On Friday, October 2, 2015 at 8:41:52 PM UTC-4, Don Y wrote:


The hot air dryers are more sanitary -- as are the "hospital style"
faucets (assuming they don't have Ir controlled faucets).

[Note that doctors don't typically touch the sink hardware after
scrubbing]

Some of the hot air driers use a focused sheet of air to sort of "squeegee"
the water off your hands, instead of evaporating it.

But, all of these fall down because you still have to (typically push)
open the door (that everyone else has handled before you!) to exit
the bathroom! (wiser move is to use a paper towel to dry hands; then
use that towel to open the door, discarding it AFTER opening the door)

A recent article in a medical journal debunked the claim that hot air dryers are a more sanitary way to dry hands. They found that there are usually residual pathogenic bacteria on or near the washed areas that get blown into the air and dispersed widely within the bathroom. They concluded that hot air hand dryers are hazardous to health compared with using disposable paper towels that don't require the user to touch a surface in order to access the towels.

As far as public bathroom door handles are concerned, I always take a dry, clean paper towel to the door with me and use it to open the handle. Usually there's a waste basket nearby. If not, I just hold it for the few minutes it takes to find one. If the bathroom only uses hot air hand dryers, I use them with regret and then get some clean toilet tissue in my hand to open the handle of the bathroom door.