The Dirty Truth About Hand Dryers

One sure-fire way to keep flu and other viruses at bay is to wash your hands often and well.

But if you can, avoid high-speed jet air dryers in public restrooms. Research shows that they spread — rather than remove — germs. The same is true to a lesser extent for warm air dryers.

The clear winner: Good old-fashioned paper towels.

Importance of handwashing and hand drying

The healthcare and food industries are obsessed with hand hygiene. That’s because in a hospital, transmitting viruses and bacteria can mean life or death. And in a restaurant or on a cruise ship, foodborne illnesses like E. coli and coronavirus can make people severely and even critically ill.

Lots of research has focused on handwashing — and hand drying — techniques as a result.

Let’s separate fact from fiction when it comes to hand drying.

Myth: Hand dryers help kill germs

Fact: Hand dryers can spread viruses and bacteria

The airport. The mall. Your beauty salon. You may have noticed how many public buildings have switched to hand dryers in recent years. Yet researchers have found that mechanical hand dryers may essentially “undo” what handwashing does in the first place — get rid of germs.

In a small 2021 study, volunteers wore aprons while washing and drying their hands. Half of the participants used paper towels to dry their hands while the other half used a jet air dryer. The researchers then analyzed the aprons, the participants’ hands and the surfaces they touched afterward to see how viruses spread.

The results showed that the people who used hand dryers had more viruses on their hands and aprons than those who used paper towels.

Still, these findings were similar to results from other studies, including a 2018 study that found that hand dryers can blow bacteria present in public bathrooms onto your hands.

While this doesn’t confirm that hand dryers can spread certain viruses, the World Health Organization (WHO) did make it clear that hand dryers can’t protect against the COVID-19 virus.

Myth: Jet air dryers are better than traditional warm air dryers

Fact: Jet air dryers spread more microbes than warm air dryers

Could certain air dryers be worse than others? In a 2015 study, microbiologists aimed to find out by comparing jet air dryers to warm air dryers and paper towels.

Here’s what they found:

• The jet air dryer dispersed an average of 60 times more viruses than the warm air dryer and 1,300 times more than paper towels, at six different heights.
• The impact of the viral spread was greatest at 2.5 feet to 4.1 feet — which is about face-level for a small child.
• The jet air dryer dispersed 20 times more viruses than the warm air dryer and 190 times more virus than paper towels, at nine different distances.

The way each method works helps to explain the results. Jet air dryers force air out sideways at ultrahigh speeds, while warm air dryers work by evaporation. Paper towels absorb water. Essentially, both types of hand dryers spread microbes, but jet air dryers have been found to do it more aggressively.

Myth: Hand dryers are more sanitary than paper towels

Fact: Paper towels are the most hygienic

When you’re in a public restroom, remember that low-tech is sometimes better than high-tech and stick with paper towels. As the above studies have noted, opting for paper towels will keep more germs off your freshly cleaned hands than air dryers.

And those cloth towel dispensers? It’s best to avoid them. The patch of cloth at the end of the roll tends to get used over and over again. This transmits germs from hand to hand to hand.

Paper towels are the recommended hand-drying method of the World Health Organization (WHO). The driving reason for this is astonishing: Almost 95% of adults do not wash their hands long enough to thoroughly clean bacteria and viruses from their hands.

The Same Hygiene Studies Found:

• The rubbing process of paper towels physically removes bacteria along with moisture
• Drying your hands with a paper towel can reduce bacteria on hands by as much as 77%
• No coliform bacteria (associated with feces) were found on the paper towel dispensers tested
• Faced with a choice, 90% of people chose paper towels over jet air dryers in the restroom

Using paper towels to dry hands will dry hands more quickly, remove more bacteria, and cause less contamination. Here are 6 key benefits to using paper towels over air dryers.

1. Paper Towels Are More Hygienic 

Pathogens can remain on people’s hands even after they wash their hands with soap and water. In fact, according to a study by Michigan State University, nearly 95% of adults do not wash long enough to thoroughly clean the bacteria and viruses from their hands.

Using a paper towel to rub hands dry will help remove some of the remaining pathogens on them. The physical motion helps kill pathogens as well as take them off the user’s hands.

Unlike paper towels, air dryers can actually increase the number of bacteria on an individual’s hands. A study from the American Society for Microbiology published in 2018 confirmed that hand dryers spread bacteria from the air to people’s hands.

The air in restrooms contains bacteria from when toilets are flushed. The circulation of air from hand dryers can force the pathogens into the air and onto the user’s hands.

2. Paper Towels Reduce the Amount of Germs in the Restroom 

Air dryers remove water and moisture from the user’s hands by forcing air over them. Any remaining water and pathogens are blown from the user’s hands into the air and onto the surrounding surfaces like countertops and doorknobs. Then when those surfaces are touched, pathogens adhere to people’s hands and leave the restroom, increasing the risk of cross-contamination.

Hand dryers sometimes use speeds of over 370 miles per hour (mph), spreading pathogens as far as five feet from the drying unit. Those pathogens can also linger in the air for up to 15 minutes.

Paper towels lower the risk of spreading pathogens through the air, reducing the risk of contaminating nearby surfaces. They capture pathogens and moisture from the user’s hands and can then be deposited into a nearby trash receptacle.

Paper towels can also be used to shut off faucets and open doors so that building occupants don’t have to come into contact with these high-touch surfaces.

3. Paper Towels are Faster Than Air Dryers

With a paper towel dispenser, the user simply grabs a paper towel and leaves. However, with a hand dryer it can take as long as 45 seconds to achieve the same dry as paper towels.

While the difference may not seem like much, those seconds are enough to discourage others to wait in line for the hand dryer and will instead leave the restroom.

Wet hands spread more pathogens than dry hands. Individuals who leave without drying hands put your facility at an increased risk of germ spread and cross-contamination.

Additionally, long lines in the restroom can lead to negative experiences, complaints and bad reviews.

4. Paper Towels are Quieter than Air Dryers 

Hand dryers are noisier than paper towel dispensers.

According to a review by the University of Westminster, the average jet air dryer produced a noise level of 94 dB, which is equivalent to a truck passing by.

Loud noises can be disturbing to occupants, increasing complaints.

5. Sustainable Options are Available

One of the main complaints associated with paper towels is that they are not sustainable because of the paper waste.

However, paper hand towels can be composted to help ensure your restroom is waste-free.

Additionally, to minimize the environmental effects, paper towels can be sustainably sourced or made from recycled materials.

6. Available as a No Touch Solution

To further reduce germ spread, installing no-touch, one-at-a-time hand towel dispensers will ensure that people touch only what they need.

Not only do hands-free towel dispensers reduce germ spread, but they can also reduce the amount of unnecessary towel waste.

Although air dryers are marketed as no-touch solutions, the air produced to dry hands can actually increase germ spread and put your facility at a greater risk of an outbreak.