Canadian Survey Shows Handwashing Habits Have Significantly Changed Since COVID-19

Survey also exposes sharp differences between male and female handwashing habits

TORONTO, July 22, 2020 /CNW/ - Dial® Canada — a trusted leader in hand soap and other personal-care products — is releasing the results of its national survey that asked Canadians to weigh in on how COVID-19 has impacted their handwashing practices. While the survey supports several expected changes, like Canadians are washing their hands more often and for longer periods of time, it also suggests that women wash their hands far more often than men and that a third of Canadians are still only washing their hands "sometimes" before eating a meal. 

The results of the recent survey*, conducted in English and French by bms – marketing research + strategy, include:

Frequency of handwashing before and since COVID-19:

• Survey says: the number of people who said they wash their hands for more than 10 times a day has more than doubled (2½ times) since the pandemic. Of those surveyed, 13.8% said they washed their hands 10 times or more a day prior to the pandemic, while 36.9% of respondents said they washed their hands 10 times or more a day since the pandemic.
• Most common response? The single survey asked Canadians about their handwashing habits both before and since the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, the most common handwashing routine was 3 to 4 times a day. Since the pandemic, the most common response jumped to 11 to 14 handwashes a day. When asked about handwashing frequency before COVID-19, the respondents' most popular answer (28.8%) was 3 to 4 times a day. When asked about handwashing frequency since COVID-19, the respondents' most popular answer (19.5%) was more than 10 times but less than 15 a day.
• 1/3 wash their hands "sometimes" before eating. Of those surveyed, 64.8% said they always washed their hands before eating. 32.9% said they sometimes washed their hands before eating. 2.3% admitted to never washing their hands before eating.

Length of handwashing before and since COVID-19:

• 90% of people are now washing their hands for the recommended 20 seconds (the Public Health Agency of Canada recommends Canadians "wash hands for at least 20 seconds") — this number is close to double the comparable pre-pandemic number. Less than half (48.6%) of the respondents said they washed their hands for at least 20 seconds prior to the pandemic. Since the pandemic, 89.8% of those surveyed said they washed their hands for the recommended 20 seconds or more. This represents an 85% increase.

Gender differences:

• 50% more women than men wash their hands more than 10 times a day. Of the females surveyed, 42.8% said they washed their hands more than 10 times a day since the pandemic. Of the males surveyed, 27.4% said they washed their hands more than 10 times a day since the pandemic.

"This survey certainly indicates that Canadians are taking handwashing far more seriously since the COVID-19 pandemic," says Maya Atallah, Senior Brand Manager, Body Care, Henkel Canada Corporation. "With consumers washing their hands more frequently, there is greater demand for hand soaps. To help address this need, Dial Canada is partnering with Food Banks Canada through the donation of soap products, as well as monetary support to help increase awareness and drive donations."

The Dial® Canada brand and Henkel North America stand united in their values to help address challenges around the COVID-19 pandemic and to continue supporting families and communities across the U.S. and Canada.

*The conducted sample with 1,000 respondents is representative for the Canadian population and has no limitations concerning gender, nationality and living in designated provinces. The sample size allows valid conclusions on a 99% significance-level within a deviation of 3.89%. The reported results are all far above these criteria and therefore highly significant. 

About Dial®
Dial® delivers clean, healthy skin for you and your family with products for Women, Men, and Kids. From bar soap, body wash, and liquid hand soap, our products provide benefits such as moisture, exfoliation, protection, replenishment and more.

About Henkel in North America
In North America, Henkel operates across its three business units: Adhesive Technologies, Beauty Care, and Laundry & Home Care. Its portfolio of well-known consumer and industrial brands includes Schwarzkopf® hair care, Dial® soaps, Right Guard® antiperspirants, Persil®, Purex®, and all® laundry detergents, Snuggle® fabric softeners as well as Loctite®, Technomelt® and Bonderite® adhesives. With sales of around 6 billion US dollars (5 billion euros) in 2019, North America accounts for 26 percent of the company's global sales. Henkel employs approximately 9,000 people across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. For more information, please visit www.henkel-northamerica.com, and on Twitter @Henkel_NA.

SOURCE Henkel Canada

Media Contact: Alistair Kyte, LexPR Canada, Phone: [phone], Email: [email protected],