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The hand-washing sensor more stores need

The hand-washing sensor more stores need

Can 2020 be the year we shame customers into washing their hands, too?

Shamontiel L. Vaughn's avatar
Shamontiel L. Vaughn
May 16, 2020
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Window Shopping
Window Shopping
The hand-washing sensor more stores need
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Photo credit: (left) Andrew Nash/Flickr, (right) Public Health Image Library

Twenty seconds: This is the minimum amount of time that should be used for hand-washing. But pre-COVID-19, I wouldn’t be able to count the amount of times I’ve seen other customers just flick their fingers (soap optional) in front of the sink and walk off. The signs that state, “Employees must wash hands before returning to work,” always perplex me. Everybody should wash their hands. While retailers have done well with posting six-foot distance signs and foot stickers at self-checkout points, there’s one sign that still seems to be missing. Take notes from leather shoemaker Richard Kwarteng and his brother Jude Osei before re-opening all stores to the public.


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Featured on CNN Africa, the brothers purchased a sink, faucet, motherboard, solar panel, sensor and an alarm to create a solar-powered hand-washing basin. When someone stands in front of it, soapy water comes out and a sound beeps as a notification that the count has started. When the timer reaches 25 seconds, then more water pours out for a final rinse.

“The best view of solving this pandemic is washing your hands very well,” Kwarteng said, after noting how attractive his Ghanaian flag hand-washing barrel is.

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