New GP PRO Survey Reveals Consumers' High Self-Rated Hand Hygiene Habits - and High Expectations for Others

ATLANTA, June 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- GP PRO, a division of Georgia-Pacific and a leading maker of advanced dispensing solutions for commercial facilities, conducted a national survey that explored attitudes and behaviors around hand hygiene at home and in public.

The findings highlight a clear message: while most people give themselves high marks for hand hygiene, they also have high expectations for the hygiene habits of those preparing their food or providing healthcare.

In the survey, 84% of consumers rated their hand hygiene as excellent or good both at home and away, but many see room for improvement by washing longer (43%), more often (42%), more thoroughly (39%), or by adding hand sanitizer (40%).

Seeing good hand hygiene really matters to consumers. Consumers feel most at ease when proper hand hygiene is clearly followed—like washing, drying, and putting on gloves—with 74% feeling comfortable in restaurants and 78% at the dentist. However, the comfort level drops to just 29% in hospitals if gloves are used without washing hands first. Drying matters too: 54% say it's an important part of staying clean, and most prefer paper towels (47%) over air dryers (29%).

"At GP PRO, we're committed to learning directly from the people we serve," said Ronnie Phillips, Ph.D., senior director of washroom innovation at GP PRO. "This research highlights just how vital visible, thorough hand hygiene practices are—not just for health, but for building trust."

When it comes to hand hygiene habits, drying matters just as much as washing. More than half of consumers (54%) say thoroughly drying hands is essential, and most prefer paper towels—47% choose them over air dryers, which only 29% favor.

As for daily routines, 57% use hand sanitizer up to five times a day, while 62% wash their hands with soap and water six or more times.

Consumers have strong beliefs about nurse hand hygiene, with most expecting 20–30 handwashing or sanitizing moments per shift. And they're close—28% of nurses report washing their hands 11–20 times each shift, most often using soap and paper towels. These insights come from a survey conducted by GP PRO in partnership with research platform SUZY, which gathered responses from more than 1,000 consumers aged 21 to 70.

For more insights and the full survey results, visit GP PRO Survey Reveals Consumers' High Self-Rated Hand Hygiene Habits – and High Expectations for Professionals | GP Professional

About GP PRO
Based in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific and its subsidiaries are among the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of bath tissue, paper towels and napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, cellulose, specialty fibers, building products, and related chemicals. The company operates approximately 150 facilities and employs approximately 30,000 people directly and creates nearly 89,000 jobs indirectly. GP PRO, a division of Georgia-Pacific, manufactures and sells well-known brands like ActiveAire®, Angel Soft® Professional Series, Brawny®, Compact®, Dixie®, Dixie Ultra®, enMotion®, and Pacific Blue™. GP PRO products meet restroom, foodservice, and break room needs for office buildings, healthcare, foodservice, high traffic, lodging, retail, and education facilities, plus a wide range of industrial and manufacturing facilities in North America. For more information, visit gppro.com.

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SOURCE Georgia-Pacific