Many people around the world think that all public bathrooms should have a hand dryer. But, a recent study has found that these hand dryers might not be as hygienic as you think. A recent study, published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology, in 2015, has been stoking the fire of a longstanding rivalry between Dyson and paper towel manufacturers. The researchers in this study looked at the virus dispersal of three different hand-washing methods: paper towels, conventional “warm air” dryers, and “jet dryers” such as the Dyson Airblade.
The researchers have found that the Airblade-type models spread 1,300 times more viral plaque-forming units than paper towels. And when compared to “warm air” dryers, Airblades spread 60 times the amount. The researchers have also found that jet dryers can fling viruses up to 3 meters (10 feet), while standard warm air dryers only managed 75 centimeters (2.5 feet) and hand towels just 25 centimeters (10 inches). Well, this is why the Dyson Airblade has become a target of the media’s coverage of the study due to their branding as “the fastest, most hygienic hand dryer.” However, the British technology company has questioned some of the methods used in the study.
The researchers in this study asked the participants to wear gloves and wash their hands in a suspension of viruses. And after that, they were then asked to dry their hands using one of the three hand-drying methods. Dyson pointed out that this is an unrealistically high concentration of viruses, as a person would hopefully have washed their hands with soap and water before using the dryer.
So, the company representatives suspect there might be foul play in the dark underbelly of the hand-drying industry. A spokesman for Dyson said that the paper towel industry has scare mongered with this type of research for the past four years. He also mentioned that it has been conducted under artificial conditions, using unrealistically high levels of virus contamination on unwashed, gloved hands. We really hope you enjoyed this article and don’t forget to share it with your friends and family. Thank You.