We must wash our hands when we get home, after using the bathroom, before eating, cooking or approaching a baby or someone who is sick.
But is there a correct way to dry your hands after washing them?
«After washing your hands well with soap and water, no one wants to get them dirty again with a damp, smelly towel that has been hanging up for who knows how long», says the BBC, «which is why many public bathrooms offer disposable paper towels or automatic air jet dryers, known as “more hygienic and sustainable”».
But, according to research carried out in the United Kingdom, France and Italy, jet air dryers are basically “bacteria cannons”, says the BBC.
Scientists from the University of Leeds, in the United Kingdom, the Saint-Antoine Hospital in Paris, France, and the University of Udine, in Italy, discovered that “these devices disperse alarming amounts of bacteria into the air and onto the surfaces of the places where they are installed ».
This happens because «people, in general, do not wash their hands properly and, when drying them with powerful air jets, they spread residual bacteria».
Scientists declare in an article published in the specialized journal Journal of Hospital Infection that “there is little justification for the use of jet air dryers in public bathrooms, due to the risks”.
“Paper towels absorb water and microbes that remain on your hands and, if disposed of correctly, have less potential for contamination,” they argue.
