Hand Washing

One of the scenes in The Stranger that really struck me was the was on page twenty-one.

 "After lunch I was a little board and I wandered around the apartment. It was just the right size when Maman was here. Now it's just too big for me, and I've had to move the dining room table into my bedroom. I live in just one room now, with some saggy chairs, a wardrobe, whose mirror has gone yellow, a dressing table, and a brass bed. I've let the rest go. A little later, just for something to do, I picked up an old newspaper and read it. I cut out an advertisement for Kruschen Salts and stuck it in an old notebook where I put things from the papers that interest me I also washed my hand, and then I went out on the balcony."
                                                                                                   (The Stranger, Albert Camus, Pg. 21)

I found this really interesting because it was a glimpse into the narrator's private life and a look into his way of doing things. I was also slightly puzzled by several specific lines. First is the narrators reference to how he saves a salt add, but why no reference has yet been made to the narrator having an interest in art or advertisements. We also know that the narrator does not have any ties to the ad industry. So why does he save this part of the paper and not a story that interested him. I also was intrigued by the reference to washing his hands. The narrator speaks about washing his hands several times throughout the early part of the novel. But why? It is certainly something to think about.