To increase motivation and frequency of hand disinfection, many hygiene specialists now recommend a rubbing time of only 15 seconds, instead of the usual 30 seconds. The effectiveness of this method has been proven by studies,^[1][2] which is why the Clean Hands campaign also promoted it.

However, the short rubbing time does not in any way release you from the obligation to use the correct dosage and to completely wet your hands!

Skilled technique

For the recommendation of a shortened rubbing time of 15 seconds, please be sure to train a technique that complete disinfection in such a short time.

Adequate dosage

You should also make sure that you have a sufficient amount of fluid to keep your hands moist for the declared exposure time of usually 30 seconds.

Conclusion: In practice, the rubbing can be stopped after 15 seconds. However, if the dosage is sufficient, the hands will still be wet for another 15 seconds.^[3]

Sources:

[1] Pires D, Soule H, Bellissimo-Rodrigues F, Gayet-Ageron A, Pittet D.: “Hand Hygiene With Alcohol-Based Hand Rub: 5 How Long Is Long Enough?” (2017)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28264743

[2] Kramer A, Pittet D, Klasinc R, Krebs S, Koburger T, Fusch C, Assadian O: “Shortening the application time of alcohol-based hand rubs to 15 seconds may improve the frequency of hand antisepsis actions in a neonatal intensive care unit (2017)
https://doi.org/10.1017/ice.2017.217

[3] Communication from the Disinfectants Commission in the VAH: “Shortening the exposure time of hygienic hand disinfection to 15 seconds” (2019)
https://vah-online.de/files/download/vah-mitteilungen/121_123_VAH_HM_7-8_19.pdf