Mainly to remove visible soils and – only to a small extent – to reduce microbial colonisation of the skin (e.g. in case of contamination with spores of C. difficile). Handwashing is far less indicated than generally believed. Hence...

Surface cleaning describes the process by which soiling is removed fromsurfaces "using water with cleaning-enhancing additives (e.g. detergentsor enzymatic products)"...

Preoperative rub-in procedure by the application of a hand disinfectant before donning surgical gloves. Aims at the hands' microbial flora...