Wet skin promotes bacteria growth, and thus spreads more bacteria than dry skin. This is why not only washing, but drying, is an important part of keeping your hands clean.
Some argue that the cost of paper towels exceeds the cost of air dryers. However, hygienically speaking, papers towels are the “clean” winner. The reduction of employee illness and absenteeism by using paper towels will reduce a company’s cost in the long run.
Recent studies have shown that paper towels dry your hands faster, remove more bacteria, and spread fewer bacteria than air dryers, not to mention surveys actually show that people prefer them to air dryers. (Washington Post) Air dryers, besides being slower, are also very noisy and can irritate the skin.
One study showed that hands are 96 percent dry in ten seconds, and 99 percent dry in just 15 seconds with paper towels, while air dryers typically take 45 seconds to dry hands. It also found that both men and women spend only 17 seconds or less with air dryers, a fraction of the time needed, thus leaving the hands moist and more likely to harbor harmful bacteria. The rubbing motion of using paper towels also helps to remove germs that may remain after washing. (Mail Online)
In fact, air dryers can actually spread germs by blowing them around. A study done by Eurofins-Inlab, in Germany, last year showed the extent of the contamination of surrounding surfaces when using paper towels and air dryers. The results were as follows:
• On average, a user of a jet air drier is likely to be exposed to over 1000 times more microorganisms than the user of a paper hand towel dispenser;
• On average the user of a jet air drier is likely to be exposed to around 800 times more potentially harmful Staphylococci than the user of a paper hand towel dispenser.
• More than half of the jet air driers were contaminated by coliforms, whereas none were found on the paper hand towel dispensers.
Findings as to microbiological counts on floors:
• The floors under jet air driers had on average 20 times greater levels of contamination when compared with the floors under paper hand towel dispensers.
• The floors under jet air driers had on average 27 times greater levels of Staphylococci when compared with the floors under paper hand towel dispensers.
• Coliforms were detected in 46% of the samples taken from the floors below jet air driers, whereas only 10% of the samples under the paper hand towel dispensers contained coliforms.
Surface area sampled was 100 square centimetres for all floors tested.
–ETS, April 5th 2013–
University of Westminister scientists conducted a study with similarly shocking results. They compared the number of bacteria on people’s hands, both before and after they washed and dried with each of the two methods. This is what they found:
• after washing and drying hands with the warm air dryer, the total number of bacteria was found to increase on average on the finger pads by 194% and on the palms by 254%
• drying with the jet air dryer resulted in an increase on average of the total number of bacteria on the finger pads by 42% and on the palms by 15%
• after washing and drying hands with a paper towel, the total number of bacteria was reduced on average on the finger pads by up to 76% and on the palms by up to 77%.
–ETS, February 11th 2009–
These studies and others like them have clearly shown that proper hand washing and use of paper towels is the most effective way of keeping our environment healthy, which is the most beneficial goal for everyone.
Quoted sources:
(1)European Tissue Symposium, Press Information April 5th 2013
(2) European Tissue Symposium, Press Information Feb 11th 2009
Further informative articles:
Mayo Clinic: The Hygienic Efficacy of Different Hand-Drying Methods: A Review of the Evidence
Nature World News: Study Finds Paper Towels more Effective than Hand Dryers in Removing Bacteria
-K. Carter
QualityOne Commercial Cleaning, Inc.
Ames, IA