Hot Air Hand Dryers Vs Paper Towels: Which Has The Upper Hand?

'THE HAND' 'THE PAPER' DRYER VS. TOWEL WHICH HAS THE UPPER HAND? Hand washing is key to maintaining high levels of personal hygiene, so you'll not be alone in thinking that drying your hands using a sophisticated hot or jet air dryer is a positive step towards following good hygiene practices. However, scientific studies have found that they may not be the most effective and hygienic method of hand drying. So which has the upper hand in hand hygiene? Hot air dryers or paper towels? We let them battle it out. ROUND ONE REMOVAL OF BACTERIA 225% 45% INCREASE DECREASE ROUND TWO AIR BACTERIAL COUNTS 4.15 2.2 COLONIES ON AVERAGE COLONIES ON AVERAGE 43 ROUND THREE CONVENIENCE ONE USER AT A TIME MULTIPLE USERS AT ANY TIME ROUND FOUR TIME SPENT DRYING HANDS 60 SECONDS 22.5 SECONDS 45 ROUND FIVE CONTAMINATION MORE THAN 50ARE NONE FOUND ON PAPER HAND CONTAMINATED BY COLIFORMS TOWEL DISPENSERS ROUND SIX USER PREFERENCE 1 IN 3 2 IN 3 PREFER HOT AIR DRYERS PREFER PAPER TOWELS WINNER BUNZL From a hygiene viewpoint, paper towels are superior to hot air dryers and drying hands thoroughly with single-use, disposable paper towels is the preferred method of hand drying. For hand towel solutions to meet any need, don't forget to stock up at www.bunzlchs.com REFERENCES: University of Westminster Position on the use of electric air dryers versus paper hand towels (2015) Queensland University The Hygienic Efficacy of Different Hand-Drying Methods (2012) BUNZL University of Westminster "Hand drying: a study of bacterial types associated with different hand drying methods and with hot air dryer" (1994) cleaning & hygiene supplies ПD ПT ШН