When it comes to bathroom hygiene, one gender appears to be more diligent than the other.

An informal study conducted by the Northern Star found 61 percent of men in various bathrooms across campus washed their hands before leaving the facility. Women, on the other hand, washed up about 86 percent of the time.

The Northern Star study stems from a national study conducted by the American Society for Microbiology. NIU seems to follow the trend of the national study, which found that about 66 percent of men washed their hands, while about 88 percent of women did.

The study was conducted during the past few weeks in several campus bathrooms over one-hour shifts.

Bathrooms studied between Sept. 18 and Oct. 12 were located in Cole Hall, Barsema Hall, DuSable Hall (two bathrooms), Lincoln Hall, Reavis Hall, Faraday West, the Holmes Student Center and the Campus Life Building.

With cold and flu season in full force, maintaining proper hygiene is of added importance, said Carol Sibley, coordinator of preventive medicine at NIU Health Services.

“It is very important to prevent the spread of many types of infections,” Sibley said. “You must use both soap and water.”

Carrying sanitizer wipes or gels can take place of washing your hands if a sink is not readily available, said microbiologist Judy Daly, who led the national study.

“[Sanitizing wipes or gels] are good in the situation when it’s not convenient to wash your hands,” Sibley said. “They are not a total substitute.”

According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, one should wash his or her hands before coming into contact with any food, after coming into contact with blood or other bodily fluids, after changing a diaper, after using the bathroom, after handling anything related to animals and whenever they appear dirty in general.