Air Dryer v.s Paper Towel
Are you a morning person or a night owl? Sicko Mode or Mo Bamba? These are easy choices.
But what is better, paper towels or hand dryers? This one is a little bit more complicated.
If you’ve ever shopped at Yorkdale, you will have noticed small signs promoting their commitment to sustainability and initiatives such as bathrooms with hands-free faucets and jet air hand dryers instead of paper towels. These jet air hand dryers can be found in many trendy restaurants and malls across the city and even in the CN Tower. But are they really the most sustainable, hygienic and cost effective method of drying our hands?
The three options for drying our hands in public are paper towels, hot air dryers and jet blade dryers. So which is the best method to dry our hands? This depends on how you prioritize cost, carbon footprint, effectiveness and hygiene.
Cost & Carbon Footprint
While the types of hand dryers and quality of paper towels vary, hand dryers are generally cheaper than paper towels. In fact, hand dryer maker Dyson has stated that the annual operating cost of its Dyson Airblade Tap hand dryer is $48 as compared to $1,460 for paper towels. Robert Green, the U.S. head engineer at Dyson, further highlights the hidden costs associated with paper towels, such as storage, staffing to restock and clean up, trash can liners and waste removal.
The carbon footprint of drying your hands is least if you simply shake them dry or wipe them on your shirt. However, this is the least effective method for hygiene and not recommended. In his article “The Carbon Footprint of Everything”, Mike Berners-Lee finds the Dyson airblade dryer has the least carbon footprint of 3g C02e versus the 20g C02e for the heated air dryers. Paper towels are midway between the two with 10g C02e. At this point the Dyson airblade is looking attractive as it is the cheapest way to dry your hands and has the lowest carbon footprint. But is the Dyson airblade the best method?
Effectiveness & Hygiene
The general consensus is that paper towels are more hygienic than hand dryers. A study by the University of Westminster, London found that jet air dryers spread an average of 60 times more of their tested virus than a warm air dryer and 1,300 times more than paper towels. They also found the germs remained in the air for approximately 15 minutes and most averaged at the height of the air dryer, which is also the height of the face of a small child. (Note: this study was criticized, mainly by Dyson, as not being representative of a “real world” setting.) The Westminster study also noted paper towels remove bacteria left over from hand washing and can also be used for turning off faucets or opening doors.
Dr. Steven Novella, a neurologist from Yale University, noted in his blog that studies have shown that people often don’t take the time to fully dry their hands under dryers and often end up unhygienically wiping them on clothing. He reiterates the importance of dry hands due to the fact that wet hands spread bacteria more efficiently than dry hands. This, along with the spread of bacteria from the jet blowers, has lead Dr. Novella to recommend paper towels in locations where hygiene is most important, such as hospitals. So, when it comes to hygiene, hot air dryers spread more bacteria than paper towels, and jet dryers spread the most.
What is the best choice?
If your priority is cost or carbon footprint, then jet dryers are your best bet. If your priority is effectiveness or hygiene, then paper towels are the way to go. They dry hands more completely and quickly, and result in the least spread of bacteria. For Havergal, jet dryers are the most effective option. However, I know from experience, having observed (and caused) countless dreaded water bottle and coffee mug spills, that having a few paper towels close by would sure be nice. The worst choice is to simply drip dry your hands or wipe your hands on your clothes. And remember, keep washing your hands and drying them as best as possible, using whatever is available!