Projectile Pathogens

Sometimes you have a choice. You can wipe your hands on an old fashioned, environmentally-unfriendly paper towel which you toss in the trash, or you can use one of those fancy-pants hand dryers. There’s no mess afterward and your hands dry off in record time. But a study shows that you may as well dunk your hands in the toilet. 

The Dyson Air Blade feels magnificent. It doesn’t dry out your hands, somehow, and the strong, warm air is comforting.

long, grey dryer affixed to a wall with hand-shaped openings at the top where you insert your wet hands, fingers first
photo by Mat Walker

We got pretty excited the first time we saw one in London, England back in 2008. Air blasts out at a speed of 400 MPH and dries even the soggiest paws as you dunk them in and pull them up slowly. Trouble is, it can also blast bacteria up to 3 metres across the room. Researchers say this particular model spreads 60 times more bugs than an old fashioned hand blower, and 1,300 times more than paper towels.

So what’s more important? The environmental issue of using up paper or the health concerns for yourself and those around you? I’ll stick with paper, thank you. If the trees have a problem with that, give them my number.

3 thoughts on “Projectile Pathogens”

  1. Paper hand towels are environmentally friendly to a point in that they are often recycled paper. Hand dryers are just more convenient and cost effective over the long run.

  2. Some of them are so noisy too, almost deafening. I walk out with my hands soaking wet and just let them air dry. My hearing is too important….more so than dry hands

  3. I am finding that you do not have the option of paper or air anymore. It is either air or drying your hands on the back of your pants. If I notice that it is only a hand dryer, I have been known to come out of the stall with a wad of TP so that I can dry my hands.

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