Study: Dyson hand dryers spread more germs than paper towels, other dryers

[WhiteTara]

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2016/04/15/Study-Dyson-hand-dryers-spread-more-germs-than-paper-towels-other-dryers/5511460748175/

LONDON, April 15 (UPI) -- Dyson Airblade hand dryers are in the news again, as media outlets report on a February study finding they spread significantly more germs than regular dryers or paper towels.

Researchers at the University of Westminster tested the hand dryer against the other two methods, finding they spread 60 times more viruses than regular dryers and 1,300 times more viruses than paper towels, according to the study, published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology.

The Airblade has been championed by European public health officials, as well as the company itself, as a revolutionary way of drying hands in public bathrooms based on studies showing it filters out 99.9 percent of bacteria from air it blows around.

The Westminster study echoes another by the same researchers in 2014 that showed the Airblade spread 27 times more bacteria than paper towels, which researchers said reinforces overall concerns about hand dryers -- including those raised by Dyson about other methods of drying hands.

[brush]

1. Thanks for the info. Who would imagine air blowers spread bacteria.

Think I'll used paper towels from now on if available, or just wave my hands about.

[Ron Obvious]

2. So regular dryers have more than 20 times as many viruses as paper towels?

Last edited Fri Apr 15, 2016, 11:01 PM - Edit history (1)

Extrapolating from 1,300 / 60 that is.

Regardless, I never get my hands completely dry from hot air dryers and as fate would have it, I often find myself having to shake hands after coming out of the bathroom.

Not because people are congratulating me for successfully negotiating my way around a modern toilet, I should add, but because I usually use the bathroom just before meetings.

ETA: Math

[WhiteTara]

3. And you thought you were doing them a favor

by washing your hands!

[Denzil_DC]

4. Inevitable.

[Thor_MN]

5. But do they reduce owel litter?

Can they stop auto at ally?