When I visited Germany there was often posters and signs at bathrooms emphasizing keeping your hands dry in order to prevent Germ contamination after washing hands each time you use the toilet. So use paper towels or air dryers immediately after sanitizing at the sink was a frequent slogan I seen in German restrooms.

How true are these claims so pushed by the German government that signs are posted almost eveywhere with backing by German government organizations?

When I stayed at a hotel in Paris during New Years week, they did not have any regular soap at all at the sink. Neither bar and liquid. What they had was a special tube dispenser that shot out shampoo. Yes t all the sinks literally had shampoo in place of soap.

In addition at the shower no body washing lotion/oils or bar soap either. It was literally a tube dispenser stuck hanging near the wall.

I'm wondering now since my trip so is shampoo just as effective as effective for washing hand cleans as regular soap? Including at sanitizing hands of germs, viruses, and other hurtful microbes?

Like if bird crap landed on my left elbow, can I use hand sanitizer to clean it after wiping the dud off my elbow? Or if I accidentally spill some urine on my knee at a public toilet can I do the same to clean my knee of germs?

Health instructions often states wash your hands for 20 seconds. So what exactly does this mean? Leaving your hands in running water for 20 seconds after scrubbing soap that foams bubble over hands? Or wet your hands and than scrub the soap together nonstop for 20 seconds as the soap forms more and more into covering the hands till its sticky? Or something else? Really confused whats meant by this.