Air Hand Dryers leave 254% more bacteria on hands
Nov 9, 2009
For most of us, we are slightly disappointed to see air hand dryers in public restrooms after washing our hands. Environmental friendly factors set aside, those air dryers are just not as effective as old fashioned paper towels at getting our hands dry. According to a study by Effect Measure, an independent group of senior public health practitioners, you may have one more reason to be disappointed to see those dryers – every time you use an air dryer, the amount of bacteria on your hands increases by 254% and on the finger pads by 194%.
Additionally, most of the older hand dryers in use (and even some of the newer ones) have an internal screen that should be changed every 1-2 weeks. Unfortunately, most are lucky if they are changed every 1-2 years. This sad reality is not only is a waste of energy, but also keeps more bacteria, germs, and viruses trapped in the dust on the screens, which then is blown directly onto our hands when we dry them.
With the flu epidemic continually gaining momentum, the safety of hand dryers became a major concern at many universities, schools, and other densely populated facilities. At the schools where outbreaks occurred, they became a big enough concern that health department officials ordered them removed and replaced with paper towel dispensers.
If a restroom you use still has a dryer, public health practitioners recommend to wash your hands, skip the dryer, and then dry your hands with napkins, paper towels, etc. in the vicinity.
Also, sometimes I brush my teeth in bathrooms and how will I dry my face if there are no paper towels!?! It is sooo frustrating!
Studies prove that giving men something to aim at improves cleanliness around the urinal and Direct Aim Marketing has come up with sports urinal screens that do just that. Visit http://www.direct-aim.com/products and choose between the football urinal screen and the soccer urinal screen. Put them in your urinals to improved cleanliness and reduce your cleaning costs today!
I am in shock) – Dirty toilets in Tokyo
Wow. So much bacteria. I never knew this could be the case. It’s such a scary thing to know. I’m not even going close to one of that again.
very useful information .. thanks
Wow. So much bacteria. I never knew this could be the case. It’s such a scary thing to know. I’m not even going close to one of that again.
I just always presumed air hand dryers were the best and most effective way of drying your hands. This has really surprised me.
thank you for your sharing.it is so wonderful.I will always come to here,look forward to reading your new article.
…
An additional new write-up with strong points, I’ve been a lurker right here for the short time but hope to get much additional engaged inside long term….
Well, I don’t understand what’s really wrong with air dryers compared to old paper napkins? No offense but i’d say, Dryer is way better idea compared to paper napkins as far as environment is concerned.
Thanks for your input! Dryers use energy too to run, so it still has a carbon footprint.
[...] ways to stay clean when using the bathroom. Previously, we recommended using paper towels versus air hand dryers to spread less bacteria onto hands. Touchless dispensers also cut down on the spread of [...]
I agree, The traditional method is always the best rather than the hi-tech ones. By the way thanks for sharing this info about the air dryer issue.
I still prefer drying my hands using the towel than using the hi tech hand dryer use on restaurant or any every comfort room on malls or big establishments. Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks for your input! I was in a restroom the other day and they only had an air hand dryer, which I found annoying. I enjoy having the option of paper towels too!
A little known fact you presented…. sometimes paper towels are better, along with hand sanitizer.
That’s eye opening. I will now prefer to use paper towels than hand driers.
Glad we could provide you with the information!
Thank you for sharing this article. Not all are aware that using air hand driers can put our health in danger.
Your welcome! Hope that the blog continues to provide you pertinent information about restroom safety.
Wow! it’s the first time I heard about this fact. I am most comfortable using hand dryer. I just realized I should put this to stop. Thanks for sharing this information.
Disgusting! Never gonna use them again!
Thanks a lot for this notice.
Glad we could help!
I don’t know that air dryer is much dangerous than towels or napkins. Thanks for the informative so I will advised my kids not to use air dryer instead they must use toilet tissue.