Air dryers deliver more germs than paper towels and must be banned

In an article in the Journal of Hospital Infection, the researchers argued that official guidelines on how to prevent bacterial contamination in hospital buildings should be strengthened.

Scientists have stated that the problem is that people do not wash their hands properly, which means that the microbes are expelled by the forced air dryers and spread in the room.

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They stated that the official guidelines of the Ministry of Health stipulated that air dryers could be placed in toilets in public areas of a hospital, but not in clinical areas. However, this is not because of the risks they represent for cross-contamination, but because they are noisy.

Mark Wilcox, an expert in medical microbiology at the University of Leeds who oversaw the international study, said that, given the new evidence, guidelines need to focus on the risks of infection.

Professor Wilcox said, "The problem starts because some people do not wash their hands properly. When people use a forced air dryer, the microbes are expelled and distributed in the washroom.

"The dryer creates an aerosol that contaminates the washroom, including the dryer itself and potentially the sinks, floor and other surfaces, depending on the dryer's design and location. .

"If people touch these surfaces, they may be contaminated with bacteria or viruses.

"Air jet dryers often rely on non-contact technology to initiate hand drying. However, paper towels absorb water and microbes left on the hands and if properly disposed of, the risk of cross-contamination is reduced. "

The study focused on bacterial spread in a real-world environment, in two toilets of each of the three hospitals in the United Kingdom, France, and Italy.

Each toilet had paper towel dispensers and air dryers, but only one was used each day.

Every day for 12 weeks, levels of bacterial contamination in the toilet were measured, allowing comparisons when paper towels or air dryers were used.

Samples were taken from the floors, air and surfaces of each toilet.

The main target bacteria were enterobacteria, including Escherichia coli or E. coli, which cause a wide range of infections, including gastroenteritis, pneumonia and sepsis, and enterococci – bacteria that can cause difficulties in treating infections.

They also researched Staphylococcus aureus, responsible for a variety of ailments ranging from minor skin infections and wounds to life-threatening sepsis.

In all three hospitals, the number of bacteria was significantly higher in toilets on the days when air dryers were used.

In Leeds and Paris, at least five times more bacteria were recovered from soils when jet air dryers were used, compared to paper towels.

In Leeds, Staphylococcus aureus (including MRSA) was found three times more often and in larger quantities on the surface of air dryers than paper towel dispensers.

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Significantly, more enterococci and multidrug-resistant bacteria were recovered from soils or dust in the toilet when air-jet dryers rather than paper towels were used.

In Italy, researchers found much less bacteria on the surface of paper towel dispensers than air-jet dryers, although there is no significant difference on soils.

Professor Wilcox added, "We found many examples of higher bacterial contamination on surfaces, including fecal and antibiotic resistant bacteria, when compressed air dryers were used rather than paper towels.

"The choice of hand drying method affects the probability of spread of microbes and therefore the risk of infection."

The study is the most important of its kind to determine whether the way people dry their hands has an impact on the spread of bacteria.