Wednesday, 11 November 2009
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Air Dryer vs. Paper Towels
I'm trying to get my facts straight. I know that paper towels leave lots of physical waste and a mess in the bathroom and that air dryers have a nicely placed plaque that states they are better for the environment. But ultimately, which is better? That is what I'd like to know.
Which is more sanitary, the bathroom air dryer or paper towels? Which is better for the environment, the bathroom air dryer or paper towels?
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- From: clandestin_e@xanga
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Comments (22)
air dryers are warm so it can contain a lotta bacteria. THis bacteria gets directly blown onto your hands when you dry them so paper towels.
i guess the 'obvious' answer here would be the air dryers but since you proposed such a question, you must've known this anyway. :\
i would say paper towels. && i just found another healthkicker article, http://www.healthkicker.com/713013598/sitting-on-the-public-porcleain-god-unhealthy-or-just-gross/?=itemrelated it said "Avoid air-dryers if possible. While they may toast your hands on a cold winters day, most people don't realize that these hand dryers are actually sucking up the air inside the bathroom and heating it to spit back out. By sucking up the bathroom's air, they're also sucking up the bathroom's bacteria - and then shooting it out onto your hands. If that's not gross and unhealthy, I don't know what is."
but what happens when you touch the door with your hand. you just got MAD germs.
when i can use paper towels i use it to open the door so i dont have to touch everyone elses grossness xD
i feel that paper towels make me feel more 'sanitary'
as for more environmental friendly we can always use recycleable towels ?
Hand dryers are powered by electricity.
Most electricity is powered by nuclear or fossil fuelled power stations which produce a huge amount of carbon emissions.
Hardly environmentally friendly.
Paper can and does come from sustainable (re)sources.
I guess electricity does too but the majority is as above.
Personally I have to say paper towel. It's quicker and more convenient.
Paper towels dry faster.
Air dryers take forever.
Just don't overuse the paper towels -- take only what you really need to dry your hands off.
I wrote about the environmental effects with the same picture :P
http://curiousitea.xanga.com/711664740/paper-towels--good-or-bad/
Air dryers are said to actually breed bacteria... ew!
Like others have said, air dryers just pick up air from the bathroom, so they're really not that sanitary. And they use electricity, which mostly comes from non-renewable resources.
Plus it takes forever to use an air dryer if you actually want dry hands. =P
i think both has its pros and cons
Paper towels are better. Someone already mentioned recycling paper towels to be more environmentally friendly. As far as cleanliness, I'm a germaphobe, so I like using paper towels to turn the sink off and open the door. If I ever had to design a public restroom, I would make the toilet, sink, and paper towel holder motion-sensored, and you'd have to push the bathroom door open to get out, that way you don't have to touch any handles w/your clean hands... lol.
paper towels get my vote, trees are a renewable resource (GASP!!!) and paper towels can be recycled. I know that they usually end up in the trash but the ones you start with are often recycled materials. Hand dryers are put a lot more pressure on the environment to produce, and then there is the terrifying germs that live on them and in them and blow around.
I also am a fan of the shake and pat on your pants... just sayin'DYSON AIRBLADE!
paper towels.
@karmavore@ireallylikefood - i do that sometimes. i kinda like hand-prints so it evens out.
Paper Towels hands down.
PAPER TOWELS! The air dryer takes the air from the room and off the dirty germy floor and re-deposits it on your hands. ICK
Bacteria and viruses are not spread by hand dryers according to all studies, period. This is a fact backed by The Mayo Clinic and various research labs in Canada and the USA.
A typical bathroom in the US is 3 bathroom stalls, 2 sinks and a paper towel dispenser or hand dryer. This scenario equates to aproximately 22,500 hand dryings per year. If a paper towel dispenser is used, it will cost between $800-900 USD for those 22,500 hand dryings while a high powered hand dryer will cost you between $10-25 USD for the same 22,500 hand dries.
For those of you who don't like to touch door handles...every heard of hand sanitizer?
Recylced paper towel still goes into land fills and garbage dumps.
Just look into into the manufacturing process for paper towels...the carbon footprint is horrendous.
New technology people. Get on board. Stop using paper towel and aid in the killing our environment.
paper towels always.
i'd rather wipe my hands on my jeans than use an air dryer.
they're nasty.
Air dryers are totally unsantiary. The warmth of the air (not to mention the regular air in a public bathroom environment entering the unit) causes bacteria to form in the machines. And while these dryers may be repaired if they breakdown, they aren't maintained in any way that actually cleans their inner workings. If they were, there would be a notice posted beside them saying how often they are cleaned and when the last cleaning was.
The lack of regular sanitation maintenance of air dryers aside, they can't help keep the germs off of a person like paper towels can. Think of how many people don't bother with the water, soap, air dryers or paper towels! At least, after you wash your hands after a visit to the facilities and dry them on the paper towels, you can use the paper towel to grasp the door handle on your way out and toss it away before the door closes behind you. That paper towel not only dries your hands, bacteria free, but provides a barrier between you and the germs left by people who didn't bother to wash. An air dryer can't do that.
If there is no alternative but an air dryer, I'll wash my hands, push the door open with my butt (thankfully, public restroom doors all open out) and let my hands dry naturally.
Air dryers might be better for the environment, depending on the type of paper towels you are using. They do have eco-friendly, recycled and with a faster biodegrading time paper towels on the market, but finding them in a public restroom is not likely. They usually just get the generic, cheap kind, to save money for other things in the establishment.
However, air dryers recycle the air that is in the bathroom already, which might not be all that sanitary, I've heard. So, really, either way is probably just as sanitary as the other.
If you're talking eco-friendly, maybe they're the way to go. But, I bet those machines are less biodegradable than the paper towels when they want to be discarded. :p Then again, you don't use nearly as many of those machines as paper towels. Just depends on how you look at it.
I don't like them, because those air dryers are rarely warm enough and even when they are, they aren't potent enough to actually dry my hands. This is a problem if I'm not the only person in the room waiting for that air dryer. That means that I use it once or twice and then wipe my hands on my clothes and leave, before the line gets too long waiting for it. So, the functionality of it that way isn't that great. Its personally just faster and more effective to use the paper towels.
I've always heard that air dryers are not good because they spray germs all over the place... but they are more environmentally friendly... I still like my paper towels though! I like to open the door after using the rest room with it too!
@G1G1626 - ditto! i use the towels to open the door. if there's only an air dryer then after opening the door i use hand sanitizer.
How many paper towel's worth of wood does it take to make the electricity needed to dry someone's hands? Just wondering.
I like paper towel better.
http://beautifullifesharing.blogspot.com