Sunday, April 17, 2016

Of Paper Towels and Dyson

In my previous post, I referenced the movie, The Intern. if I can learn just one thing from the movie, it is to consistently carry a handkerchief. I own the bloody things, used to carry them, but when I got a puppy I started using that pocket for poop pick up bags.

If that is not a compelling enough reason to carry a handkerchief, there is an information warfare battle going on that could impact you, especially if you travel. It is either true or not true that both Dyson Air Blades and Paper Towels spread germs, a lot of germs.

"Dyson Airblade hand-driers spread 60 times more germs than standard air dryers, and 1,300 times more than standard paper towels, according to research published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology.

University of Westminster researchers carrying out the research dipped their hands into water containing a harmless virus. They then dried their hands with either a Dyson Airblade, a standard hot-air dryer, or a paper towel.

According to their findings, the Dyson drier's 430mph blasts of air are capable of spreading viruses up to 3 meters across a bathroom. The standard drier spread viruses 75cm, and the hand towels 25cm."

Who funded the research? No sure, but an earlier similar study "was funded 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 released a YouTube saying that other air driers spread germs. Now everyone is in the act, all quoting various studies, most of it - bad science. It is hard to say how this will play out. But one thing is certain. If you travel, if you use public bathrooms, you are probably going to be exposed to germs regardless.

No comments:

Post a Comment