Saw my first at Cedar Point, wondered then. Confirmed: 27 times more bacteria spread than by towels:

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/6194306

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11243110/Hand-dryers-splatter-users-with-bacteria-scientists-warn.html

Yeah, I never really liked Xlerator hand dryers. I thought it was hard to avoid touching the dryer itself thanks to the awkward design. I guess I'll just stick to hand sanitizer.

Huh? I think you mean the Dyson Blade, which is even worse. You put your hands IN a Dyson, below an XLerator. Dysons are yellow. Most XLerators are chrome.

In all honesty I am not surprised by this finding.

Huh? I think you mean the Dyson Blade, which is even worse. You put your hands IN a Dyson, below an XLerator. Dysons are yellow. Most XLerators are chrome.

Oops! I got my hand dryers confused. I meant the Dyson Blade, which is in many Kings Island bathrooms. Not that XLerators are much better...

Half the times I tried using those Dyson Airblade dryers, my hands were blown against the side of the machine and I had to wash them all over again. Not really a very clean design to literally blow your hands at the interior walls. I stick to paper towel now.. The Xlerators aren't as bad but they still blow bacteria around.

I'd wager that the bacteria doesn't spread as far as someone not washing their hands at all....which occurs more often than not...

You might want to read the articles...

A blower in a feces laden atmosphere isn't exactly clever...

See also:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/7991492/Rubbing-hands-together-after-washing-them-increases-the-danger-of-contamination-scientists-warn.html

Yuck... Hand dryers have always seemed gross to me, especially in bathrooms where they are placed over a counter, so all the water can blow all over the place.

For me, the best public restroom has automatic sinks and paper towel dispensers. Even better if I don't have to touch a door on my way out.

Automatic faucets, automatic soap dispensers, automatic paper towel dispensers, and button-activated or outward-opening doors. The automated devices must not be the cheap ones and must be properly maintained.. I'm not sure which is worse. Those old school faucets that are manually operated with a built-in timer (that never stay on long enough, some don't stay on at all) or automatic faucets that either don't turn on or won't stay on. Then there are the paper towel dispensers that only give you like 4" worth. Wait, where was I going with this rant? Oh yeah, I'm picky about my bathrooms.

Automatic faucets, automatic soap dispensers, automatic paper towel dispensers, and button-activated or outward-opening doors.

An addition to your list: soap dispensers that use soap in replaceable bags.

Refillable soap dispensers are never cleaned.

How many things in commercial buildings (or even residential, for that matter....) are ever thoroughly cleaned to kill all germs? *shivers*

Refillable tanks are often refilled with watered down soap.

Forget the bacteria. Pinworms are the things that make me a little faint to think about, especially when I'm spending time where many young children have likely touched a lot of the things I touch.

I'd much rather risk some bacteria from the driers after washing my hands than risk ingesting pinworm eggs. Ick.

I never use the Dyson Blades at Kings Island. Gross. Incredibly unsanitary. I don't care what the manufacturer claims or how much money is saved. I'll let my hands dry naturally, thank you.

Hmm, correct me if I am wrong but we cook meat and boil water to kill bacteria, seeks to me that using a hand dryer has the same purpose. Both the dryers mentioned in this thread are in fact touchless.

You don't shake your raw Chicken above your head before putting it into the stove...do you?

Worth Noting:

" Of course, how you dry your hands makes little difference if you're not washing them in the first place. And according to a 2013 study, only 5 percent of people wash up properly after using the bathroom "

If you were washing properly (including using warm water) this wouldn't be a problem to begin with.

Except, let me state it again. I hate being so graphic, but the air in an average public restroom has e. coli in it. Sucking up that air and blowing it on to cleanly washed hands?

And, every flush of a poop filled toilet adds to the storm, which then gets blown onto others' hands. Why does this seem so difficult for many to understand? Blowing high speed poop laden air onto clean hands.

Yuck.

Worth Noting:

" Of course, how you dry your hands makes little difference if you're not washing them in the first place. And according to a 2013 study, only 5 percent of people wash up properly after using the bathroom "

If you were washing properly (including using warm water) this wouldn't be a problem to begin with.

All it takes is one person with something on their hands to touch the bottom of the Air Blade. After that, you have a sitting pool of warm water harboring the bacteria.

And again, the point of the study was the blowers are blowing bacteria ONTO freshly washed hands. From the bathroom air itself.

My guess is the bathrooms are far cleaner than the lapbars and grab bars on the rides.

I thought E. coli was only spread from surfaces?

Not necessarily. Bacteria from loose stools can spread it. Like a poop storm circulated in the air:

http://www.marlerclark.com/case_news/detail/tests-suggest-e-coli-spread-through-air

http://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/e_coli/

See also, fart filters:

http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/questions/question/3333/

Except, let me state it again. I hate being so graphic, but the air in an average public restroom has e. coli in it. Sucking up that air and blowing it on to cleanly washed hands?

And, every flush of a poop filled toilet adds to the storm, which then gets blown onto others' hands. Why does this seem so difficult for many to understand? Blowing high speed poop laden air onto clean hands.

Yuck.

and I dont think I will ever reading anything more gross on this webs.....

Not necessarily. Bacteria from loose stools can spread it. Like a poop storm circulated in the air:

http://www.marlerclark.com/case_news/detail/tests-suggest-e-coli-spread-through-air

http://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/e_coli/

See also, fart filters:

http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/questions/question/3333/

poop storm... and now that takes it....

I learned a long time ago in Biology that what you are smelling are little bits of the material floating through the air. Cinnamon, flowers, spaghetti, poop, urine, etc....

All that nasty airborne germs and bacteria aren't normally something to be afraid of, unless you are already sick or have an otherwise suppressed immune system.

We should be thankful for our nose hair and mucus as they work together to catch lots of those nasty germs, dirt and other molecules we breathe in every day. And boogers? That is mucus collected around that bad stuff, preventing it from going into our lungs. I love the human body!

Oh...and be careful of where you store your toothbrush. Putting the toilet lid down before flushing is a smart idea.

What's different is the hand dryers take airborne pathogens, deposit them on clean hands, which can be and often are then accidentally or otherwise put into eyes, mouths, etc.

As for putting toilet seat lids down before flushing, public toilets pose at least two impediments: first, there usually aren't any. Second, many in the public don't even flush in the first (or second or even third) place.

A lot of this could be greatly helped by good ventilation in public toilets. Over the years, especially with rising energy costs, HVAC in public toilets (and fresh air and venting out stale air in buildings of all sorts) seems to have been greatly reduced.

Admittedly repetitive Terpy.

You might want to read the articles...

A blower in a feces laden atmosphere isn't exactly clever...

Is this another way of saying "when the **** hits the fan?"

(I'd use the tongue-out emoticon here, but I don't want him to get sick, what with all this poop flying around...)

A little bacteria is good for the body.

What's really funny is that, earlier this morning, I didn't have my glasses on, and thought the thread title said "XGator Head Dryers Scatter Bacteria." I was like, "Wow, I didn't know we had a Hand-Dryer tycoon on here!"