Last week, what I thought were allergies turned out to be a cold. It kept me home in bed for two days, and I’ve been dragging myself through my days ever since. Today, Mr. Vega, who hardly ever gets sick, is also down for the count.

So it seems like a good time to review a basic healthcare practice: hand washing. It’s not something we think much about… We either do it or we don’t. Most of us do, but probably not as often as the CDC recommends:

• Before, during, and after preparing food
• Before eating food
• Before and after caring for someone who is sick
• Before and after treating a cut or wound
• After using the toilet
• After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet
• After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
• After touching an animal, animal feed, or animal waste
• After handling pet food or pet treats
• After touching garbage

They don’t mention one of the dirtiest things we own, that we are touching constantly with our hands and our faces: our cell phones. You don’t even want to know what scientists have found on them, but if you’ve ever taken your phone into a bathroom, you can probably guess. Sanitize your phone case often and wash your hands as frequently as if you were touching a public restroom handle!

The Center for Disease Control also recommend washing your hands for at least 20 seconds, a time that many of us fall short of. Whether the water is hot doesn’t matter, because if the water were hot enough to kill germs, it would also be hot enough to give you 2nd or 3rd degree burns. What matters is soap, friction, and time.

Frequent and thorough hand washing reduces the spread of illnesses such as colds and diarrhea, especially in people with weakened immune systems. And avoiding missed work days and doctor visits is always a frugal win in my book.