DEL Articles

We all need to use public restroom facilities from time to time. Next time you need to use a rest stop when you are traveling or the toilets in a restaurant or shopping center, it would be a good idea to think about paper towel hygiene and hand dryer hygiene. Have you ever wondered how many people have used the toilet before you? Probably a lot more than you really want to think about.

So, it should come as no surprise that public toilet facilities harbor a lot of germs. You may not be able to see them, but if you contract these bacteria you may well experience the effect of them. Germs find their way onto just about all surfaces in a public restroom. Door handles, the door itself, tap handles, toilet handles and toilet seats are all places that are likely home to colonies of different germs. Anything that can be humanly touched in a restroom will be home to bacteria.

Fortunately, you can limit the dangers posed by restroom bacteria by washing your hands properly after using the toilet and then drying them thoroughly. Its a shocking fact that some research studies show that only fifteen percent of males and twenty percent of females wash their hands after using public toilets. It is also important that when you do wash your hands that you use soap because simply washing them with water will not kill bacteria.

The second step you can take is to thoroughly dry your hands afterwards - this step is sometimes overlooked, but moisture left on hands can still carry bacteria. This is where paper towel hygiene versus hand dryer hygiene should be considered. Hand dryers rely on drying your hands by a blast of usually warm air - however, some research has shown that this can be less hygienic than using a paper towel.

Hand dryers dry your hands by blasting hot or warm air on them causing water to evaporate. There is some indication, however, that this approach is less hygienic than simply using a paper towel. This is because many people do not keep their hands under the hot air for long enough and also because the hot air actually blows any bacteria still on the hands into other parts of the room.

It doesn’t take much for these germs to be spread well beyond the restroom. A good example of this is the workplace. While you are at work, many people will use the toilet facilities throughout the day. However, even if you are not one of them, you are likely to be exposed to germs originating in the toilet area. You don’t know who does or doesn’t wash their hands. On any given day, you will touch objects that someone else has touched. You can see how easily germs get spread in this situation.

In other words, because some people don’t carefully wash their hands and use paper towel hygiene, bacteria from the toilet area can spread throughout the office. You are in contact with these germs during the work day and are likely to pick them up and take them home to your family. Its a never ending cycle, causing people to become unwell or even seriously ill.

Then again, if you’re a frequent restroom user, it’s important to take the appropriate steps to limit your contraction of germs. Just by doing the little things like not touching the door or handle to flush the toilet will reduce the amount of germs that you come into contact with. When you wash your hands, make sure you use good paper towel hygiene and dry them completely. If you don’t, it could cost you time and money at the doctor.