Properly drying your hands after using the bathroom is extremely important in lowering contamination from germs and bacteria. A study found that 85% or the contamination is transmitted when hands are slightly wet – compared to just .06% when a person has dry hands. Despite this, only one in five people say that the dry their hands every time they use a washroom.
This may be due to a number of reasons. They may be in a rush and believe they do not have time. It might be down to paper towels not being available or the hand dryer being out of order. We believe that the most important reason is that people are not aware the effect that this has on hygiene and their own risk.
Because of this, it is important to chose the right hand drying facilities for your business. Below we will cover paper towel, hand dryers and the out dated concept of sharing a towel with other bathroom users.
Paper towel was, until recent advancements in hand dryers, the fastest way to dry your hands. This means that more people will use the facilities. They leave the hands completely dry within 10 seconds. In a study about the hygiene of different hand drying options paper towel won by a large margin. It also found that most people (who have a preference) prefer paper towel. Also, when using eco-friendly paper towels from our paper products range the environmental impact can be minimised.
Hand dryers are also a good option. If the bathroom users are washing their hands properly before using the device the units do a good job at drying hands hygienically. A newer type of hand dryer that dries the hand as quick as paper towel is the best option to improve usage. The newer hand dryers also beat regular paper towels in terms of their environmental impact. Even if it uses coal derived electricity. Lastly, the long term costs of running these hand dryer is often less than the costs of paper towel.
Attitudes towards hygiene have at least moved forward in public places from the shared towel era. These are a breeding ground for bacteria and are a huge risk – especially in shared bathroom facilities. We recommend that any of our customers still using this dated method of hand drying in their business change from this as soon as they can.
Lastly, it is important to inform everyone the importance of drying their hands in your washrooms. Making people aware of the risks and increased contamination when they leave the bathroom without doing so is key. Paper towel is a great facility to give your customers followed closely by hand dryers. Never supply a shared towel for hand drying in a public washroom.
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