, I often go to the kitchen for a paper towel to dry my hands. But putting a big roll of paper towels in the bathroom isn't exactly pretty, and a roll of paper towels soaks up any water splashed on the counter by children (or adults), putting me back in the same predicament again.

But Kleenex clearly tapped into my head and realized something needed to be done about this, creating the new Kleenex Hand Towels. These single-use, disposable hand towels are perfect for drying hands and the cute dispenser makes them decorative as well as practical. I've been waiting for someone to think up this idea for a long time now!

The Kleenex Hand Towels are in a pop-up type dispenser that can either sit on the counter or be inverted on the towel bar. When one is pulled out, another is ready to go. The towels are amazingly soft and free of dyes and fragrances. Dry-touch fibers also make them super absorbent for the sloppiest of hand-washers.  

Many of you are aware I'm a nurse, and I can guarantee that you won't see anyone at a hospital using a cloth hand towel to dry their hands! No way - we have disposable paper towel dispensers over every sink! You also wouldn't expect to see cloth towels in a public restroom - if that's all they had, I doubt you'd go back again.

Hospitals know that wet towels can spread germs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for hand washing recommends hand drying with a single-use towel to help reduce the spread of germs, yet in the U.S. alone, people dry their hands on cloth bathroom towels approximately 200 billion times per year.

Kleenex conducted a survey on hand-washing perceptions, and found that three quarters of Americans (73%) believe hand drying is less important than hand washing when it comes to helping stop the spread of germs. This, of course, isn't the truth.

According to the CDC, freshly cleaned, wet hands transfer pathogens more readily than dry hands or hands not washed at all. The residual moisture determines the level of bacterial and viral transfer following hand washing. Careful hand drying is a critical factor for bacterial transfer to skin, food and environmental surfaces.

So even though we're often in a hurry, it's important to make sure your hands are completely dry after washing them. And Kleenex Hand Towels provide a clean, fresh towel every time for better hygiene. Of course, try getting this message to kids, right? It's hard enough to even make them wash their hands, let alone dry them. Kleenex thought of that, too, and came up with this clever little hand-washing song to encourage kids to thoroughly wash and dry their hands.

I've tried to get my daughters to sing the song on video, but they are being extremely camera shy with their singing abilities. But they love the new towels - the hardest part is making sure they only grab one and not try to pull more out of the box each time! Mira even tries to make up reasons to go wash her hands again, just to play in the water and then pull out a new towel for herself. 

I'm completely in love with Kleenex Hand Towels and they are now a staple in my house. Oh sure, the little cloth hand towels will stay in the bathroom, but everyone will know they're strictly for decoration only. Need to dry your hands? Try a Kleenex Hand Towel and keep the germ spread to a minimum.

Win Some Cleaning Of Your Own!

Kleenex knows how important it is to have a clean home, and to celebrate the launch of Kleenex Hand Towels, I have a $50 gift card to ServiceMaster to give away to one lucky reader! ServiceMaster is a fantastic all-purpose cleaning and house service company. Whether it’s used towards a Merry Maids cleaning service so your bathroom is clean, tidy and ready for a fresh box of Kleenex Hand Towels or towards a lawn care service (summer is just around the corner!), you can experience a clean, fresh home.

To enter, visit the Kleenex Hand Towels site, then leave a comment here telling me one hand-washing fact you learned from the site. This entry is required.

For an additional entry, join The Motherhood's Hand Drying Song Circle and leave a comment here with your username.

For another additional entry, follow @TheMotherhood and @mommystory on Twitter and tweet this phrase:

RT Learn the Kleenex Hand Towels Drying Song and win a $50 ServiceMaster gift card! http://tinyurl.com/22u9849 #kleenexsong

Be sure to leave a separate comment with a link to your specific tweet for this to count!

For THREE extra entries, create a video about Kleenex Hand Towels featuring the Hand Drying Song. (If you're not musically inclined, get your kids to sing it!) Leave a link to your video in three comments on this post.

All entries must be received by 5/15/10 at 11:59pm EDT. One entry per type of entry per person - duplicates will be removed from consideration. Please make sure you leave your e-mail address so I can contact you if you win.

One winner will be chosen at random after the closing date and e-mailed confirmation. If winner does not respond within three days, another winner will be randomly selected.

Good luck and happy hand drying!

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Full disclosure: I was contacted by The Motherhood and Kleenex to learn about the new Kleenex Hand Towels and spread the word about the Hand Drying Song. In return I received product samples and compensation for my time involved in this project. All opinions on this product are my own and are 100% honest.