You Should Avoid Using The Hand Dryers In The Public Bathrooms! Here’s Why.

You’re in a public bathroom. You’ve just washed your hands. You head toward the paper towel dispenser. But there’s also an electric hand dryer. Which do you use? You probably think that air-drying is more hygienic than wiping your hands on paper towels. But it’s not true, because a recent study found that using modern hand dryers spreads 1300 times as many germs around the bathroom as drying with a paper towel.

A study published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology compared the dispersal of viruses when people dry their hands with paper towels vs. hand dryers and found that jet air dryers were by far the worst offender. It was found that germs around the jet dryers and warm air dryers were far more than those around paper towel dispensers. Jet dryers happen to be the worst, as they had 4.5 times more bacteria than warm air dryers and a whopping 27 times more than paper towel dispensers.

According to this study, hand dryers are the dirtiest and unhygienic thing in the restroom. It blows out air at more than 300 miles per hour. It ends up spreading germs across the washroom making it a dirty place. Even if you are standing close to the person who is using a hand dryer, there are chances to end up getting some germs over yourself.

To minimize the spread of bacteria in public restrooms, wash your hands completely and thoroughly, always opt for paper towels over a hand dryer if you have a choice. Because many restrooms don’t offer paper towels (or any kind of towel) anymore, carry a small supply of paper towels or paper napkins with you when you go out.