On 30/08/2012 08:26, The Medway Handyman wrote:
On 29/08/2012 22:08, dennis@home wrote:


"Adam Funk" wrote in message
...


You don't get these serious technical problems where they provide
paper towels like civilized people...


NHS facilities provide paper hand towels.
They do so because they are trying to stop infection.
Hand driers spread infection.
High speed hand driers spread more.

That is a load of old bollox promoted by paper towel manufacturers.

Trials last year showed that washing your hands and drying them on
either paper towels or a continuous loop cotton towel reduced the
bacterial count on hands by 45%-60%. Warm air hand driers, on average,
increased the count by 225%.

The nice warm interior of a hand drier in the relatively moist
environment of a toilet is an ideal breeding ground for bacteria.
Fortunately, they are normally ones our immune systems can deal with,
but not always, and a hospital is a good place to find both highly
potent bacteria and lowered immunity.

The big advantage of warm air hand driers is not improved hygiene - they
can spread bacteria up to half a metre from the machine (2m for the high
powered jet dryers) - but lowered cost of maintaining the toilet
facilities. I use paper towels whenever they are provided.

Colin Bignell