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Study: Dyson hand dryers spread disease 1300x compared to paper towels

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C

clav

Member
Original study from Journal of Applied Microbiology: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jam.13014

http://arstechnica.com/science/2016...es-most-at-kid-face-height-than-other-dryers/

Researchers set up plates at six heights right next to the drying sources—from adult head height to the leg height of small children. They also set plates at nine places around the bathroom, from zero to three meters.

By far, the jet dryer was the biggest viral spreader in all measurements.

Clumping the data from all six heights together, the Dyson produced 60 times more plaques than the warm air dryer and 1,300 times more than paper towels. Of the viruses launched by the jet dryer, 70 percent were at the height of a small child’s face.
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F

Freestyler

Member
Dyson Airblades are so awful. They're loud, the air is too strong/violent and it's difficult to prevent your hands from hitting the sides (which are covered in germs).
 
I

indask8

Member
Not a surprise,

I've seen at work some people forgetting to wash their hands, but for some reason they still use the dyson after urinating... I'm not going to use it after that.

They went back to paper towel, not only because it's more hygienic, but it's also a lot less noisy.

The dysons are still available if you want your daily shower of poop and urine.
 
C

clav

Member
The worst part is the fact when the machine powers on, it spreads shit everywhere. You don't have to be close to the machine for contamination.
 
P

PeakPointMatrix

Member
Everytime I use them, it's a battle to stop my hands from hitting the yellowing crust filled basin. Meanwhile the wind is blowing a mist of the filthy water into the air. And of course there's no paper towels in sight.
 
S

strata8

Member
Always thought they were pretty disgusting, it's obvious when you see the gunk that collects down the bottom.

A lot of places like my local train station have these now and they're so much better IMO, dries almost as well too:

JEGkoF1.jpg
 
S

Spwn

Member
If those germs killed our species, we'd already be dead. I've worked as a cashier for four years, never wore gloves, and I've taken a lot of money from shitty hands. During those four years only had to stay home sick once. ONCE!
 
M

Messofanego

Banned
This just triggers germophobes even more. Has anyone ever got a disease from these? No, cause your body is good enough to defend itself. You're touching hundreds of dirty things in your daily life. If it gets people to switch over to paper towels, fine, but you're not making yourself any healthier in the process.
 
G

GaimeGuy

Volunteer Deputy Campaign Director, Obama for America '16
Freestyler said:
Dyson Airblades are so awful. They're loud, the air is too strong/violent and it's difficult to prevent your hands from hitting the sides (which are covered in germs).
Click to expand...

I used one for the first time about a weak ago. I was baffled that such a device could be released to the public. I have a mild tremor (Due to mild cerebral palsy), so it was impossible to keep my hands from hitting the sides. Nasty
 
P

pswii60

Member
FZZ said:
I knew to not trust hand dryers

Nothing beats a paper towel breh
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Saving the children now but killing them later in life when we have destroyed our forests.

But yes, I'm always happy when paper towels are available, hate hand dryers!
 
M

milanbaros

Member?
indask8 said:
Not a surprise,

I've seen at work some people forgetting to wash their hands, but for some reason they still use the dyson after urinating... I'm not going to use it after that.

They went back to paper towel, not only because it's more hygienic, but it's also a lot less noisy.

The dysons are still available if you want your daily shower of poop and urine.
Click to expand...

Why would urinating make their hands anymore dirty than usual?
 
S

Subpar Scrub

Banned
Spwn said:
If those germs killed our species, we'd already be dead. I've worked as a cashier for four years, never wore gloves, and I've taken a lot of money from shitty hands. During those four years only had to stay home sick once. ONCE!
Click to expand...

Same boat, I spent two days away from work last week sick. First time I've ever done it.

I've been working registers and doing deliveries for nearly 3 years haha. Dat immune system building.
 
M

milanbaros

Member?
Messofanego said:
This just triggers germophobes even more. Has anyone ever got a disease from these? No, cause your body is good enough to defend itself. You're touching hundreds of dirty things in your daily life. If it gets people to switch over to paper towels, fine, but you're not making yourself any healthier in the process.
Click to expand...

Thank you. No one is getting ill here. There are a lot of germaphobes in this thread. If this stops you then don't bother being in public.
 
A

astroturfing

Member
ugh, viruses etc are so damn disgusting, never want any of that on me, ever. good thing i don't use public toilets. always go home when you absolutely need to go on the toilet, much safer folks.

i LOOOVE science usually (cant get enough of NDT!) but these kinds of articles just freak me out.. why does AIR that we breathe have to be so dangerous..??
 
