New research by the University of Westminster suggests that single-use towels are the most hygienic way to dry hands after visiting the washroom. The peer-reviewed study entitled ‘Comparison of different hand-drying methods: the potential for airborne microbe dispersal and contamination’ was published in the March 2015 edition of The Journal of Hospital Infection.
The study was undertaken by leading microbiologist Keith Redway of the University’s Department of Biomedical Sciences. Scientists found that the jet air dryer spread liquid from users’ hands further and over a greater distance – up to 1.5 m – than the other drying methods. They also recorded the greatest spread of microbes into the air at both near and far distances for each of the tested models.
Levels recorded at close distance for a jet air dryer revealed an average of 59.5 colonies of yeast compared with an average of just 2.2 colonies for paper towels. At a distance of 0.2 m the jet air dryer recorded 67 colonies of yeast compared with only 6.5 for paper towels. At a distance of 1.5 m the jet air dryer recorded 11.5 colonies of yeast compared to zero for paper towels.
The research, which was commissioned by the European Tissue Symposium (ETS), also looked at the body height at which microbes were spread by air dryers. It found the greatest dispersal was at 0.6 – 0.9 m from the floor.
