Consumers and science agree that paper towels are the most hygienic way to dry hands

We all learned a thing or two about hygiene during the Covid-19 pandemic. And many of us have changed our hand hygiene habits as a result. Our own ETS research across 10 European countries finds that the majority of people are now washing their hands more frequently throughout the day and also plumping for paper towels as the most hygienic way to dry their hands when away from home.

Behaviour varies by country and age group: The Spanish and Italians wash their hands most often and the Dutch and Belgians the least frequently, while across all age groups, from 18-65+, the majority now use paper towels to dry their hands in public washrooms.

I was interested to understand if these preferences were backed-up by science and a new study by scientists at the Leeds Institute of Medical Research of the University of Leeds, UK & the Department of Microbiology of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, UK, confirms that they are!

The study explores the extent to which the method of hand drying following hand washing in public restrooms has the potential to impact airborne dissemination of microbial pathogens - including respiratory viruses.

Scientists alternated the use of two hand drying methods - paper towels and jet air dryers – sanitising surfaces after each trial. They coated volunteers’ hands with a harmless virus and made them wear masks to measure contamination by splattering and droplets. They also placed two other individuals in the washroom at 1 and 2 metre distances and measured the contamination of their masks.

Contamination of hand dryer users by splattering was found to be 10 times higher when using jet air dryers than when using paper towels. Contamination of other washroom users was significantly greater too. 89% of masks were contaminated by viruses when using jet air dryers, compared with 29% when using paper towels. Facemask contamination with virus aerosols was higher in the first 5 minutes following hand drying for both methods, although virus load was significantly higher with jet air dryer use.

Anyone working in HORECA or procurement will want to take note. It seems that consumer preferences are rooted in sound science after all: paper towels offer superior hygiene and minimise the spread of viruses when used for hand drying in public washrooms.

For greater details on both studies see here

#tissuepaper #hygiene