Normally, I skip out on the public bathroom sink and use a pocket(book)-sized bottle of Purel to sanitize my hands. Recently, though, I've heard that Purel, and other similar hand sanitizers, eliminate even good bacteria.
Hearing this, I've decided to do a combination of both hand washing and Purel-using, depending on the bathroom (nice restaurant gets the hand washing... dirty gas station stalls get the Purel).
Even still, there is a debate on the idea of hand washing in public bathrooms-- the paper towel versus the automatic hand dryer.
Apparently, though the automatic hand dryer may be better (healthier, if you will) for Mother Earth, people using one may contract more germs from the button that they push to start one!
Also, users often leave the bathrooms with wet or damp hands - and
"wet hands transfer bacteria 500 times more readily than dry hands," according to HFL (
Handwashing For Life Institute).
Paper towels, however, are the definite winner when it comes to effectively drying wet hands. But paper towel dispensers face the same problem as hand dryers -- that little towel crank carries wet germs from other hand washers, which can lead to sickness just as frequently.
So what is the definitive hand washing solution? Would you rather be under-germed, as is the problem with hand sanitizers, have wet germs, caused by hand dryers... or have too many germs, caused by paper towel cranks?
healthkicker.com
Ms. Energy Drink
Comments (33)
I suppose this may sound bad, but I tend to crank before I wash my hands, tear off the towel, dry my hands, then crank it for the next person (at least a little piece). I figure the handle is already pretty dirty, so adding my unwashed germs to it isn't that big a deal. I bop the air dryer with an elbow. I don't own a hand sanitizer...
One potato, two potato?
I'd rather not be OCD about handwashing. I'll be pleased as long as there is no "? matter" on my hands. If I get a cold, I'm always going to assume it was from somewhere else.
this izza delema ive ben tryin to figur out forra long tyme wen i hafta uze a publik sink i use a paper towel or my elbow to turn it off & on same goez for dryer or bathroom door handlez & if werse komz to werse i wipe my handz on my tshurt rather than touch stuf im not familiur with unless the restroom izzin pristeen kondishun then i thro caushun to the wind but i never use hand sanityzer cuz it stinks & the sent makes me gag all this frumma guy who haz akshooly lain down on the floor offa publik restroom to well you kno hahahahahahaha pepul ar funny about sanitary shit
I don't know if the electric hand dryers are really any better for the environment. They use power, so they have a carbon footprint too.
Many of the public bathrooms I've been in don't have a hand crank on the paper towels. They're singles, so you just pull out what you need (like a napkin dispenser).
I get the paper towel by using my elbow to push the thing down. lol. I also grab paper towel, and open the door holding it if it is a not so clean place. My friends make fun of me but I carry a small purel keychain on my car keys.
Hell, how about never enter a restroom that doesn't have everything automated? Or maybe we could just keep a meticulously clean house and stay home and never go out.
If I get the opportunity, I crank the paper towel before I wash my hands with my elbows. Then I used that paper towel I dry my hands with to turn the knob of the faucet and open the door.
That's why you get your paper towel ready before you wash your hands
so you don't have to touch the handle after you washed your hands
arent there like automatic hand dryers that you put your hands under and it automatically starts drying your hands for you so you dont have to push the button or just use your own napkins, towels, tissues whatever to dry your hands with. germs arent just by contact it could also be airborne (which is unlikely) but it happens. germs are everywhere.
this izza delema ive ben tryin to figur out
forra long tyme wen i hafta uze a publik sink i use a paper towel or my
elbow to turn it off & on same goez for dryer or bathroom door
handlez & if werse komz to werse i wipe my handz on my tshurt
rather than touch stuf im not familiur with unless the restroom izzin
pristeen kondishun then i thro caushun to the wind but i never use hand
sanityzer cuz it stinks & the sent makes me gag all this frumma guy
who haz akshooly lain down on the floor offa publik restroom to well
you kno hahahahahahaha pepul ar funny about sanitary shit
What the hell did that say?
@OhItzJustMe@xanga - Yeah. I stopped trying to decipher it after the first line.
