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Paper Towels or Hot Air Dryers –
Which is Better & Why?
  We all know 80% of common infectious diseases are spread by our hands and effective hand washing remains our best defense – but what about hand drying?
A recent study of different hand drying methods at Queensland University, Australia put this question to test. Hand drying is an essential part of the hand washing process, as the spread of bacteria is more likely to occur with wet skin than from dry skin.
Scientists reviewed twelve independent studies comparing paper towels, cloth towels, and hot air dryers. Hand drying effectiveness included, “the speed of drying, degree of dryness, effective removal of bacteria, and prevention of cross-contamination.”
The study revealed, “from a hygiene viewpoint, paper towels are superior to electronic air dryers” and “drying hands with single-use, disposable paper towels is the preferred method of hand drying.”
Drying efficiency results indicated that, “residual water was more efficiently removed from the hands by cloth or paper towels.” In fact, with just 10 seconds of drying the residual water on the hands was reduced to just 4%. Air dryers were much slower and required 45 seconds to reduce the residual water to 3%. Paper towels can generally achieve 90% or more dryness with normal use.
The effectiveness in the removal of bacteria was measured by assessing the changes in the number of bacteria on the hands before and after the drying.
They found that paper towels, “reduced the numbers of bacteria on the hands” and hot air dryers were the least effective in removing bacteria from washed hands. Micobiological testing of used paper towels, demonstrates that many bacteria are transferred from the hands to the paper towels.”
Another terrifying fact is that every time a toilet is flushed, “a fine aerosol mist can be sprayed into the air. This mist may contain may types of fecal bacteria that can cause diseases. Used air dryers in washrooms are often contaminated and can emit bacteria. So there is a potential risk of persons standing in front of air dryers acquiring the bacteria being dispersed into the air current towards them.”
The review suggests that ultimately paper towels are the best option. However you may have no choice, which is often the case in public or workplace washrooms where only hot air dryers are provided. The study revealed that users have a strong preference for using paper towels and that “hand hygiene adherence would possibly decrease if paper towels are not available in washrooms.”
Also, air dryers allow for only one user at a time and each person could take up to one minute to dry their hands. This often leads to avoidance or incomplete drying. In several studies, on average people spent just 22.5 seconds drying hands, and 41% wiped their hands unhygienically on clothes.  
In instances where paper towels are not available, remember to take extra time to dry your hands with an air dryers and consider carrying a bottle of alcohol hand sanitizer as an added level of defense.
Article Source: http://info.debgroup.com/blog/bid/297155/Paper-Towels-or-Hot-Air-Dryers-Which-is-Better-Why
 
The weight of the human brain is about 3 lbs.
The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain and makes up 85% of the brain’s weight.
Your skin weighs twice as much as your brain.
The brain is made up of about 75% water.
Your brain consists of about 100 billion neurons.
Source:
http://www.nursingassistantcentral.com/
blog/2008/100-fascinating-facts-you-never-knew-about-the-human-brain/
 
 
      Amasht Paper Hygiene Products Pvt. Ltd.
S.No.23, Thergaon, Pune 411 033
email: amasht@vsnl.com www.amasht.net