Finally, scientists tell us how to wash our hands correctly

Mom, you were right ... again.

A new study reveals that most of us are cleaning our hands poorly — a U.N.-approved six-step method gets your palms next to godliness better than the basic three-step approach that American officials have been recommending for years.

Researchers writing this week in the Journal of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology say the World Health Organization’s longer method reduces bacteria by 21% while the Centers for Disease Control technique only cut the wee beasties by 6.5%.

The downside is that the U.N. method takes significantly longer that the federal recommendation, which calls for just three simple steps: apply hand sanitizer to the palm, rub hands together, allow to dry.

The World Health Organization method takes longer:

1. Apply hand sanitizer.

2. Rub one palm over the back of the other hand and interlock the fingers. Repeat with the other hand.

3. Interlock the fingers with the palms facing each other.

4. Curl the fingers together with the thumbs on opposite sides.

5. Grab your thumb with the entire opposite hand and rotate the hand. Repeat for the other thumb.

6. Finally, rub the fingertips of one hand into the palm of the other. Repeat for the other hand.

The scientists said they put the hand-sanitizing methods in a mano-a-mano test to determine once and for all which was best. The conclusion?

“The six-step technique is superior,” they wrote.