According to a study conducted by tissue company Cascades PRO, only 48% of us recognize the importants of drying our hands after washing them. Cascades PRO polled more than 1,000 US citizens in July to discover how Covid-19 has changed their hand hygiene perceptions. A total of 73% of respondents said they were now washing their hands more frequently due to the pandemic, with 84% believing hand-washing to be extremely important after using a public washroom. However, only 48% of respondents thought it was important to dry their hands afterwards.
"Damp hands can transfer up to 1,000 times more bacteria than dry hands"
This was said by Dyson senior microbiologist and scientist, Dr Salome Giao. We need further education on hand hygiene. 25% of responders would allow their hands to air-dry if no drying supplies are provided in a public restroom, and 15% would use their clothes to dry their hands.
Since damp hands can transfer more bacteria, getting our hands to touch our clothes which could be contaminated (as the COVID-19 virus and other viruses can live on surfaces for over short periods of time), is actually worse than just letting our hands air-dry.
So which hand-drying technique is better?
A recent study on different hand drying methods conducted by researches at Queensland University in Brisbane, Australia, reviewed twelve independent studies comparing paper towels, cloth towels, and hot air dryers.
This study revealed that paper towels "reduced the numbers of all types of bacteria on the hands" and hot-air dryers were actually not a highly effective method of removing bacteria from recently washed hands.
Are you communicating the importance of hand washing in your business?