In proper hand washing technique, which step comes after rinsing off all surfaces?

• A. Rinse off all surfaces
• B. Dry with paper towels, being sure not to touch clean hands on other surfaces.
• C. Wet hands
• D. Use clean paper towel to shut off water

Answer: (B)

After rinsing, the next step is to dry your hands with a clean paper towel. Dry hands thoroughly because moisture helps transfer germs, so drying reduces the risk of spreading bacteria to yourself, others, or surfaces. After drying, use the same paper towel to shut off the faucet to avoid recontaminating clean hands. The other options don’t fit the immediate next step: rinsing again would undo the rinse, wet hands would undo the drying, and turning off the faucet with a towel would come after drying, not before.