12 Sanitation and Cleanliness for a Healthy Environment
Hand-washing with soap and water
One of the best ways to prevent diarrhea diseases is to wash hands after defecating or
handling babies’ feces, and before preparing food, feeding children, or eating.
Keeping a source of clean water near your home will make hand-washing much
easier. But washing with water alone is not enough. To make hand-washing effective,
use soap to remove dirt and germs. If no soap is available, use sand, soil, or ashes.
Rub hands together well with soap and flowing water like that from a
pump, faucet, or tippy-tap.
Count to 30 as you scrub your hands all over. Then rub
hands together under the water to rinse off soap, sand,
or ashes. Dry with a clean cloth or let your hands
dry in the air.
The tippy-tap: A simple hand-washing device
The tippy-tap is a simple device that allows people to wash hands with very
little water. It also allows the user to rub his or her hands together while water runs
over them. It is made of materials that are available at no cost in most places and can
be put wherever people need to wash their hands: near the cooking stove, at the toilet,
or in rural food stores, for example.
How to make a plastic tippy-tap
To make this tippy-tap you need 1) a plastic bottle with a screw-on
cap, of the sort that soda drinks come in, and 2) the inside tube from a
ball‑point pen, or some other small, stiff, hollow tube.
1. Clean the bottle.
2. Using a heated piece of wire, make a small hole in the
lower part of the bottle.
3. Remove and clean the inside tube from a ball-point pen. Cut it off at an
angle, and push it through the hole in the bottle. The tube should fit
tightly.
4. Fill the bottle with water and
replace the cap. When
the cap is tight, no water
should flow through the
tube. When the cap is
loose, water should flow
out in a steady stream.
When you are sure that
it works, hang it or place
it on a shelf where people
can use it for hand-washing.
Keep soap nearby, or thread
a bar of soap with string and
tie it to the bottle.
5. To use the
tippy-tap:
Loosen the
cap just
enough to let
water flow. Wet
your hands, add
soap, and rub
your hands
together
under the
water until
they are
clean.