Some 82 million Americans are expected to make annual pilgrimages for Thanksgiving dinner by plane, train or automobile. Long journeys will leave many of them tired and eager to reach their destination. Unfortunately, the scourge of automatic hand dryers in public restrooms ensures that the misery will continue long after the journey has ended.
In recent years, countless restroom operators have ripped out paper towel dispensers in favor of automatic hand dryers. The market for them is expected to grow from $423 million this year to $650 million in 2030. They’re often presented as good for the environment, but the relatively new technology’s most attractive advantage is reducing the costs of buying paper towels, refilling dispensers and emptying wastebins.
Science supports paper towels. Handwashing is a necessary but insufficient part of germ removal: it’s just as important to get them thoroughly dry, because excess moisture facilitates germ transmission. In health care settings, the CDC still recommends this vital task be performed with disposable paper towels – time-tested germ fighters.
Older hand dryers spread germs into the air with reckless abandon. Even newer models with HEPA or UV filters can still stir up pathogens that have settled on the floor. Paper towels have none of those problems, and they don’t create any meaningful environmental harms.
Hand dryers are also noisy and inconvenient, requiring users to stand for up to half a minute to achieve total dryness. Many users inevitably dry their hands with their clothes. It’s the worst option in terms of bacterial contamination but inevitable when someone grows impatient with an inefficient dryer. People are particularly unlikely to stand there for the requisite time during hectic holiday travel, when their flight is about to board and there’s a queue of frustrated travelers forming behind them. A paper towel can finish the job in a fraction of the time.
It’s fair to ask whether this is the time to worry about such a seemingly minor issue. But with the busiest travel day of the year expected Wednesday, even a small change at airports and rest stops could avert countless sick days and lost economic output. No one should have to make a choice between making their hands sanitary and making their flight.
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