Drilled into our brains from the very start, the words “wash your hands” are no stranger to anyone who lives in the U.S. This key moment in your life is something that’s intended to carry into your teenage years and eventually adulthood, yet it is not.

According to the Healthy Schools Healthy People Program, “58% of female and 48% of male middle and high school students washed their hands after using the bathroom. Of these, only 33% of the females and 8% of the males used soap.” Harvard Health explains how, “Running water by itself does a pretty good job of germ removal, but soap increases the overall effectiveness by pulling unwanted material off the skin and into the water.”

While no studies are consistent in the percentage of handwashers, one thing that is always consistent amongst the different studies is that women are far more likely to wash their hands in comparison to men.

As someone who has been in this district for 11 years now, I can tell you with certainty that, at least in the boy’s bathroom, the vast majority of people do not wash their hands. Even though I saw the percentage of hand washers increase as I got older, most still do not use simple hygiene.

It’s not like we live in a place that doesn’t educate us on germs or that the school isn’t providing the resources of water and soap, so there really is no good excuse not to do it.

I’ve even seen several staff members walk out of the restroom without washing their hands, too; this may set a bad role model for the students around them.

As winter approaches and flu season ravages the world, don’t just think about your health and immune system. Think of your families–you could be bringing unwanted germs into your home. High schools are not known for being clean places.

Just think for a second: there are five-year-old children who wash their hands, and yet a young adult cannot do it. Washing your hands only takes 20 seconds of your time and could save lives.

So the next time you frolic to the bathroom in search of relieving yourself, think just for a second, “What should I do next?”