New study on the way of drying hands
A new study by the European Tissue Symposium (ETS) confirms consumer preference for paper towels. The viral load caused by the use of jet air dryers is comparatively significantly higher.
According to a Study of the European Tissue Symposium (ETS), there would be clear evidence that Europeans have changed their hand hygiene since the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic: They wash their hands more frequently throughout the day, opting for paper towels as the most hygienic method of hand drying when out and about.
According to the ETS study, which was carried out in conjunction with a British microbiology institute in Leeds, among others, there was ten times more evidence of contamination by water splashes when jet air dryers were used than when paper towels were used. According to the study, 89 percent of face masks were contaminated with viruses when jet air dryers were used, compared with only 29 percent when paper towels were used.
With both methods, a higher contamination of the face masks with virus aerosols was detected in the first five minutes after hand drying. When jet air dryers were used, the viral load was significantly higher. In the studies using jet air dryers, contamination continued to increase for 15 minutes after hand drying, indicating aerosol formation of small particles suspended in the ambient air for a longer period of time.
According to the ETS, according to this new research, restaurant and bar owners, as well as purchasing managers responsible for large sports venues and shopping malls, would be well advised to reconsider the hand drying method they offer and offer their customers what the ETS considers a more hygienic option, namely paper towels.
Source: ETS
