How to safely and effectively dry our hands

Due to the rise of COVID-19, we are engulfed with so much information that it may seem a bit overwhelming. With respect to our industry, the importance of hand washing has been one of the most sought-after pieces of information to prevent the spread and infection of this virus.

When the pandemic began in the US, Saniflow posted an official blog related to the importance of washing your hands that included tips for our readers on how to do this correctly.

One point of articles circling the internet that we would like to address is how they all highlight the washing part, but not the drying. We believe that it is equally as important to make sure we all know how to safely and effectively dry our hands so that we compliment how well we were able to wash them of any lingering bacteria. Because of this, we’d like to take this opportunity to emphasize the importance of drying your hands correctly to prevent the spread.

Now, we don’t write about this with a personal agenda. Because our parent company, Mediclinics, is a manufacturer of both hand dryers and soap dispensers, we feel it is important to touch upon this subject just as the World Health Organization does.

We are talking about the clash between different business divisions competing for the same market. These opposing and dissimilar business interests come to light in the form of a battle of rumors, unsupported scientific studies that are mostly financed by these businesses, malicious information, and all kinds of “fake news” with the aim of destabilizing and overthrowing the adversary.

Here at Saniflow, we encourage that more research is done after reading some of the above-mentioned articles. If you dig deeper, you’ll see that some factual information has been left out or altered regarding the alleged harmful role that hand dryers play when it comes to drying hands after safely washing them.

For this reason, we would like to share information that accredited institutions are promoting on this subject where they clarify with dense arguments that drying hands with hand dryers does not have harmful effects for human health, and why the use of a hand dryer is an effective and sensible solution.

To read the full article, please click on the titles in red below:

- Bacterial transfer and cross-contamination potential associated with paper-towel dispensing

This clarifies how bacteria transfers in a zigzag pattern: from hands, to paper dispensing outlet, and then back to our washed hands. This wouldn’t be an issue with sensor-operated hand dryers.

- Paper towels or air hand dryers: Which is better for the environment and hygiene?

This article concludes that drying hands is equally as important as washing them since bacteria and microbes can easily be transferred on wet hands. Sometimes one or two paper towels doesn’t get the job done and we end up drying our hands on our own clothing, thus creating a transfer.

- Bytes and Bacteria: Exposing the Germs on your Technology

Here, they highlight how some of our most commonly used items like cell phones and keyboards could harbor far more bacteria than something like a hand dryer.

- Hand-dryer Industry riding high on Sustainability

This article mentions how hand dryer manufacturers are now more aware that bacteria and microbes can be sucked in through the air. To combat this, we now use the HEPA filter media to be able to capture up to 99.9% of particles in the air.

In conclusion, Saniflow would just like to provide our readers with more information in respect to the importance of making sure hands are being washed, dried, and protected from the spread of the virus. We encourage to dig deeper and research studies and comments made by experts from The World Health Organization (WHO) or the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). At the end of the day, we should all do our part to ensure a safer and healthier future.

“Once your hands are washed, you should dry them thoroughly using paper towels or a hand dryer” World Health Organization.

We’ll leave this blog with a recommendation to see this video below from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in regards to washing hands and drying them with a hand dryer.