
Compared to paper towel, Dyson hand dryers blow 1300x as many viral germs (2016) - g09980
https://arstechnica.com/science/2016/04/dyson-dryers-hurl-60x-more-viruses-most-at-kid-face-height-than-other-dryers/
======
arkades
Dysons were briefly popular in hospitals, as a cost-saving measure. Turns out
permanently installing a safe harbor for bacteria in the form of a device that
is constantly hot and moist, and then blowing that crap onto people’s hands...

Dysons were worse. It was so damn easy to accidentally touch the edge of one
while pulling your hand out. Time to wash your hands -all over again-.

It’s been a while since I saw a hospital with air blow dryers, Dyson or
otherwise. At least in the areas where physicians clean their hands.

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bunderbunder
The Dyson hand dryers are really awful. This adds a dimension to it, but the
one that bothers me more is that their design makes them excessively awkward,
if not impossible, for many people to use at all.

[https://www.disabilityaccessconsultants.com.au/dyson-hand-
dr...](https://www.disabilityaccessconsultants.com.au/dyson-hand-driers-
disabled-accessible-toilets/)

~~~
lathiat
Hey have a revised model that is basically like any normal hand dryer.
Probably better.

~~~
bunderbunder
It's a huge improvement over their old one, but still awkward to use if your
shoulders are near or below the height of the dryer. Its vents are also angled
to try and rudely blast kids in the face.

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paulcarey
A few years ago, I recall being impressed at the clealiness of the toilets in
Edinburgh train station. An attendant was diligently wiping each urinal with a
cloth, and also used the same cloth to wipe the Dyson hand dryer.

I’m sure it’s not a common practice, but I’ve avoided them ever since.

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retube
Dyson has always part amazed, part horrified me. he's become inordinantly
wealthy creating products which are almost universally more expensive but less
performant (however you care to measure) yet somehow has convinced gazillions
of people his premium priced products are better.

edit: I am currently in a large NHS hospital and every desk has one of those
£300 fanless fans on them. what the fuck?

~~~
dingaling
Premium-priced despite production having been offshored to Malaysia. Got to
widen those margins to buy a country estate ( £17 million ) and a Gulfstream
G650 ( £45 million ).

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leejo
If you think the airblades are bad then wait until you try out the airblade +
tap combined: [https://www.dyson.com/hand-dryers/dyson-airblade-tap-
overvie...](https://www.dyson.com/hand-dryers/dyson-airblade-tap-
overview.html) # I've only seen (and used) them at a service station in
Gruyère.

They're one of the most ridiculous non-solutions to a non-problem I've seen -
you end up setting the dryer off when washing your hands (if washing your
hands properly) and blow water everywhere. Even if you don't set them off you
still end up blowing the excess water all over yourself as the sink acts as a
nice surface for it all to bounce off.

~~~
slededit
With a proper sink they are pretty convenient actually. And unlike their wall
units I don't risk touching the unit accidentally.

~~~
thunfischbrot
Seen them at three airports so far. All were splashing water as observed from
others using them. I had been warned by a friend beforehand and avoided the
fan function.

------
maxerickson
Doors that kick open are a bigger deal than whatever is there for hand drying.

~~~
lifeisstillgood
Agreed. I tried ages ago to come up with a sort of footpump that would force
open the hydraulic closer on most doors, just to avoid the "touch the exit
door with my just washed hands, collecting two days worth of other men's
urine" \- but the pressure / force needed to open a door is huge

~~~
uf
I usually just grab another paper towel or toilet paper to open the door. I
also carry a small bottle of hand disinfection with me especially in the
winter. I use it after e.g. grabbing handle bars or seats on the train. Comes
in handy as I not always remember to not touch my face (eyes especially when
I'm tired).

~~~
tedmiston
Same. But, there are plenty of bathrooms these days that don't have paper
towels at all.

Kind of a pain point if you have a beard or mustache and just want to clean a
sauce or some other messy lunch out of it. Pretty awkward to dry a beard on a
hand dryer.

------
MisterTea
The air blades are really gross hand dryers to use. The first time I saw one
was in a bar/restaurant or pool hall, forget which, but I gave it a shot and
accidently touched the edge of the dryer which was wet. I stopped, washed my
hands again, and dried it with those cheap chemical smelling brown paper
towels which leave your hands feeling like there is a film of leftover hand
towel chemicals. That was more preferable to the disgusting air blade. Never
used an air blade again. And to top it off, they are always wet and covered in
dried drippings of lord knows what.

The best hand dryers are those high velocity designs where you put your hand
under the blast and dry them in seconds.

------
sgt101
Did I miss a step in the method?

\- slather hands in virus ? \- dry with one of three methods

Shouldn't step 2 be "wash carefully with warm water and soap"?

~~~
YeGoblynQueenne
Not everyone does that and the point of the study was to figure out what
happens if people with dirty hands use towels, dyson blades and other hand
driers.

