Monday, September 29, 2014

Hand-Drying Hygiene

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?

39 comments:

  1. "When was the last time you saw one of these in a public lavatory?..."

    We had one of those from first through sixth grade at my elementary school. I always thought it was nasty so I would use paper towels and still do to this day. I also use the paper towel to open the bathroom door.

    First

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    1. AYEM8Y: Like you, I don’t wish to make skin contact with the washroom door so I use my ample hips to swing it open.

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  2. My personal modus operandi in a public toilet, is to NEVER TOUCH ANYTHING in there after washing my hands.

    Ideal is motion-activated water and paper towel. If manual tap, I use a paper towel to shut off. If manual dispenser, I get the paper towel first then wash hands.

    Most air-dryers are not effective. The Dyson AirBlade is OK, but the slot is too narrow.

    I ALWAYS use a paper towel to operate the door handle. In case one is not provided, I ALWAYS carry a few spare paper towels in my pocket.

    And, yes, the cloth ones are rare, but still out there.

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    1. LX: I share your opinion that the slot on the Dyson Airblade hand dryer is too narrow. I have small hands yet I’ve accidentally touched the sides of the dryer, resulting in a feeling akin to panic. EEEK! Germs!

      Is that a paper towel in your pocket or are you just happy to see us?

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    2. EXACTLY!

      your hands touch the stupid thing! i too touch nothing, except of course, my gloriously spotless shlong! !

      Delete
  3. I see one of the towel rolls almost every day at work, unfortunately. The loos on our floor only have the towel rolls rather than hot air dryers or paper towels.
    Luckily, I've yet to discover that someone's managed to wipe their bum with it as they appear to have done with the one in the photo...

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    1. MR. DeVICE: Those continuous cloth towel rolls are installed fairly high up on the wall so my question is, how did someone reach this high to wipe their arse?

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    2. Wait a minute... Mr. DeVice is something like 6'6" tall....

      *points finger accusingly*

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  4. Purell ! Never without it. And, I have a phobia about escalator hand rails. They are NEVER cleaned. If you see a little old gay guy propping himself with his elbow on an escalator; its me. (be sure to say hello)

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    1. i'm trying to envision you with your elbows on the rail.....built like ET?

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    2. GROUCHY: I don’t remember the last time I touched an escalator handrail or pushed an elevator button with my bare hand.

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  5. "How do you dry your hands in a public toilet facility?"

    On someone else's underwear, of course! Jx

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    1. JON: I’m not sure what The British Toilet Association would have to say about this.

      Delete
    2. I should subscribe! Apparently:

      "Our developing Toilet Map project will greatly enhance the public’s quest for finding a decent clean – open – facility as the map will contain/identify all recorded sites and then give a detailed Information Profile Sheet. This will clearly show all the internal facilities offered along with opening times and adjacent amenities. A Trip Planner and Favourites feature will also allow travellers to plan their journeys and regular stops in advance, visit other amenities en-route and avoid the disappointment of wasted journeys or time consuming detours."

      Useful stuff!

      Jx

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    3. *splutters*
      Damn it.... I used to review public toilets... this is what happens when I stop blogging properly. I bet their reviews aren't as good as mine.
      * wanders off with skirt tucked in knickers and loo paper stuck on my shoe*
      Sx

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    4. Clearly Mitzi isn't a member, as it doesn't even mention glory-holes. Jx

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    5. JON & MISS SCARLET: Isn’t it nice that the BTA map will include opening times for those keen to be first in line at the public toilets?

      The BTA website even has a section on Truckers' Toilets…Perhaps we should notify our Perv of the Day. And let’s put MITZI in charge of this page!

      And the BTA gives out awards although I’m not sure how I would feel about winning The British Toilet Association’s “The Attendant of the Year Award.”

      Miss Scarlet, you must get involved in their “Where Can I Go?” campaign.

      Delete
  6. Snap on rubber gloves... perform ablutions... snap off rubber gloves... touch everything with tips of extendable nails. Job done.
    Sx

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    1. MISS SCARLET: Extendable nails provided by The Infomaniac House of Beauty.

      Delete
  7. Paper towels. Nothing else. If not available I carry some Tempos or stuff. I hate these rotten blowers. Ugly, inefficent, bleurgh.
    The endless cloth rolls are still around, some modernised with a sensor - move your hands under it and sometime that silly thing will react or not. The clean and dry section is always too small. Nonsense.
    I would never stuck my hands into this Dyson device.
    I want a paper towel for my hands and one for leaving to touch the door knob.
    A terrible thing are soap dispensers, 8 from 10 do not work properly. Either there comes out nothing or it squirts all over you and one looks like the victim of an autoerotic accident.

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    Replies
    1. MAGO: Yes, you must be careful when you touch KNOBS!

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  8. BTW what strange cuffs does Dyson wear ? From paper ? Askew ? I think it is a terrible design, sooner or later someone will pee into it. Sooner.

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    1. MAGO: It looks like he’s wrapped coffee filters around his wrists. How odd.

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  9. btw: last time i recall seeing one of these things was in a filthy chinese restaurant loo. made me chuckle.

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    1. There is always time for rat-tatouille on rice ...

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  10. Those Dysons have a right good blow on them don't they? All thoughts of hygiene goes straight out the window when there is a huge erect penis poking out through a hole from the other side of the partition and is waiting for your attention. I don't wash my hands in public toilets any more, why bother when nearly all public toilets I've been to provide a trickle of cold water, from a push button tap, you have to keep your hand pressed continually on the knob just to get a constant flow which means having to wash your hands one at a time and cold water doesn't kill germs, so instead, I carry a small bottle of Alco gel around with me and in emergencies it makes an excellent lube.

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    1. MITZI: Welcome back!

      I understand your dilemma…one gets tired of gripping the knob for so long. I have an assortment of anti-bacterial potions with me at all times.

      How were the public loos abroad?

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    2. The public toilets I visited in Palma were second to none. However I have been to some places in Europe where the toilets have been vomit inducing. In a café in Marseille, Carmen returned to the table raving about how beautiful the toilet was, with beautiful green marble tiles with brass taps and fittings with a lovely floral arrangements of freesias and roses, I couldn't get in there quick enough to lay a length of dirty spine, imagine my horror when I opened the door and the stench hit me, it was one of those squat down ones no green marble tiles, but white chipped ones and the grouting looked mysteriously darker near the hole then the surrounding tiles no toilet paper only a hose pipe! Take Harriet Potter's warning at 1:50 about such matters.

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    3. MITZI: The video froze at that crucial moment and I’m getting ready to head out for the day and evening so I can’t tinker with it! What is her advice?

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    4. Mr Potter picks up a Gaytours brochure and tells his wife he wants to go abroad this year instead of the usual camping in Devon.

      Mrs Potter: Oh no no no you wouldn't like that, sleeping in strange beds, eating oily food and ... using all those peculiar toilets *pulls theatrical grimace*

      hahahaha AHAHAHAHA

      Delete
  11. The Dyson hand-dryer is a wonderful invention but it still requires clear signage. I once spent 2 hours in a public toilet in Central London (don't ask me what I was doing for the whole 2 hours) but I observed an elderly gentleman use the urinal and then flop out his cock and dry it in the Dyson hand-dryer. I daresay he enjoyed the experience by the smile it put on his face. Disgusting.

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