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http://aem.asm.org/content/84/8/e00044-18.abstract
Hot-air hand dryers in multiple men's and women's bathrooms in three basic science research areas in an academic health center were screened for their deposition on plates of (i) total bacteria, some of which were identified, and (ii) a kanamycin-resistant Bacillus subtilis strain, PS533, spores of which are produced in large amounts in one basic science research laboratory.
Plates exposed to hand dryer air for 30 s averaged 18 to 60 colonies/plate; but interior hand dryer nozzle surfaces had minimal bacterial levels, plates exposed to bathroom air for 2 min with hand dryers off averaged ≤1 colony, and plates exposed to bathroom air moved by a small fan for 20 min had averages of 15 and 12 colonies/plate in two buildings tested.
Retrofitting hand dryers with HEPA filters reduced bacterial deposition by hand dryers ∼4-fold, and potential human pathogens were recovered from plates exposed to hand dryer air whether or not a HEPA filter was present and from bathroom air moved by a small fan. Spore-forming colonies, identified as B. subtilis PS533, averaged ∼2.5 to 5% of bacteria deposited by hand dryers throughout the basic research areas examined regardless of distance from the spore-forming laboratory, and these were almost certainly deposited as spores. Comparable results were obtained when bathroom air was sampled for spores.
These results indicate that many kinds of bacteria, including potential pathogens and spores, can be deposited on hands exposed to bathroom hand dryers and that spores could be dispersed throughout buildings and deposited on hands by hand dryers.
(Score: 2) by Rivenaleem on Wednesday April 18 2018, @08:10AM (2 children)
As an experiment some time, shake the water off your hands into the sink 10-12 times. Then use ONE sheet of paper to dry your hands. Throw that sheet away and get another. After using the second sheet, examine it to see just how wet it got. A lot of people instinctively grab a whole bunch of sheets, scrunch them up and then throw mostly dry sheets into the trash. One sheet is all you need. You will see that your hands do not get much drier after using that first sheet.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 18 2018, @11:42AM
Often the sheet dispensers are so overfilled, that when you try to pull one you: 1) shred it in many pieces, or 2) pull a shitload of those towels in one go.
(Score: 2) by danaris on Wednesday April 18 2018, @12:54PM
I've seen some advice that says shake off 12 times, then take 1 sheet and fold it in quarters. That seems like it's probably better than the standard way, but still always leaves my hands damp.
I have, for years, taken 2 sheets together, dried, then taken a third sheet, and finished drying. The third sheet definitely, always, gets wet enough that you wouldn't want to use it for anything else.
Dan Aris