We are all germaphobes now! Covid-19 has made us all aware of how germs spread. Before this Novel Coronavirus, most of us had never really thought about how far germs travel with a cough or a sneeze. Aerosolization of germs was not on our radar. We washed our hands and coughed in our elbows, but that was about it. Most people also never thought about those vile hand dryers in public restrooms. They are foul germ-spreaders and should be banned.

I have never liked air hand dryers. You may or may not remember the movie “Who’s That Girl” with Madonna from 1987. There is a scene in that movie where she bathes in a public restroom and then drys her hair with a nozzled air dryer. I remember thinking that that was gross because of all the germs flying through the air in a public restroom. I had no scientific evidence back in the olden days, but ewww.

The climate change fanatics wanted to ban forestry and, thereby, paper products. They convinced the powers that be to change to the hand dryers as a way to save money and the planet. Those horrible things are now everywhere. It’s almost impossible to find a public restroom that has paper towels.

Covid-19 has brought top of mind awareness to hand washing and should lead us to rethinking many of the things we take as received wisdom. Kim wrote this morning about the dark days of death that are predicted. Read her post here. As the disease spreads, so do the hoaxes about the virus. I was reading a Rolling Stone article about the Covid-19 hoaxes. It’s a typical Rolling Stone article. Potshots at Trump and anyone on the Right. But, for the most part the article was pretty good. Until, I got to this paragraph:

5) Hand dryers are effective at killing coronavirus
As far as we currently know, coronavirus is spread in part by coming into contact with infected objects or surfaces (hence, why government health organizations have really drilled down the importance of washing your hands). Last month, Chinese social media was brimming with theories that using a hand dryer for at least 30 seconds was an effective method of warding off coronavirus. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), which has set up a page for debunking coronavirus myths, this is ineffective. What is effective is watching your hands with soap and water thoroughly and/or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer (think Purell), and then wiping your hands with a paper towel or using a hand dryer. But putting your hands under heat in itself does next to nothing.

I was nauseated just reading that. Not only will shoving your hands in a Dyson AirBlade or any other dryer not kill the virus, but it will spray you with all kinds of other germs.

Don’t believe me? Check out this video:

Jet air hand dryers spread germs 1300 more times than paper towels! Here is more from the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic:

One sure-fire way to keep flu and other viruses at bay is to wash your hands often and well.

But, if you can, avoid high-speed jet air dryers in public restrooms. Research shows that they spread — rather than remove — germs. The same is true to a lesser extent for warm air dryers.

The clear winner: Good old-fashioned paper towels.

“We often say that handwashing is the key to preventing the spread of illness. But wet hands increase the risk of transmitting bacteria, so drying is an equally important step in prevention,” says urgent care specialist Theresa Lash-Ritter, MD.

Since my son, and his family, was at Fort Bragg, NC and is now at Fort Knox, KY, I spend a lot of time burning up the road. (Well, not now, my daughter-in-love has an auto-immune disorder, so I am staying away.) That necessitates stopping at convenience stores for food, gas, and restroom breaks. I developed a system. I have my favorite places that I know my system will work. Use the restroom, wash my hands well, and then push open the door with my elbow. Walk directly to the soft drink and coffee area and grab some napkins without touching anything else. Then, I silently curse out the climate change terrorists who have promoted those shit-spraying hand dryers.

If something good can come out of this horrible pandemic, banning air hand dryers could be a great thing. And, save lives.

Featured Image:

“Dyson hand dryer” by markhillary is licensed under CC BY 2.0