Six steps to good hand washingDear Sir,This is in reference to the article, “Did you wash your hands? Probably not properly” (Gulf Times, May 5). Indeed, most of us do not wash our hands properly. There are six steps to effective hand washing. 1) Wet hands and apply soap. Rub palms together until soap is bubbly; 2) Rub each palm over the back of the other hand; 3) Rub between your fingers on each hand; 4) Rub your hands with the fingers together; 5) Rub around each of your thumbs; and 6) Rub in circles on your palms. Then rinse and dry your hands.To close the tap finally, use one of the elbows to prevent microbes thriving on the tap reaching the hand.Be hygienic and lead a healthy life.C Robinsonrobin_son_ch@yahoo.co.inPeople lose faith in political partiesDear Sir, Pakistan is seeing its worst violence ahead of its general elections. Most people have little hope and interest in present elections because of the poor performance of political parties in the past. The two leading parties, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have already ruled over the country twice and people believe that a third term by one of them can’t bring any change in their fortunes. Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has just observed a fifth Black Day in just10 days in Karachi. All shops, public and government institutions were shut in the city. Karachi is the economic hub of Pakistan and just one day’s closure of business activities will cost millions of rupees in revenue. Khawaja Umer Farooqofarooq@emailsrvc.com