You've spent your entire life washing your hands - but have you been doing it correctly?

It may sound odd for someone to tell you how to wash your hands – you've been doing it for years! (We hope.) But science has finally settled on what is the ultimate technique to rid your hands of potentially disastrous bacteria.

The finding came as a result of new research carried out by researchers from Glasgow Caledonian University that directly analysed how much bacteria was left on our hands long after we left the basin.

The research pitted two benchmark medical standards for washing your digits – the World Health Organisation's (WHO) six-step procedure and the US Centre for Disease Control's (CDC) three-step routine.

If that seems like a lot of steps just to wash your hands – you're right. On average, both techniques would take the average person a frustratingly long 40 seconds to complete.

And the winner? The researchers agreed unequivocally that the WHO's six-step hand washing extravaganza is the very best way to wash your hands.

To reach this conclusion, the researchers set up a randomised controlled trial in which they watched how 42 doctors and 78 nurses washed their hands after dealing with patients.

Half of the group followed the WHO's rigorous routine, and the other half followed the three-step CDC routine (which is largely similar but with less emphasis on interlacing your fingers).

All of the participants, no matter what technique they relied on, used an alcohol based hand-rub which has been previously proven to be the most effective at killing surface germs.

RELATED: Why a 'fist bump' spreads less germs than a handshake

The results showed that medical professionals who went the extra mile with the WHO technique had a bacterial count of just 2.48 CFU/ml (colony-forming units per millimetre) compared to those who used the CDC technique, who scored just 2.88 CFU/ml bacterial count.

Although it sounds trivial, properly washing your hands – particularly in medical professions – can mean the difference between life and death.

"Hand hygiene is regarded as the most important intervention to reduce healthcare-associated infections, but there is limited evidence on which technique is most effective," says researcher Jacqui Reilly, who led the study.

It's estimated that if everyone in the world washed their hands with soap and water the rate of diarrhoea-related deaths would drop by half, saving 1 million lives a year.

Despite these alarming statistics, it seems that following the WHO's meticulous regime isn’t as easy (or quick) as you might imagine.

"One of the interesting incidental findings was that compliance with the six-step technique was lacking," says Reilly.

"Only 65 percent of providers completed the entire hand hygiene process despite participants having instructions on the technique in front of them and having their technique observed."

So there you have it folks – in order to wash your hands properly you'll need to use an alcohol based hand rub, perform all six "steps" properly, and then clean your hands on a clean cloth or a piece of paper towel.

And if you're wondering how long this is all going to take you, the WHO estimates that the standard bathroom user would take 42.5 seconds on average – about as long as it takes to sing 'Happy Birthday' twice.

RELATED: Are you washing your hands too much? Probably not, says experts