Ninety-one percent of American adults say they always wash their hands after using public restrooms. But just 83 percent actually did so, according to a separate observational study.

These results were among those released by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA), during a press conference highlighting National Clean Hands Week. Both groups have used surveys over the years to help highlight a vital public health message from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
The single most important thing we can do to keep from getting sick and spreading illness to others is to clean our hands.

An August 2005 study conducted for ASM and SDA by Harris Interactive® observed 6,336 individuals wash their hands – or not – at six public attractions in four major cities: Atlanta (Turner Field), Chicago (Museum of Science and Industry, Shedd Aquarium), New York City (Grand Central Station, Penn Station), and San Francisco (Ferry Terminal Farmers Market).

Ninety percent of the women observed washed their hands, compared to 75 percent of men. By contrast, in an August 2005 telephone survey of 1,013 American adults also conducted by Harris Interactive®, 97 percent of women and 96 percent of men say they always or usually wash their hands after using a public restroom.

USA Today reported the dirty details as:

* Atlanta’s Turner Field baseball stadium again was the worst. Only 57% of guys there washed up, compared to 95% of women.

* New York was Second City to Chicago in cleanliness. In restrooms at the Windy City’s Shedd Aquarium and Museum of Science and Industry, 81% of men and women combined washed their hands, compared to 79% at the Big Apple’s Penn and Grand Central train stations.

• At San Francisco’s Ferry Terminal Farmers Market, 62.5% of men lathered up. Women did better, with 84%.

Don’t eat — or serve — poop.