Can hand hygiene dispensers or bottles be “topped-up” or refilled?
Hand hygiene dispensers should never be refilled or topped up. While it may seem counter-intuitive, certain germs are actually able to live in just about any type of hand hygiene product. Several studies have shown that multi-use products can become contaminated with disease-causing germs over time this includes liquid soap, antimicrobial soaps, and even alcohol-based hand rubs. Plain liquid soap is only meant to help get germs off of the skin there arent any products in it that actually kill germs. So, if dispensers are refilled or “topped-up plain soaps can become contaminated quite easily. While antimicrobial soaps do have products in them that kill germs, there are increasing numbers of germs that are becoming resistant to the antimicrobial products that they contain. This may allow for contamination of these products by germs that are difficult to treat or kill. Alcohol-based hand rubs contain between 60-90% alcohol (70-90% for healthcare facilities). In these concentrations, alco
