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Hot-Air Dryers Suck In Nasty Bathroom Bacteria, Shoot Them At Your Hands (arstechnica.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the brutal-blowout dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Hot-air dryers suck in bacteria and hardy bacterial spores loitering in the bathroom -- perhaps launched into the air by whooshing toilet flushes -- and fire them directly at your freshly cleaned hands, according to a study published in the April issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology. The authors of the study, led by researchers at the University of Connecticut, found that adding HEPA filters to the dryers can reduce germ-spewing four-fold. However, the data hints that places like infectious disease research facilities and healthcare settings may just want to ditch the dryers and turn to trusty towels. Indeed, in the wake of the blustery study -- which took place in research facility bathrooms around UConn -- "paper towel dispensers have recently been added to all 36 bathrooms in basic science research areas in the UConn School of Medicine surveyed in the current study," the authors note. The researchers speculated that "one reason hand dryers may disperse so many bacteria is the large amount of air that passes through hand dryers, 19,000 linear feet/min at the nozzle. The convection generated by high airflow below the hand dryer nozzles could also draw in room air."

4 of 133 comments (clear)

  1. Watch out or the germs are gonna getcha! by Fortis+McMannus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There are dangerous germs in and on most things. Our germophobic culture is doing more harm than good in the long run.

    1. Re:Watch out or the germs are gonna getcha! by Khyber · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "So, please explain to me your two paradox statements?"

      You appear to have failed basic high school biology or human anatomy, so I'll try to make this simple for you.

      Dangerous things are in the environment. What really makes them dangerous is when they get out of control. If we don't exercise our immune system against tiny amounts of these things, then when a huge amount become present inside of us we won't have the ability to fight it quickly and efficiently.

      Did you even take biology in high school?

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
  2. Re:Mythbusters already "proved" this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    Bookface link? It would be insulting to real morons to call you a tard.

  3. Re:Always suspected this. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Ethanol attacks susceptible bacteria in many strong ways that are difficult to develop resistance to. Common consensus is bacteria cannot evolve resistance to ethanol. This differs from antibacterial soaps and antibiotics.