CAMBRIDGE, MA – Researchers from Harvard University have discovered the reason for high-cost hand dryers in bathrooms all over the United States. In public restrooms across America hand dryers blow air, slightly warmer than room air, at high speeds, in hopes of drying your hands. If someone wishes to remove all water from their hands at least 10 minutes are required. These dryers, which can cost thousands more to install and operate than cheaper more energy efficient towel dispensers, continue to show up everywhere from restaurants to hardware stores.
Hospitals have refused to place these devices for years in operating rooms for surgeons and scrub techs. So that after he/she “scrubs-in” for surgery they could “dry” their hands. This would replace the traditional model of using a sterile towel to actually take the water off. When reached for comment we received a written response citing, “Just blowing air across wet hands will not dry nor keep newly sterile hands, sterile.” Now our nation’s largest hospitals may be singing a different tune come Friday when a landmark discovery will be published in this month’s Science.
Researchers from Harvard University with the financial help of Dayton, the world’s largest producer of hand dryers, have concluded that hand dryers are much more effective. Lead researcher Dr. Kevin Grey said, “We found that any bacteria, virus, or critter left on your hands after a soap and water scrub can be removed with high speed, slightly warmer than room air hand dryer.”
Dr. Grey went on to describe his team’s methods: “We placed several ants and other bugs on 32 volunteers’ hands and placed their hands under a classic hand dryer. The results were astounding. Every bug was removed!” Then the team found another 32 volunteers who was randomly chosen to match with the experimental group for age, sex, weight, smoking status and also had similar risk factors for diabetes, coronary heart disease, and seizures. The non-hand drying group still had all their insects on their hands after one hour. “We can only conclude that if hand dryers work on a large scale, the air speed seen on the microscopic scale would be 1,000-times stronger and therefore blow all the bacteria away.”
