Eww! Study Finds That Dyson Airblades Spread Germs 1,300 Times More Than Paper Towels

You’re probably familiar with the Dyson Airblade. It’s that newer type of jet air dryer found in public restrooms where you place your hands down in the dryer and within seconds your hands are dry.

While it may dry your hands quickly, a new study from Journal of Applied Microbiology finds that the jet air dryers (including the Dyson Airblade) spread 60 times more germs than standard air dryers, and 1,300 more than using a paper towel.

To perform the test, researchers at University of Westminster dipped their hands into water containing a harmless virus and then dried their hands using the Dyson Airblade, a classic hot-air dryer, and paper towels.

They found that the super powerful force of the Dyson Airblade (air blasts of 430 mph) can spread germs 9 feet across a bathroom.  A standard dryer can spread germs 2.5 ft and hand towels less than a foot.

To back up these claims, a similar study was done in 2014 by the University of Leeds.  The researchers found that germ counts were 27 times higher around jet air dryers (like the Dyson Airblade) as compared to when using paper towel dispensers.

The Telegraph reports that the 2014 study was commissioned by the European Tissue Symposium. A spokesman for Dyson said at the time: “This research was commissioned by the paper towel industry and it’s flawed.”

Dyson since has released it’s own video hitting back against the claims that the paper towel is more hygienic then jet air dryers.

So what do you think? Do you prefer paper towels, standard air dryers, or the new jet air dyers?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A10WTBBWy30

Photo by Marcin Wichary