Proper hand hygiene is an issue that seems small, but accounts for at least 20,000 cases of hospital acquired infections (HAI). This number is ridiculous compared to what little needs to be done in order to cut it down. The Center for Disease Control and other health agencies across the country mandate at least 20 seconds of vigorous hand washing in order to kill the bacteria and germs on your hands.
However, as is usually the case, people don’t do that. This led inventor Charles Phillip Abraham to create his Sanitimer, a timer that fits on the faucet of any sink and counts down from 30 seconds when water is opened. Since the mandate is 20 seconds, he made it so that users can have enough time to lather up and warm the water before getting down to actually washing their hands for the full 20 seconds, resetting so that the next user can have the time necessary. While 20 seconds is all well and good for the CDC’s standards, though, places like restaurants and hospitals have stricter requirements which the product can’t reflect since it isn’t programmable — a huge design flaw. Add to the the incredibly wasteful nature of having to keep the faucet running for the timer to run, and what began as a good idea suddenly doesn’t seem well thought out. One Sanitimer can be had for a $100 contribution with an expected delivery of November 2014. The campaign is aiming for an influx of $100,000.