6th February 2020 | By Anna Armstrong |
As a hygiene supplier and a distributor of both paper hand towels and hand dryers, we are often asked which ones we prefer, so I thought it would be a good idea to write a blog about the benefits and the draw backs of both the humble paper hand towel and the new ever more popular hand dryer.
Paper Towels are definitely the most hygienic way to dry your hands. You are using an absorbent piece of paper to dry your hands, and it is actually the preferred method for the general pubic (C. Huang et al. 2012). This study assessed twelve groups, and the groups reported little effectiveness in the use of hand dryers, and all preferred hand towels. In fact the study also went on to report that hand towels are not only preferred, but cause less contamination and are in fact superior to hand dryers in terms of infection control – so should always be used in hospitals and clinics. As paper towels are so quick and easy to use, it is a sensible conclusion that most people will use them meaning that less pathogens and contamination are spread.
Paper Towels are definitely a nose a head now…. Right? But if we talk about the Pros of Hand Dryers, they also have their advantages. Hand dryers do keep everything looking tidier, there are no handtowels on the floor, no overflowing bins, they are also said to be better for the environment so that’s all really good. Some of the most advanced hand dryers can be really efficient in hand drying, drying off all water in a matter of seconds.
Confused…… lets continue then to the disadvantages where all will become clear……Paper towels do have a list of cons in terms of cost of continually stocking up, choosing the right towel to ensure low cost in use and making sure that the toilets are regularly checked to make sure that it is clean and there are no paper towels lying around. There is also the environmental concerns about hand towels, because they are made out of paper right? Sure, but if you choose the right kind of supplier, who can provide a sustainable Eco Label Paper Product you can ease your conscience with the facilities you are providing.
The Cons for hand dryers are much more extensive and the most important is the hygiene of these machines. So a hand dryer has a filter, which filters the air which is sucked through the machine, and it also has a filter which filters the air when the warm air is blown through on to your hands. So lets talk about the air in the bathrooms. So when an individual goes to the toilet they will flush the toilet. In public toilets sometimes there is no lid, or the lid is not put down – so when you flush all of the molecules fly in to the air and some of them will get sucked in to the filters of the hand dryers. What are these molecules? They are faecal bacteria, pathogens, and bad bacteria – which when it enters the hand dryer gets heated up (which is great for bacteria to breed!) and are then spewed out on to your hands – nice! As the hand dryer remains on the wall, the bacteria multiply, the bacteria get pushed out in to the air and then sucked in to the dryer again – so hand dryers are a hive of activity for bacteria to grow, multiply and contaminate. If that wasn’t bad enough, you do need to call an electrician in the event of a breakdown, meaning you will need to supply hand towels while you wait for them to come and fix it, and a lot of children don’t like the noise of hand dryers.
Conclusion
The research I have referenced during this blog has said that most people do prefer hand towels, but hand dryers are becoming more and more prevalent, potentially because of the low cost in use. With the higher awareness of hand hygiene, and how clean hands help to reduce the spread of disease, hand towels are becoming more and more important in infection control and reduction of contamination from one area to another. Personally, having worked in the hygiene sector for a long time, I will not go near a hand dryer, and in bathrooms with only a hand dryer present I feel that they are missing a trick.
So you can take this information and do what you will with it, ultimately the choice is yours, and we all have our own preference.
This blog was written by Anna Armstrong, Director of Sales and Operations at Astral. Please get in touch if there are any particular topics you would like us to talk about on the blog!