Paper Towels Beat Dryers – Hands Down!
March 6, 2009 – 11:38 pm by Daniel JosephsA recent study conducted by scientists at the University of Westminster, London showed that drying one’s hands with paper towels results in a significant decrease in the amount of bacteria found on one’s hands. Great news for paper towels, bad news for both warm traditional air dryers and the new high-speed jet air dryers.
If you choose to use a regular air-dryer, then just know that you are:
(a) Running the risk of increasing the amount of bacteria on your hands
(b) Potentially contaminating other washroom users by spreading germs
(c) Causing harm to the environment which could be avoided
The study further stated that if you were presented with the choice of using hand dryers or not washing your hands, the better choice is to NOT wash your hands. To me, this is simply incredible and I therefore feel compelled to share this quote from Keith Redway, a Senior Academic in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Westminster, with you: “Indeed, these findings suggest that if either a warm air dryer or jet air dryer is the only drying method available, in terms of bacterial numbers, a washroom user could be better off not washing and drying their hands at all.”
If you don’t believe me then just check out these stats from the study:
* Paper towel drying reduced the average number of bacteria on one’s finger pads by 76% and up to 77% on the palms.
* Traditional warm air dryers increased the average number of bacteria by 194% on one’s finger pads and 254% on the palms
* Jet air dryers increased the average number of bacteria on one’s finger pads by 42% and the palms by 15%
This study not only reports on the hygienic harm that air dryers cause for people, but the study also reports on the terrible pollutants that air dryers fill our environment with. The jet air dryers, which claimed to blow air out at speeds of 400 mph, can blow micro-organisms up to 2 meters away! This means that you are not only hurting yourself, but you are hurting the environment as well! And when you look at the stark contrast of what happens when you use paper towels (which show no significant spread of micro-organisms) the choice is simple: Paper Towels Beat Dryers Hands Down!
And if personal hygiene and environmental consciousness aren’t reasons enough to always opt for paper over hot air, then think about your pocket…eh hem… the money that you can spend or save. This is funny because the old adage used new technology and stated: BUY HAND DRYERS – they save energy and are more efficient! But the new adage with the oldest way to dry your hands (paper towels) should state: BUY PAPER TOWELS – They not only dry your hands, but they clean and protect your hands from billions of bacteria!
I’m not sure about you but the next time I’m in the washroom and my only option is to use a hand dryer, it’s going to be an interesting decision.
2 Responses to “Paper Towels Beat Dryers – Hands Down!”
Dear Mr. Josephs:
The study that you cite was … by the Applied Ecology Research Group, University of Westminster, London, England for a study sponsored by the Association of the Makers of Soft Tissue Papers (March 1994). This study contended that hand dryers were unsafe and in some instances actually increased bacteria. It also contended that paper actually reduced bacteria counts.
Notice who sponsored the ’study’! And I wouldn’t claim that 1994 is recent.
To the contrary, the Mayo Clinic conducted a study (non sponsored or commissioned)in July of 2000 regarding different methods of hand drying. The results were …washing with a nonantibacterial soap and after drying by 4 different methods (cloth towels accessed by a rotary dispenser, paper towels from a stack on the hand-washing sink, warm forced air from a mechanical hand-activated dryer, and spontaneous room air evaporation). The results were analyzed using a nonparametric analysis (the Friedman test). By this method, changes in bacterial colony-forming unit values for each drying method were ranked for each subject. RESULTS: The results for 99 subjects were evaluable. No statistically significant differences were noted in the numbers of colony-forming units for each drying method (P = .72). CONCLUSION: These data demonstrate no statistically significant differences in the efficiency of 4 different hand-drying methods for removing bacteria from washed hands.
By Jim Herter on Nov 15, 2009
Dear Mr. Herter,
Thank you for your comments. We always like to hear about different opinions. After reading your comments regarding the Mayo Clinic study, I did find one thing that might skew the results of that study. While I believe that the Mayo Clinic study was through and their results do demonstrate no statistically difference in the efficiency of 4 different hand-drying methods for removing bacteria from washed hands, my concern is actually with the study itself. You stated that the study started with hands that were washed with a nonantibacterial soap. I would pose this question to you. What is the percentage of people that actual wash their hands with soap before exiting the bathroom? Is it more likely that the majority of people actual just use water (no soap) to wash their hands? If that is the case, doesn’t it mean that people who dry their hands with a hand dryer would actual spread the bacteria across the bathroom for the force of the air. Where as if they use paper towels, their hands would still not be bacteria free, but the bathroom wouldn’t be effected as much either.
I do believe that there might not be a different in drying methods if your hands are already cleaned from washing them with soap and water, but sadly that is just not the norm.
Step one of our goal is get people to wash their hands often. How to dry their hands can be our step two.
By Daniel Josephs on Nov 15, 2009