Ignore the scary headlines: Dyson Airblade hand dryers are unlikely to make you sick

It sounds as if it is the teaser before a local nightly newscast: “A popular bathroom hand dryer could be making you ill, tonight at 11:00!”

A controversy that has erupted in the media in recent weeks concerns the top-of-the-line Dyson Airblades, which sound about as deafening as jet engines when they are activated, quickly drying your hands. These devices cost about $1,400 dollars, based on online prices.

A study published back in January in the Journal of Applied Microbiology aimed to compare the potential for three different hand drying techniques to spread viruses around a bathroom — paper towels, regular warm air dryers and jet air dryers such as the Dyson Read more...