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The Foam Gnome: A Hand Washing Buddy!

Teaching your little ones how to get rid of germs and messes!

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The Foam Gnome: A Hand Washing Buddy!

The Foam Gnome: A Hand Washing Buddy!

The Foam Gnome: A Hand Washing Buddy!

The Foam Gnome: A Hand Washing Buddy!

The Foam Gnome: A Hand Washing Buddy!

Teaching your little ones how to get rid of germs and messes!

Teaching your little ones how to get rid of germs and messes!

Teaching your little ones how to get rid of germs and messes!

Teaching your little ones how to get rid of germs and messes!

Claire Godino
Claire Godino
Claire Godino
Claire Godino
2 Campaigns |
Atlanta, United States
$3,325 USD 51 backers
11% of $30,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
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Highlights
Mountain Filled 2 Projects Mountain Filled 2 Projects

What is it?

The Foam Gnome system is a combination of an educational book and an interactive soap dispenser designed for preschool-aged children.  The cute story and illustrations teach kids the basics of keeping clean and why it's important to get rid of germs that can make them (and their parents!) sick. The dispenser sings a song that helps them know how long to scrub and at the end the gnome giggles and glows at the great job they just did! This allows them to become independent with their hygiene and helps them feel a sense of accomplishment. They just love the gnomes!

How does it work?

The book:

Children are introduced to The Foam Gnomes when they encounter a dirty troll who has come from his cave by the lake to play with them.  The gnomes turn him away because he is sticky and dirty and they’re afraid he’ll get them sick. This makes the troll very upset so the gnomes decide to teach him how to take care of himself.  They show him how, when, and why he needs to wash his hands.  The troll takes their advice and cleans himself. He joins the Foam Gnomes’ party and they are friends for life!

The troll is having a tough time staying clean! Maybe the Foam Gnomes can help him learn how to take better care of himself!

They could teach the troll how to take care of himself! Like washing his hands before and after he eats. If he coughs or he sneezes, or gets sticky from treats!

Here the gnomes teach the right way to get rid of germs! No more fingertip-only scrubbing!

That's one clean troll!

 

The dispenser:

When the top is pressed, the soap comes out from the tip of the Foam Gnome‘s hat. The gnome sings a 20-second song to encourage proper scrubbing time and then asks the child to rinse their hands. Then he says, “Show me your hands!” and his cheeks light up with glee!

Our 3 year old scrubber LOVES The Foam Gnome!

Rinse and reward. "Show me your hands!"

The Gnome’s face lights up with joy and with glee for a job well done!

 

Why is hand washing so important?

It is estimated that up to 80% of all infectious diseases are spread by dirty hands. These can include the common cold, the flu, strep throat, and even nasty stomach bugs. Let’s face it, whatever comes home with your child will often spread to one or more members of the household. This can result in missed days of school, work, and even lost wages that impact the entire family. Although most children do wash their hands, they don’t always do it the right way every time: They don't use soap, they don't scrub well or long enough, or they only wash their fingertips.  This product aims to change these statistics by using an amusing and educational book to teach children how, when, and why it’s important to wash their hands and by using visual and audio cues in an interactive soap dispenser to engage their interest and offer a reward for a job well done.  The Foam Gnome system will give them the confidence and independence to wash correctly every time.

Who I am:

I'm an infectious disease scientist and mother of two. I noticed that even though I had taught my kids how to properly wash their hands, they would still cut corners and not wash the right way when they weren’t being watched. This lead to them catching and spreading germs to each other and me! I started to think about what motivates children to do a good job and realized that coupling repetition with a sense of independence was a huge driving factor.  The Foam Gnome system was born from my deep-rooted desire to help children stay healthy and to give parents a much needed break from constant monitoring.

What we need, why we need it, and how you can help us:

In order to get this product to you, we need your help. In its current state, the prototype is 3D printed and clipped around an off-the-shelf bottle. We’d like you to be able to use any type of foaming soap that you choose, so we need to create a refillable chamber of our own design inside the dispenser. We also need to make a few electrical changes like designing a custom printed circuit board and adding an integrated battery compartment. In order to do this, we need funding to help cover the cost of these changes. Once those changes are made, we’ll need to pay for tooling for parts that will allow us to use injection molding for factory production. This will speed up production and make a much nicer and more durable dispenser. Your support will also allow us to pay to create packaging for the system.

This is a unique opportunity to help fund a product that will impact your health and the health of your loved ones. Please consider backing and sharing this project and together we can make the world a cleaner place!

Risks and challenges:

We are hopeful that everything will continue to run smoothly. Quotes are in place for all of the engineering and packaging design that we need and we have a manufacturer lined up to begin tooling and producing as soon as the redesign is complete. As with anything, these things take time. Although we do not expect any delays or issues, sometimes life happens. The funds are not immediately released once the campaign is over and typically take 2-3 weeks to become available for our use. Once the engineering begins, we’ll need to address any minor issues that develop during the redesign process for the soap chamber and electrical components. There may be a lead time from the manufacturer, too. We will be diligent in keeping you updated with all of our progress!

Long-term goals:

The Foam Gnome system can be a tremendous aid to child care centers who are seeking to obtain or maintain state accreditation for their facilities.  Getting children excited about washing their hands can be critical to meeting and exceeding state criteria. Accreditation can let parents know that their child is attending a facility that goes the extra mile to keep their students safe and healthy.  

The Foam Gnome can also be implemented in pediatricians’ offices, urgent care facilities, and hospitals. There the book can remain in the lobby and the dispenser will stay in the restroom for use. This can help lower cross-contamination between sick patients and those who are there for check-ups or injuries. Eventually, we would like to develop a wall mounted unit for use in these facilities where counter top space may be limited.

Additionally, we intend to offer a system in other languages to include Spanish and French.

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