When was the last time you saw one of
these in a public lavatory?...
[source]
Aside from being unhygienic, the
continuous cloth towel roll frequently jammed.
So how
should we dry our hands? Paper towels? Warm air hand dryers?
Studies have found that "
hand dryers harbour bacteria and can blast germs into the atmosphere and promote infection."
Another study suggests that "
paper towels are more efficient because they dry hands quicker and prevent transfer of germs."
Yet another study concludes that "
paper towels and warm air hand dryers have the highest environmental toll."
Then there's the
Dyson Airblade. Here we see Sir James Dyson of
vacuum cleaner fame who states that "
the Dyson Airblade hand dryers dry hands quickly and that
the digital motor self-adjusts 6,000 times a second to maintain optimum
efficiency."
I'm seeing more and more of these in public toilets. The hand dryer, that is...NOT Sir James.
Dyson's come up with another hand-drying innovation...the
Dyson Airblade Tap Hand Dryer (click illustration to enlarge)...
The
Dyson Airblade Tap Hand Dryer combines a faucet
and a hand dryer, letting users dry their hands at the sink, rather than hiking over to a hand dryer and letting water drip all over the floor. Dyson thinks it ultimately "
ought to be in everybody's
house" as it's more hygienic than using and re-using hand towels. But with a price tag of
£999, we won't be seeing one soon in the Infomaniac salle de bain. If you want to see how it works, click here for a video clip.
So how do
you dry your hands in a public toilet facility?