Study Confirms That Bathroom Hand Dryers Blast Hands with Fecal Particles
If you’re like me, you don’t touch a damned thing in a public restroom when you have to use one, and you sure as hell don’t use those hand dryers that blast hot air at your hands.
Friends and family have laughed at me for years, but I’ll have the last laugh (and the cleanest hands) thanks to a recent study that’s confirmed the nasty nature of those blow dryers.
The authors of a study recently published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology tested hand dryers in three bathrooms at the University of Connecticut by placing special plates under them and running the hot air for 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 20 minutes.
The results indicated that even at just 30 seconds, huge colonies of bacteria were discovered on the plates, including some drug-resistant strains. It only got worse with more exposure time.
What’s that mean? Basically, when you flush, small water droplets carry fecal matter throughout the room, and when you use those hand dryers, a lot of that poo sticks to you. (And it's been heated up! Yum!)
Sadly, a lot of places only offer hand dryers and not paper towels dispensed from covered rolls. Granted the dryers are more environmentally friendly, but still...I’d rather wipe my hands on the inside of my shirt than use one of those dryers. (In fact, I often do.)
I just want to say kudos to all the places that offer hands-free sinks, plenty of soap, and paper towels to their patrons. Extra points to the places (like Walmart) that don’t even have doors, because I don’t have to waste a paper towel trying not to touch a handle pulled by one of the blow dryer users.
To the rest of you, catch up already! What do you want, another plague?!