CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Mom was right: If you want to get your hands clean, good old-fashioned soap and water works best.

How-To Hand-Washing Steps 1. Wet your hands with warm running water. 2. Add soap, then rub hands together to make a lather. Do this away from running water, so you don't wash the lather away. Wash the front and back of your hands, between fingers and under nails. Continue washing for at least 15 seconds. 3. Rinse hands well under warm running water. 4. Dry hands thoroughly with a clean towel. Source: Soap and Detergent Association

A new study by infection control specialists at University of North Carolina Hospitals confirms that the best way to get germs off your hands is with soap and water. The findings are published in the March issue of the American Journal of Infection Control.

Researchers tested 14 hand hygiene agents plus tap water against specific bacteria and viruses applied to the hands of 62 adult volunteers.

Soap and water, or microbial soap and water, were shown to be the most effective at removing viruses and bacteria. Among the viruses soapy hand washing flushes down the drain is the one that causes the common cold. Other viruses that were removed were those that cause hepatitis A, stomach flu and a host of other illnesses.

Hand wipes were the least effective. They only removed about half of bacteria from volunteers' hands.

Waterless, alcohol-based agents had variable and sometimes poor effects, becoming less effective after multiple washes.

Emily Sickbert-Bennett, the study's lead author, said soap and water works better over repeated use because water washes germs down the drain. The author said with waterless rubs and wipes, users never rinse their hands. They just rub a chemical into their hands and let them dry.

Still, hand-rub solutions are considered highly effective, especially if there's no available alternative.

The study also looked at how long it takes to wash hands properly. Previous research had tested people who cleaned their hands 30 seconds or more, but Sickbert-Bennett said the average length of time busy health care professionals spend washing their hands is only 10 seconds.

"We wanted to test the products under realistic conditions," she said in a news release.

The researchers found that hand-washing for only 10 seconds eliminated 90 percent of the bacteria on volunteers' hands -- and that was the case for all the different hand-washing methods tested except hand wipes.