Ace the California Nurse Aide Skills Exam 2026 – Elevate Your Care Skills with Confidence!

Turning off the faucet with a clean, dry paper towel is the final step in the hand washing procedure because it helps to prevent re-contamination of the hands after they have been thoroughly washed. The rationale behind this step is to ensure that, after cleansing the hands of germs and contaminants, you do not touch a potentially contaminated surface when you turn off the faucet.

Using a clean paper towel to turn off the faucet provides a barrier that keeps the hands clean. While rinsing the hands is crucial for removing soap and dirt, and drying them is important for overall hygiene, these steps occur before the final action of turning off the faucet. Applying moisturizer, although beneficial for skin health, is not considered part of the formal hand washing procedure and does not contribute to preventing infection or maintaining hygiene after washing.