A person wiping their hands with paper towel.

Good hand hygiene starts with proper handwashing but ends with proper hand-drying. When it comes to hand drying options in your facility, you’re faced with an important decision – jet air hand dryers or paper towel dispensers? Paper towels are not only preferred by 90% of people, but they’re also the more hygienic option that can help keep your facility healthier.

Jet Hand Dryers’ Dirty Secret

While jet hand dryers work quickly, they can re-contaminate freshly washed hands and expose them to more germs than before washing! They can also cause germy water droplets to be blown into the air, contaminating even more surfaces. The surfaces on jet air dryers can also hold up to 1000x times more germs than paper towel dispensers.

The Benefits of Paper Towels

In comparison, the friction from using paper towels for drying can remove up to 77% of bacteria that remains on hands after washing. Paper towels also reduce the risk of spreading bacteria to other surfaces and are the recommended hand-drying method of the World Health Organization.

Keeping Your Workplace Clean with Touchless Dispensers

Raise restroom hygiene in your facility with touchless dispensers to reduce the risk of cross-contamination. Dispensers that keep towels fully enclosed in the system until use will further help minimize the spread of dirt and germs.

Scott® Control Touchless Dispensers have a compact design that’s completely contained. Its efficient dispensing supports hygiene by minimizing runouts with 20% fewer change-outs per unit, which saves cleaning time for other critical tasks

Learn more about it in this fact sheet* that shows why touchless paper towel dispensers are the more hygienic choice for restrooms.

* If you require a more accessible version of this guide, please contact us and we’d be happy to help.