Fateh Srajeldin N.D.*
Warm-air hand driers installed in public washrooms, parks,
restaurants and prestigious establishments are not any healthier than paper
towels. The answer: paper towels are much cleaner, safer and have no
consequences.
Despite chemical deodorization and wall vents for air
circulation the room's air remains stagnant and filled with biological molecules
and bacteria.
The problem is not with the machine; rather, the problem is
with the air available to dry your skin. The warm-air hand dryers in question
have an inlet to draw air in it from its surrounding. Then, the air is filtered,
warmed then delivered through the outlet to the user’s hands.
Washrooms, in most buildings, have no external air supply or a
window. Therefore, the air in washrooms is stagnant and over time is
contaminated with biological molecules emanating from people’s gas, bloating and
intestinal tensions. Despite chemical deodorization and wall vents for air
circulation the room’s air remains stagnant and filled with biological molecules
and bacteria.
The machine sucks this existing air, filters it and delivers it
to your hands. Other machines have a swivel nozzle which could be turned over to
your face. Should the air contain any bacteria, and it does, the warmth provided
by the machine will provide an ideal environment for the bacteria trapped in it.
I feel that the hand drying machine should be provided with an
outside filtered fresh air to eliminate this problem. Until then, I do not and
will not use these machines to dry any part of my skin. I will continue to use
paper towels if available despite the machine’s presence at some establishments.
If no paper towel is present, then I will pray that no one will
notice the water marks on my shirt under my arm pits. It is much safer than some
one else’s biological molecules or bacteria.
Naturopathic doctor and the director of the Naturopathic and Allergy Clinic in the city of Toronto.