WEBVTT - Do Hand Dryers Really Spread Germs?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren volgabam Here. The last thing people want in a

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<v Speaker 1>public restroom is more germs, But depending on how they

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<v Speaker 1>wash and dry their hands, that maybe exactly what they're spreading.

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<v Speaker 1>There's a large vein of research studying the effects of

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<v Speaker 1>hand washing, hand drying, and germs, and the results are

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<v Speaker 1>complicated and take. A study published in the journal Applied

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<v Speaker 1>and Environmental Microbiology, the authors found, after studying samples collected

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<v Speaker 1>from both ambient bathroom air and air dryer blown bathroom air,

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<v Speaker 1>and that because hand dryers suck in the air in

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<v Speaker 1>a restroom which is full of constantly circulating microbes and debris,

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<v Speaker 1>and then spew it out at a high velocity, they

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<v Speaker 1>actually expose people to more microbes. The researchers exposed both

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<v Speaker 1>types of air to petree dishes and found out that

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<v Speaker 1>when the hand dryers weren't running, only six bacterial colonies grew,

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<v Speaker 1>but when the dryers were running, the total number of

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<v Speaker 1>colonies grew to as many as sixty per plate, and

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<v Speaker 1>included strains of staff that are capable of causing serious infection.

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<v Speaker 1>Another study published in twenty fifteen in the Journal of

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<v Speaker 1>Applied Microbiology compared different hand drying methods and their effect

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<v Speaker 1>on germ dispersal. The researchers discovered that those vertical jet

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<v Speaker 1>air dryers can actually spread viruses across a distance of

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<v Speaker 1>nearly ten ft or three meters. The jet air dryers

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<v Speaker 1>are activated when a person vertically inserts their hands inside

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<v Speaker 1>the machine, causing powerful air jets to turn on. However,

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<v Speaker 1>the researchers found that these air jets spread viral plaques,

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<v Speaker 1>which are groups of clumped viruses, at a rate of

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<v Speaker 1>one thousand, three hundred times more than paper towels. The

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<v Speaker 1>study did not investigate the distribution of bacteria, which are

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<v Speaker 1>bigger than viruses. The findings were recorded after participants dipped

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<v Speaker 1>gloved hands into a solution with an innocuous virus. Participants

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<v Speaker 1>then shook excess liquid off their gloves and used one

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<v Speaker 1>of three drying methods paper towels, warm air dryers, and

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<v Speaker 1>jet dryers. The researchers then collected air samples at a

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<v Speaker 1>variety of distances from each type of dryer. They also

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<v Speaker 1>used petree dishes to collect viruses that landed on surfaces

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<v Speaker 1>adjacent to the drawing stations. In the end. The jet

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<v Speaker 1>air dryer spread viruses the farthest, so that sounds bad,

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<v Speaker 1>but not so fast, says Dyson, the company that makes

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<v Speaker 1>the popular air Blade jet air dryers. In two thousand eight,

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<v Speaker 1>the Dyson jet air dryer was the first such product

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<v Speaker 1>to earn accreditation from the Royal Society for Public Health.

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<v Speaker 1>Dyson argues that other research from found that upcent of

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<v Speaker 1>fresh yet unused paper towels tested in the US contained

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<v Speaker 1>bacteria which can transfer to hands. Dyson also contends that

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<v Speaker 1>the Journal of Applied Microbiology study artificially inflated germ concentrations.

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<v Speaker 1>In real life situations, the company says most people would

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<v Speaker 1>not have the sheer number of viruses on their hands

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<v Speaker 1>as was used in the study, nor would they stick

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<v Speaker 1>their unwashed, virus coated hands into a jet dryer without

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<v Speaker 1>rinsing and cleaning first. So what's the best course of

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<v Speaker 1>action for hand washers? Even the professionals are debating the issue.

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<v Speaker 1>A study published an Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology in

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<v Speaker 1>compared the three step handwashing method outlined by the US

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<v Speaker 1>Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC to the

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<v Speaker 1>six step strategy of the World Health organization. The study,

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<v Speaker 1>which observed doctors and nurses using both of these hand

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<v Speaker 1>washing techniques, found the six step method got rid of

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<v Speaker 1>more bacteria. This method includes using an alcohol based hand rub.

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<v Speaker 1>The CDC has since changed the recommendation from the three

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<v Speaker 1>step handwashing process to a five step protocol. The issue

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<v Speaker 1>of compliance when implementing the six step process came up

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<v Speaker 1>during the study, though for the article this episode is

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<v Speaker 1>based on how Stuff Works. Spoke with Jackie Riley, these

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<v Speaker 1>studies lead author. She said only of providers completed the

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<v Speaker 1>entire hand hygiene process, despite participants having instructions on the

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<v Speaker 1>technique in front of them and having their technique observed.

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<v Speaker 1>This warrants for their investigation. Taking all of this into

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<v Speaker 1>consideration for now, I'd say that everyone washing their hands

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<v Speaker 1>properly in the first place is perhaps more important than

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<v Speaker 1>which drying method is used afterwards. As we all learned

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<v Speaker 1>at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, that's wetting your

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<v Speaker 1>hands and rubbing all of your hand surfaces, including the

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<v Speaker 1>fingertips and nails, with soap for at least twenty seconds

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<v Speaker 1>or two rounds of Happy Birthday. Today's episode is based

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<v Speaker 1>on the article Hand jet, hand dryers, really blast out

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<v Speaker 1>a germ cloud? Well, yes and no on how Stuffworks

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<v Speaker 1>dot Com, written by Laurie L. Dove. Brain Stuff is

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<v Speaker 1>production of I Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff

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<v Speaker 1>Works dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Clang. Four

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<v Speaker 1>more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app,

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