At work, everything is automatic, so I don't have to worry about this, but you've now made me very paranoid about every other place I will use the restoom! :)
there's a certain way to wash your hands--
get the paper towel ready, turn on the water, wash and scrub hands with soap for 10-15 seconds, wipe your hands with the paper towel, and then turn off the faucet. and use the towel to open the door, or else everything u did before would be totally pointless
well a lot of the paper towel dispensers are automatic now and if not, just use your elbow. They are better than the air dryers because its just blowing the germ filled air back onto your hands. And yes, antibac soap is being looked down on more because we need some of those "germs" to actually help fight off bigger "badder" germs. And like you said, we need some of the bacteria to do that. So wash away, paper towel dry, and use a paper towel to open the bathroom door on your way out. And unless you go to a really nasty place, or touch something detestable, dont bother with the antibac pocket hand santis.
This may sound really germaphobic, but I always use my sleeve or a paper towel to turn on water and open the door.
I usually end up using Purel too.. public bathrooms gross me out.
I use both dryer and paper towel...
the act of washing your hands with soap loosens dirt, debris and bacteria. the paper towels are what actually get rid of it all. Â Paper towels are much more effective than the air dryers, because air dryers really just blows them all around.
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You should crank your paper towel before washing your hands. Use that same paper towel to turn the faucet off and open the door. The sinks and toilets usually have a sensor in more modern places. Most of the restrooms here have a sensor for the dryer and paper towels so you don't have to touch anything, just wave your hand. There isn't a door really, just an open area to walk in and out. So thank you for sensors and then I just use antibacterial hand lotion.
@MusingsOfAnAlmostSocio@xanga - I do the same and usually use the paper towel to turn off the faucet and open the bathroom door after as well (to compensate for all the people who got straight from the stall out the door with heaven knows what on their hands).
I'm a big fan of auto faucets, auto dryers and bathroom doors that push out when you exit so you don't have to pull the yucky door handle. I do keep Purell around for using before eating when I'm out and about or after using ATMs or other high germ places. I guess I err on the side of paranoia.
Right well. Firstly it's handwashing and not a big deal, your immune system is there to protect you from the bacteria you pick up and generally speaking it does a damn good job of it.
Secondly it makes no difference. For any of those things. Your hands are always covered in bacteria.
well i used to work at a lot of different fast food places when i was in highschool and what they teach you is to count 20 seconds while washing your hands with soap
A lot of researchers are stating that the best way to wash your hands is with good old fashioned soap and warm water, not the antibacterial soaps in the fancy restaurants. However, that's not always possible, so we'll have to make do. I've heard the same thing about Purrell too, but I keep one in my car because, well, there just isn't space in there to put a sink in!! A lot of places are now setting up the hand dryer with the sensor so that nobody has to touch it (although some people do keep touching it...???). The paper towel dispense and sink are almost all set as sensors. It costs a bit more for the place of business, but more sanitary than not.
Thanks for the great post!
get 4 pieces of paper towel first. wet your hands with very warm water and soap, lather (singing yourself a Happy Birthday song or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) even in between the fingers! then without rubbing the hands to rid of the soap, let the water do its job and rinse off the soap, preferrably with the hands (fingers) pointed downward. don't shake off after! just let the hands hang down (yes dripping water everywhere) then use one paper towel to dry one hand, another for the other. after, use third piece to hold the faucet(s) to turn off the water, fourth for the door handle. and voila! that's the method health care professionals are taught for safe hand-washing!
personally i prefer a dryer, especially the ones with overheating powers. and i make sure my hands are dried all the way before i leave. when all the machinery's automatic, great. if not, i manage with my elbows.
as far as singing is concerned, the length it takes to sing yourself a Happy Birthday (in regular speed) is considered an effective hand-washing time.
about anti-bacterial agents...i would use it as a last case scenario. if you've got access to water, soap and paper towel, that's the best way to go.
I read somewhere on a news site that triclosan does NOT kill bacteria, and that the only reason washing your hands makes them clean is the friction loosening the germs, and the water swirling them down the drain. Also my argument against purell: even if those germs are killed, they're still sitting there on your hands until you really wash them :/ Also think about the source of the germs, like bathroom use.
hot water when you can. always use soap. if no soap, then try to work up a water lather.