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Handwashing has more than one definition. It can mean to wash your own hands or it can mean to wash something else by hand. It also has a figurative meaning.
Wash Your Hands
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends washing your hands to prevent the spread of illness. You should wash your hands before preparing food or eating, after sneezing, after using the bathroom, before and after changing a bandage or diaper and after handling raw meat or poultry.
How to Wash Your Hands
Wash your hands by wetting them with warm water and then adding soap. Lather and rub your hands together for at least 15 seconds. The CDC suggests singing "Happy Birthday" to yourself twice while washing your hands to make sure you do it long enough. Rinse your hands and then dry with a paper towel. Use the towel to turn the faucet off.
Global Handwashing Day
October 15, 2009 was Global Handwashing Day. The goal of Global Handwashing Day is to make handwashing an "automatic behavior" worldwide in order to save lives.
Hand Washing Clothing
Handwash also means to launder a garment or wash a dish using your hands instead of a washing machine or dishwasher. Delicate clothing and cumbersome or fragile dishes typically need to be handwashed.
Figurative Meaning
If you say you have "washed your hands" of something, then you cease to be involved with or responsible for that thing or situation.
Source:
Handwashing, definition, WordNet
Resource:
Global Handwashing Day
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