HOUSTON — After you’re finished in the bathroom, and it’s time to dry your hands, you might want to use a paper towel instead of the blow dryer— at least according to a new study.
“The bacteria in the area from the bathroom, from the open toilet seats, the dryer is blowing all that bacteria around and that bacteria can get stuck on surfaces near the hand dryer and also on your hands,” Dr. Shane Magee at Houston’s Kelsey-Seybold Clinic said.
Researchers at the University of Connecticut are saying that dryers may suck in bacteria from flushing toilets and then spread it onto your hands.
The study shows bathrooms without hand dryers tested positive for just six pathogens, compared to 254 in bathrooms with dryers.
They also found the bacteria could be spread to other parts of the building— not just onto your hands!