~~~
mncharity
> Not everyone does that

I sat outside an ICU once. At a not-first-rate US hospital. The handle-pull
door was plastered with signs, variously saying "use hand sanitizer before
opening door". It was right next to the door. It worked. There wasn't an
alternative one inside. That it wasn't used by the traffic back and forth to
the adjacent bathroom, seemed odd. The nurse who also flushed (hand lever),
without associated sink noise, was a bit boggling. The error induced mortality
which occurred shortly thereafter, did not entirely surprise.

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Zekio
I've always wondered why they aren't equipped with UV light to kill bacteria

~~~
koolba
Cancer.

Or more likely, lawsuits about cancer.

~~~
manmal
Why, the light would be inside the dryer of course. Also, UV-A radiation does
not damage DNA.

------
YeGoblynQueenne
The other thing the Dyson blade does is that it pushes the water up your wrist
and then your arms, as you go after it trying to dry it out.

------
wyager
They also don’t actually work outside of a few models, they are always slow to
use, they are extremely loud, and when restaurants only have air dryers and
not paper towels, you can’t clean anything besides your hands (e.g. your shirt
or your face). Air dryers suck.

------
dna_polymerase
I love the update. Dyson (of course) just threw 4 studies at them, that were
conducted under unrealistic conditions, just like they accused the researcher
of.

Just like any other capitalistic company, instead of admitting that their
product adds no value to anything and trying to come up with something else,
they go full anti-science.

~~~
mashgin
> "instead of admitting that their product adds no value to anything": I
> actually think that their 'airblade' (pictured in the article) is a very
> innovative product. When I first used it like ~10 years ago, I remember
> telling myself "Wow! Finally someone figured out how to make a useful hand
> dryer". The old style hand-dryers just took too long to dry hands, bit too
> long for my patience.

~~~
g09980
Have you ever tried their variation with the hand-dryer built into the sink
faucet?

My experience: whatever fluids that were in the sink (soap scum/mine or other
people's dirty water) flying into my face after being hit with Dyson-powered
wind, me immediately jumping a foot back. Made me wonder how did they ever
test this product before release.

This contraption: [https://www.dyson.com/hand-dryers/dyson-airblade-tap-
overvie...](https://www.dyson.com/hand-dryers/dyson-airblade-tap-
overview.html)

~~~
tomxor
Yes, I used one once... and never again, just try to locate the water sensor
without accidentally triggering the explode the fucking sink all over your
face bomb. I think dyson is so obsessed with trying to make use of fast moving
air that they can't see it's a bad idea in an environment with bacteria laden
water sitting on surfaces.

~~~
MisterTea
>I think dyson is so obsessed with trying to make money by selling frivolous
luxury items that they can't see it's a bad idea in an environment with
bacteria laden water sitting on surfaces.

FTFY.

~~~
tomxor
Additionally, it's just unpleasant to use, even if it's not obvious enough to
you that having dirty water blown all over you in a public toilet is extremely
unhygienic... it's just goddamn unpleasant, I suppose it's users aren't it's
customers, so who the hell is buying these things?

------
tedmiston
The Dyson Airblade V model fixed the "hands getting pushed against the walls
while drying" problem. It looks like it's been out since 2013... I wonder the
article didn't mention it.

[https://www.dyson.com/hand-dryers/dyson-airblade-v-
overview....](https://www.dyson.com/hand-dryers/dyson-airblade-v-
overview.html)

------
hungerstrike
So, if I don't touch anything in the bathroom at all and I unzip my pants and
take out my penis without touching it and pee and then put everything back
without touching it - I'm spreading more germs than someone who touches
everything in the room?

I doubt it.

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chatmasta
At first I read the title as "hair dryer" and thought the article was about an
Internet connected hair dryer that messages your friends to let them know
you're drying your hair.

~~~
M8thril
You call it bacteria. I say the blessings of Nurgle.

~~~
YeGoblynQueenne
Ah, for that there's the Dyson Bolter®

------
sd-fsd-fs-fd-
Paul Foot rant:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xnh6anCwpUo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xnh6anCwpUo)

They're too loud and they don't work. Paper towels are quiet and they work (or
drying your hands on your jeans)

However, the real reason these irritating dryers are popular is virtue-
signalling: they're a way of announcing to everyone that you washed your hands

~~~
YeGoblynQueenne
>> However, the real reason these irritating dryers are popular is virtue-
signalling: they're a way of announcing to everyone that you washed your hands

I don't see how that works. In most offices I've worked, the toilets were
situated far from the desks, where nobody could hear the hand driers or see
who was coming out of the can after the hand drier had gone off.

Also, I seriously doubt that strangers in the public loos look up at me and
admire my determination not to spread my germs around. Public loos tend to be
in places were people have very different things in mind: catch their train,
finish their beer, etc.

