Hands up those of us who think nothing of heading straight to the restroom automatic dryer to dry our hands. Sure, your hands might be dry, but are they clean? Quite a bit of the argument is the fact that air dryers don’t actually dry your hands completely.
Recent research has shown that good old paper towel may be more reliable for reducing the spread of germs and bacteria.
In a study conducted by the University of Westminster, modern air dryers like the Dyson Airblade, which expels jets of air at speeds up to 700km/h, were shown to be capable of spreading viruses up to three metres away. To conduct the study, researchers exposed their hands to bacteria in water, and then dried their hands with either a Dyson Airblade, a standard hot-air dryer, or a paper towel.
The research, published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology, found that the modern air dryers such as the Dyson can spread 1,300 times more germs than paper towels, while a standard dryer spreads viruses a further 75cm and hand towels 25cm.
Another way to explain it (perhaps on an empty stomach) is that every time a toilet is flushed, a mist is spread into the air. This mist contains faecal matter and gets sucked into the airflow of the dryer, and possibly ends up transferred onto your hands.
While the research commissioned by the European Tissue Symposium has been criticised by Dyson, it’s far from tear-able news for those of us who believe paper towel is definitely a better alternative for many reasons.
The hot air from automatic dryers, whether the new style dryers or older models, can be very harsh on skin and leaves it dry (but not in a good way). Good quality paper towel is absorbent enough to leave no residual water on your hands, so you’re not left wiping your hands on your jeans. The dispenser uses no electricity and is an easily installed fixture in a workplace bathroom, restroom or other toilet facility.
Whilst all our products are made from environmentally certified material, the Caprice Green range of paper towel is a wholly recycled option for an even more sustainable choice. The Green range is available as interleaved towel and in handy 80 metre rolls, napkins and toilet rolls.
There are many convincing reasons—convenience, avoiding dry skin, less risk of germs and infection, sustainable practices— to head for the paper towel dispenser than the automatic dryer. Ultimately, it’s a very absorbing (t)issue!