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This was demonstrated on "Mythbusters" in 2013: "Hot-air hand dryers are less sanitary than paper towels in public restrooms. CONFIRMED In a preliminary test
by byteCoder 8y ago
This was demonstrated on "Mythbusters" in 2013:
"Hot-air hand dryers are less sanitary than paper towels in public restrooms.
CONFIRMED
In a preliminary test, Adam and Jamie found that washing their hands properly with soap did not leave behind enough bacteria for them to count, so in the remaining tests, participants only used water to wash their hands.
Sixteen volunteers were enlisted to have their hands sprayed with a harmless strain of E. coli bacteria. The volunteers’ hands were then swabbed for a sample, then washed using water but no soap, then swabbed again, then dried using paper towels, then swabbed a third time. Next, the entire process was repeated with the same volunteers, but using hand dryers instead of paper towels. On average, the paper towels removed 71% of the bacteria on the volunteers’ hands, while the hand dryers only removed 23%, confirming that the myth is true for individuals.
Adam and Jamie also wanted to find out how clean the drying area of the restroom stayed with each drying method. Before the previous experiment began, the mock restrooms were thoroughly cleaned. After the experiment, swabs from the paper towel area yielded 3 bacteria colonies while swabs from the hand dryer area yielded 41 colonies, confirming that the myth is also true in regards to the cleanliness of the restroom."
https://mythresults.com/down-dirty-earthquake-survival https://mythresults.com/down-dirty-earthquake-survival
- withdavidli 8y agoSounds like cleanliness of bathroom counts many times more if people use soap. If using soap and same and having a clean bathroom, paper vs dryer doesn’t matter. Is this correct?
- princeb 8y agoactually this is pretty comforting to know for a few reasons: 1. soap really, really works. it works so well it doesn't seem to matter whether you dry your hands with paper towels or hot air later. 2. hand dryers don't put more shit (literally) on your hands, it just takes less off. so it's still good! maybe it's better than leaving your hands wet. what they should have tested is whether air drying beats wiping your hands on the back of your jeans, which i am guessing is actually quite nasty.
- azinman2 8y agoMy interpretation of the article was that it was the opposite — it puts it on.
- akira2501 8y ago> Adam and Jamie also wanted to find out how clean the drying area of the restroom stayed with each drying method. Before the previous experiment began, the mock restrooms were thoroughly cleaned. Which is already completely unrealistic. Next time you see a Dyson "Air Blade" in a restroom, bend down and look into the machine from the side. What you see will almost certainly prevent you from ever using one of those ever again.
- radicaldreamer 8y agoSpoiler: It's corroded and full of gunk - either fungus or bacteria because it's a nice warm spot with plenty of moisture and heat.