Research shows that after using the loo, we have over 200 million bacteria per square inch on our hands, and that’s on each one!
Paper hand towels or hot air dryers?
Needless to say, hand washing is a must! What seems to bit a little less known, is that how you dry your hands is just as important as how you wash them. Bacteria is much more easily transferred from wet skin, so drying your hand should be an integral part of your hand-washing routine. But which way is best? Traditional one-use hand towels, or new up-to-the-minute jet air dryers?
You could be forgiven for thinking that of course, the air dryer must be more hygienic, after all, you don’t really have to touch anything, but it is in fact the traditional one-use hand towels that are the most hygienic. Researchers found that there were 27 times more germs in the air around jet-air dryers in comparison to the traditional one-use towel dispensers.
The newest jet-air hand dryers have been found to spray up to 1.5 metres away, with the average height being 0.9 metres. This means if an adult is drying their hands with a child beside them, the bacteria is being sprayed form the jet-air dryer at roughly face height for the child!
Tests have also been done on the area closest to the jet-air dryers with researchers finding 59.5 colonies of yeast compared with an average of just 2.2 colonies around the area for paper towels. Just goes to show, sometimes, the old ways really are the best ways, I certainly know which one I’ll be using from now on!