S

Shrike_Priest

Member
astroturfing said:
ugh, viruses etc are so damn disgusting, never want any of that on me, ever. good thing i don't use public toilets. always go home when you absolutely need to go on the toilet, much safer folks.

i LOOOVE science usually (cant get enough of NDT!) but these kinds of articles just freak me out.. why does AIR that we breathe have to be so dangerous..??
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The air we breath is not dangerous. Everything you touch is covered in germs and microorganisms. 99% of them are not dangerous. Public toilets are not going to make you sick. Unless you suffer from lots of unexplained diarrhea, public toilet e. coli-colonies are not something you need to worry about. Wash your hands and you're fine.

If you love science, go read up on immune defense, and how bacteria and viruses actually spread. As well as the effects of "holding it in" (both number one and number two).

Holding it in until you get home is just generally not a good idea. There's a reason our body tells us it's Go-Time.

That said, Dyson driers are probably not that good an idea. Paper towels all the way.
 
0

007

Banned
The amount of bacteria spread would be severely mitigated if people knew how to wash their hands properly. I don't think Ive ever seen someone wash their hands thoroughly with soap, in this day and age.

Sorry to tell you fools, but cold water alone doesnt quite do the job.
 
ExtremePopcorn

ExtremePopcorn

Member
It's pretty interesting to hear, especially since one of the places I work uses these hand dryers to specifically avoid any potential cross-contamination from worker to worker.
 
Z

ZoronMaro

Member
Not only have we already had this thread like 2 days ago, but the study was literally funded by the "European Tissue Symposium".

And the study just confirms the jets blow water over a greater distance (duh), the real problem is not the hand dryers, it's people not washing their hands properly.
 
jetsetnickradio

jetsetnickradio

Member
ZoronMaro said:
Not only have we already had this thread like 2 days ago, but the study was literally funded by the "European Tissue Symposium".

And the study just confirms the jets blow water over a greater distance (duh), the real problem is not the hand dryers, it's people not washing their hands properly.
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+1 Cynicism. Cynicism stat is maxed out.
 
H

Harmen

Member
Before people become afraid of Dyson hand dryers, I think it is worth to point out these people did not wash their hand. In fact, they kind of did the opposite, a quotation from the source:

Participants were asked to rinse their gloved hands in 50 ml of the phage suspension for 10 s and simulate the process of washing during this period followed by shaking three times and then drying them using one of the hand-drying devices.
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Source: P.T. Kimmitt. Evaluation of the potential for virus dispersal during hand drying: a comparison of three methods. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jam.13014/full



So what they did is put their hands in a suspension with viruses, do washing movements, shake it off, and then see how it spreads. The water on their gloved hands they were drying was in fact the source of the phage.

I highly doubt if someone washes their hands with clean water (even in absence of soap), this would have a high change at spreading infectious doses. Not to say it would never happen or that the airdryers do not spread the material significantly though. I wonder what they would measure if participants were not using gloves and really washed their hands after rinsing in the suspension.
 
Z

ZoronMaro

Member
jetsetnickradio said:
+1 Cynicism. Cynicism stat is maxed out.
Click to expand...

I mean it's literally in the paper, at the end in the conflict of interest section.

I'll say at least they didn't try to obfuscate anything or fudge numbers, but then they didn't really need to since their thesis is that: more powerful air dried leads to greater dispersal of water. It's not bad science, but at best it's lazy, and at worst it's pandering to germaphobes. Based purely on the conflict of interest I think I know which one it is.

And again already had this thread: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1207952
 
B

bundaberg

Banned
Don't really care about the study. They're just terrible devices.

Fling water all over my clothes, can't dry up my forearms far enough and no matter how careful, you always touch 'em.
 
iceatcs

iceatcs

Junior Member
Time to move on to Dyson air blade tap. Got some at the work, those are awesome, no more wet floor.

ROXLEcm.jpg
 
L

LookAtMeGo

Member
akira28 said:
nano-tech papertowels will actively destroy any bacteria and viruses they come into contact with. and then morph into recyclable grey goo when you throw it away.
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I look forward to the dystopian swamps of grey goo inhabited by germaphobes who have now become mutants.
 
IISANDERII

IISANDERII

Member
ZoronMaro said:
I mean it's literally in the paper, at the end in the conflict of interest section.

I'll say at least they didn't try to obfuscate anything or fudge numbers, but then they didn't really need to since their thesis is that: more powerful air dried leads to greater dispersal of water. It's not bad science, but at best it's lazy, and at worst it's pandering to germaphobes. Based purely on the conflict of interest I think I know which one it is.

And again already had this thread: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1207952
Click to expand...
I like the title of the article
'SCIENTIFIC METHOD / SCIENCE & EXPLORATION
Using a Dyson hand dryer is like setting off a viral bomb in a bathroom'
 
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