Much as your inner child may hate to admit it, your mother was right about one thing: You need to wash your hands well and often.

"Eighty percent of all infections are transmitted by direct or indirect contact," says Philip M. Tierno Jr., Ph.D., director of clinical microbiology and immunology at New York University Medical Center and the author of The Secret Life of Germs www.barnesandnoble.com (Atria, $14). "To help prevent infections like colds, hand washing is the most important thing you can do."

So with the sneezy, drippy season fast approaching, Real Simple lathered up to test 50 liquid soaps — neatly sidestepping the bacteria that can gather on bar soaps. Check out the winners, along with experts' advice on hand-washing technique, then head for the sink and make Mom proud.