Is it really enough?

Is using hand sanitizer in the washroom REALLY as good as washing your hands with soap and water? I know that some people definitely skip the washing and just use the sanitizer but I'm not sure that's enough for me. Personally I wash my hands, dry them then open the door with one hand, getting sanitizer from a dispenser beside the door with the other hand then rub them together. Am I being overly clean?

I had a boyfriend a long time ago whose mother turned the taps on for me in the washroom at a wedding reception. Why? Did she think I wasn't going to wash my hands? Did she used to be one of the fancy washroom attendants? Had she always dreamed of having a potential daughter-in-law to bond with over personal hygiene? I don't know. It seemed weird but whatever. I washed my hands and we went on our way. Maybe she had suspicions that I was going to flounce back out to the wedding reception with peed on hands! As if (as if I pee on my hands and as if I wouldn't wash them.) And remember there was no hand-sanitizer back in the day a long time ago!

My thought is that there are lots of germs out there and if my hands can get a good wash 3-4 times a day that's not a bad thing. I don't have confidence that the hand sanitizer is getting under peoples fingernails. Would you eat a meal prepared by someone who had only used hand sanitizer? Would you let them operate on you?